Teachers at state schools will be offered higher wages in exchange for smaller pension contributions.
United Learning, a schools group containing 92 academies, has told teachers they could receive starting salaries of up to £45,000 in return for leaving the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS).
The current starting salary for teachers is around £36,745 in central London and around £30,000 outside the capital.
All state schools in the UK have to automatically enrol their staff in the defined benefit pension scheme and it includes an employer contribution of 28.6%.
The pension scheme is based on salary and service rather than investments – it guarantees a regular source of income when you retire.
Those who chose to opt out will be switched to a defined contribution pension scheme which is a type of workplace pension where a fund of money is built up consisting of your own contributions.
A spokesperson for United Learning told the i newspaper that the move could “attract a whole new cadre of people to teaching”.
However, they added that the traditional TPS would continue to be available.
“The two options have the same cost to us – the new one just puts more into pay and less into pension than the traditional one,” they said.
Some have criticised the move and warned against it.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT general secretary, told Schools Week: “We would warn any state-funded employer that is seeking to play fast and loose with teachers’ pay and conditions, they are not only playing with fire, they will get burned.”
Sky News has contacted United Learning for comment.
