A huge jump in the number of teachers opting out of paying into their pension shows why teachers “need a pay rise”, the biggest teaching union has said.
The NEU teaching union, whose members have carried out five national strike days and a series of regional walkouts over pay so far this year, has called on the government to reopen pay talks after new data revealed that the number of teachers opting out of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) due to affordability has risen by more than two-thirds over the past year.
Department for Education data, obtained through a freedom of information request by financial services firm Wesleyan, revealed that 9,199 teachers across the UK left their pension scheme for personal financial reasons between April 2022 and March 2023.
This equates to a 77 per cent increase on the same period in the previous 12 months.
Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the NEU, said: “These opt-out figures demonstrate why teachers need a pay rise.”
Overall, the number of teachers opting out of the TPS rose by 58 per cent year-on-year.
Teachers quitting their pension due to affordability accounted for nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of all cases of teachers leaving the TPS in the 12-month period (9,199 out of a total of 12,824).
This was an increase from the 64 per cent figure recorded the year before (5,193 out of a total of 8,106).
Mr Courtney said that most of the teachers opting out of the scheme were young teachers in the early stages of their careers.
“The new starting salary pledged at the 2019 general election, and delivered from this autumn, has already had its value wiped out by inflation,” Mr Courtney said.
He insisted that the education secretary “must get back to the negotiating table and fix the crisis in teaching, which is leading so many to leave the profession”.
Dr Patrick Roach, general secretary of teaching union the NASUWT, said that the figures were a further indication of “the impact which the cost-of-living crisis is having on teachers”.
“Teachers are not only opting out of the pension scheme, many are leaving the profession prematurely because they cannot afford to make ends meet,” he said.
“The government’s decisions have left teachers having to sacrifice their future financial security in order to try to keep their heads above water.”
After a period of intensive talks in March, the DfE made all four teaching unions the offer of a £1,000 non-consolidated payment for 2022-23 and an average 4.5 per cent rise for 2023-24.
But school leaders challenged the affordability of the government offer after it was revealed that just 0.5 per cent of the overall 4.5 per cent pay award for next year, plus the £1,000 one-off payment for this year, would come through new funding.
And, last month the general secretaries of all four education unions revealed they would draw up coordinated school leader and teacher strike action plans after members voted to reject the offer.
A DfE spokesperson said: “The TPS forms part of a generous package along with pay and wider benefits, such as job security.
“There are many reasons that may lead teachers to opt out of their pensions, including to reduce their tax liability or because they participate in another pension scheme - it does not necessarily mean they cannot afford to pay into their pensions.
“The number of those who opt out of the TPS has remained consistent over the years, with the exception of a temporary fall during the pandemic.”
