Today, the government has issued its response regarding proposed amendments to Teachers’ Pension Scheme regulations. The amendments to regulations are to:

• provide female members in an opposite-sex marriage or civil partnership with the same survivor pension rights as female members in a same-sex marriage or civil partnership
• amend participation rules to allow for the phased withdrawal of independent schools that might otherwise leave the Teachers’ Pension Scheme with immediate effect.

Separate communications will be issued in response to phased withdrawal.

In relation to the Goodwin judgment, Scheme rules will be changed to ensure that:

• the male spouse or civil partner of a female member is treated in the same way as a same-sex spouse or civil partner. Survivor benefits will be calculated using service from 1 April 1972, or 6 April 1978 if the marriage or civil partnership took place after the last day of pensionable service

• this change will apply for deaths in respect of female members which occurred from 5 December 2005, which is the date that same-sex civil partnerships were introduced.

Where possible, we’ve identified those affected by the Goodwin judgment, so you don’t need to do anything now; please be patient as we’ll be contacting those we can with more detailed information. We’ll also be providing helpful links to online resources from September 2021.

When will these changes take place?

Please bear with us as we’ve had to update our systems and processes but we’re now working hard to rectify the discrimination caused, by:

• recalculating payments to survivors who are currently receiving pension payments –starting from the oldest cases first. This started in April 2021 and will be completed by June 2023 and

• refunding female members who made a Family Benefits election and paid additional contributions for service from 1 April 1972 –5 April 1988, this will begin in August 2021 and be completed by July 2022.

For more detailed information about the consultation please view the government’s response to the consultation (This link opens in a new window).

You can keep up to date by checking the latest news and FAQs available on our website.