The government has confirmed that it will move forward with its planned amendments to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme, with regulations to be laid in parliament this month (March 2025), before coming into force on 1 April 2025.

The proposed amendments to the draft regulations are primarily related to the need to adjust the member contribution tiers and to implement HM Treasury’s policy of extending the Fair Deal provisions to Further Education colleges.

According to the Department for Education’s consultation, all other proposed changes were minor amendments to ensure the regulations remain up to date.

The government has since confirmed that it will proceed with the planned changes, after its consultation found that 48.6 per cent of respondents agreed that the amendments to the regulations deliver the policy objectives as set out in the consultation document.

In addition to this, 48.6 per cent of respondents replied that no other regulations were required to achieve the stated policy aims.

However, there were some concerns raised, as the government revealed that several respondents expressed concerns about the adjustment of the member contribution rates, citing the financial impact in particular.

In addition to this, a large proportion of the individual respondents also commented on the impact of the increased rates on member affordability, with several suggesting that it is unfair that higher earners pay a higher percentage in monthly contributions.

As a result, some respondents also raised concerns about the impact the adjustment of the member contribution rates will have on the number of members opting out of the scheme.

There have been some changes to the draft regulations though, as the government confirmed that while the initial draft regulations would have meant that the provision relating to Fair Deal colleges was to come into effect from April 1 2025, this has been amended in the final regulations to apply the policy retrospectively from November 14, 2024.

This has been changed because HM Treasury confirmed their final policy in November 2024, and the regulations are to be aligned with that policy.

In addition to this, two further institutions have been added to the Fair Deal amendments to ensure that all relevant further education establishments that are eligible to participate in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme are brought in line with that new policy.

In particular, the Department for Education’ confirmed that the governing body of an institution within the FE sector to which grants are made and institutions for the further education and training of disabled persons are now included in the amendment.

In related news, a freedom of information request from Foster Denovo revealed that the number of private schools in the Teachers’ Pension Scheme has fallen below 1,000 for the first time.

According to latest Department of Education figures obtained under the request, 676 schools remain in the TPS as of 30th January 2025, compared to 1,086 when Foster Denovo made the same request in June 2024. There are just under 2,500 independent schools in the UK.

The figures suggest that 312 private schools have left the scheme since September 2019 with a further 268 opting for what’s known as “phased withdrawal” – or closing TPS membership to new employees – since that time.

A further four schools say they intend to leave and another four, having left the TPS in 2021, rejoined in 2022 in order to sign up for phased withdrawal.

Foster Denovo suggested that increasing contribution rates could be a "critical factor" in this trend, pointing out that they have climbed 75 per cent in the last six years to 29 per cent in England and Wales and 26 per cent in Scotland.

Commenting on the findings, Secondsight principal partner, Caroline Gaines, said: “It’s impossible to ignore a clear trend and as consultants, we start by examining what the TPS does for your school from every angle, not a starting point of a foregone conclusion.

"That way, you can be sure you have covered every important aspect before making a considered decision.

“No-one pretends this process is easy or comfortable but it is necessary to ensure everyone has the facts in front of them.”

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