Conference votes to reject Government pension proposals

NUT Conference over Easter endorsed the Executive’s decision to reject the Government’s proposed ‘final agreement’ on pensions.

The NUT will not accept that teachers should work until they are 68, pay 50 per cent more for their pensions and get less in retirement.

The vast majority of teachers’ unions have rejected these proposals. The NUT stands ready to work with these and other public sector unions to defeat the Government’s plans.

Click here to read the conference press release on the pensions campaign.

Don’t steal our pensions say thousands

Over six thousand teachers and lecturers showed their support for fair pensions for all by marching through Central London today (28 March).

Read more here.

Work until at least 74

An article in the Guardian on Saturday 24 March suggests that a child born today would have to work until they are 74 at the earliest for a state pension.

RPI CPI Appeal

The Court of Appeal has rejected the NUT's legal challenge to the Government’s decision to switch pensions indexation from RPI to CPI inflation – read more here. Whilst disappointed at this outcome, we have never thought that legal proceedings were our best route to success in our pensions dispute. The campaign to save our pensions continues and we are calling on our sister unions to work with us.

Joint e-petition on pensions

As part of the campaign in defence of our pensions the NUT and NASUWT have set up an e-petition on HM Government's website. The petition calls on the Government to enter into genuine negotiations with us about the Teachers' Pension Scheme. If we are to get the negotiated settlement we are working flat out to achieve, the Government must accept that further discussions and additional funding from the Treasury are needed.

Please support the petition. It only takes a minute or two to sign up here.

If the petition attracts over 100,000 signatures there should be a debate in Parliament about it, where the Minister would have to come and explain the Government's actions. So once you've signed please share the petition link as widely as possible.

National Union of Teachers – Pensions Update

The NUT has condemned the Government's announcement on Thursday 9 March that it has ended negotiations with the unions on its proposals on public sector pensions.

Despite some concessions brought about because of strike action the Government's position on teachers' pensions remains unchanged. The Government still wants to make teachers pay more, work longer and get less.

Click here to view the full details of the proposals that the Government intends to impose and click here to read an NUT briefing on the ‘Heads of Agreement’.

Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Update – March 2012

This March 2012 update details the current state of the LGPS negotiations and gives the updated contribution bands for 2012-13.

LGPS Joint Union Newsletter

This LGPS joint union newsletter sets out the current position for the Local Government Pension Scheme following discussions during December.

NUT Survey on Teachers’ Attitudes to Pensions - press release

In the NUT's June pension ballot 92% of members voted in favour of strike action. Our current survey clearly shows that teachers' attitude to the Government's proposals on pensions have not changed with 98% saying the current offer does not go far enough.

Click here to read the full press release

Remember – the Government's new proposals give you thousands less not thousands more

The Government gave an example of a teacher retiring on £37,000 getting a pension of £25,000 under its proposals, compared to £19,100 under the current scheme. This is disingenuous. What it didn’t say is that teachers would have to work to 68 for a pension of £25,200 under the proposed scheme, compared with 60 for the pension of £19,100 under the current scheme. This is not a like for like comparison and the Government knows it.

In actual fact, that teacher retiring at age 60 under the new arrangements would receive a pension of £13,800 – a loss of £5,300 per year compared with the £19,100 pension under the current scheme.

The Government still wants every teacher to pay more and to get less in retirement. It still wants to make every teacher more than 10 years from their current pension age work longer for a full pension as well. Click here for the full truth.

Technical note: Comparison of payments into and from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme

This note accompanies the NUT's calculations on payments into and from the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) since its establishment in 1923.

Say No to the Government's unfair pension contribution increases

Click here to find out how much your pension contributions will rise per year.

Read more here.

Pensions loss calculator

The NUT calculator - updated to reflect the most recent Government proposals - gives you an estimate of what the Government's proposed pension changes will cost you, both between now and your retirement and after you retire.

Fair Pensions for All - sign our petition to the Prime Minister

We are campaigning for Fair Pensions for All - for workers in the private and public sectors and pensioners too. Please add your name to the petition below to the Prime Minister.

Please fill in the form here to sign the petition.

Alternatively, you can download the petition here (English copy - Welsh copy) and circulate it to your colleagues, parents and friends

Pension strike action resources

Click here to view information and images from our successful first days of strike action.

Students: Stand up for your future

As a student, you shouldn’t have to worry about your retirement. But the Government’s plans for public sector pensions threaten you, when you enter the profession, with paying more for your pension, working longer and getting less in retirement. Join the NUTs campaign to protect your pensions. Download the 'Stand Up for Your Future' leaflet here.

E-mail your MP here.