The Teachers’ Pension Scheme is a statutory scheme, governed by The Teachers’ Pensions Regulations 2010. Once a school has been accepted into the Scheme it must adhere to the following regulations:

• Independent schools may apply to participate in the Scheme and each school which is newly-admitted must provide a bond, guarantee or indemnity, usually equal to three months of employer and employee contributions, to support the application.  This is needed to protect the Scheme should the school cease to operate, allows sufficient time for alternative plans to be put into place and covers that period of uncertainty and transition. The application is through Teachers’ Pensions who will process and manage the request and hold the bond.
• Access to the Scheme is automatic for all teaching staff – individuals don’t elect to participate, although they can opt out if they wish. The Scheme is open to all teaching staff within that school and must not be offered selectively.  Where a proprietor owns a group of independent schools, each school is an employer in their own right and any application to join the Scheme relates only to that school. Most importantly, teachers who work at a school which doesn’t participate in the Scheme mustn’t be added to the returns of another school in the group that has been accepted into the Scheme.
• Membership of the Scheme is only for those in a teaching role, although membership does extend to Headteachers. Staff in roles that support education aren’t eligible for membership – these roles will include teaching assistants, clerical or administrative staff and teachers in advisory or ancillary roles such as Education Officers.  Many teachers consider themselves to have an entitlement to membership of the Scheme by virtue of it being a scheme for the profession of teaching – this is not the case and membership is determined by the nature of the role, which must be wholly or mainly teaching in nature.

Did you know you have a dedicated Employer Relationship Manager available whenever you need support or advice about anything to do with the Teachers’ Pension Scheme? To find out who yours is and gather more information visit our web section.