The Department for Education has confirmed “significant” progress in clearing the backlog of pension transfer requests within the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS), following the implementation of key reforms in April 2025.

In a written response to parliament on 10 June, Minister of State for Education, Catherine McKinnell, revealed that the number of outstanding Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) cases has decreased from 3,062 in October 2024 to just 472 as of 3 June 2025.

The backlog accumulated while guidance was being developed after the implementation of the Transitional Protection (McCloud) remedy.

“The scheme administrator has made significant progress,” McKinnell said. “The scheme administrator is now working through the more complex cases for members who have not retired who have scheme flexibilities to take account of, which must be processed clerically as a result.”

She added that clearing the rest of the backlog is a “key priority” for the Department of Education and the scheme administrator and it is anticipated that these outstanding cases will be completed before October 2025.

The update comes just two months after reforms to the TPS took effect in April 2025, including changes to adjust the member contribution tiers and to implement HM Treasury’s policy of extending the Fair Deal provisions to Further Education colleges.

The TPS has faced delays and issues surrounding the McCloud judgment, particularly over delays to CETV calculations, which have caused knock-on delays for some savers, including in relation to divorce.

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