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The latest Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme Annual Report and Accounts show that the average annual pension in payment from the Scheme as at 31 March 2023 was £13,842. In addition, the accounts show that lump sums totalling £133.5 million were paid to 2,723 new retirees in 2022-23, an average lump sum of £49,063.

The impact of the recent teacher pay settlement will be taken into account as part of the 2024 scheme actuarial valuation. The valuation measures the costs of the benefits being provided and informs the future contribution rates to be paid by employers in order to ensure sustainability.

The Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme (STPS) continues to be an integral part of the remuneration package for teachers in Scotland. A Defined Benefit scheme, it offers the security of a guaranteed income in every year of retirement for all its members. Pensions in payment to retired members are inflation proofed and adjusted each April in line with the Consumer Prices Index. In April 2023, pensions increased by 10.1% and in April 2024 by a further 6.7%.

While Scottish Ministers have executively devolved responsibility for the STPS, they exercise those functions within a reserved framework. The Scottish Ministers must therefore implement policy which reflects UK government primary legislation and any secondary legislation introduced by Scottish Ministers requires HM Treasury approval.

The design of the STPS, including accrual rates and benefits payable from the scheme, are determined by reserved UK Government primary legislation. Scottish Ministers have no powers to vary the accrued benefits payable from the scheme to retired teachers without HM Treasury consent.

The provisions of the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme allow members to adjust their contribution rates and increase their pension benefits by purchasing Additional Pension or opting for Faster Accrual.

Additional Pension is an amount of extra pension which can be bought in multiples of £250 up to a maximum of £7,000 and can be paid for by additional monthly contributions over a period of 1 to 20 years. Faster Accrual allows members to earn pension at a faster rate than the standard accrual of 1/57 th by making extra monthly contributions. There are three faster accrual options: 1/45th, 1/50th and 1/55th.

The Scottish Government does not consider there are any potentially negative effects of the recent teacher pay settlement on the future value of teachers pensions. The impact will be taken into account as part of the 2024 scheme actuarial valuation which measures the costs of the benefits being provided and informs the future contribution rates to be paid by employers in order to ensure sustainability.

The Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme (STPS) continues to be an integral part of the remuneration package for teachers in Scotland. A Defined Benefit scheme, it offers the security of a guaranteed income in every year of retirement for all its members. Pensions in payment to retired members are inflation proofed and adjusted each April in line with the Consumer Prices Index. In April 2023, pensions increased by 10.1% and in April 2024 by a further 6.7%.

The Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme was reformed by the UK Government under the Public Service Pension Act 2013 along with the other main public service pension schemes in the UK. All schemes are broadly comparable and are based on Career Average Revalued Earnings. Apart from the uniformed public services, all schemes have a pension age linked to State Pension age.

There are three early retirement options available to members of the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme who have reached normal minimum pension age:

• Premature Retirement is an option if a member is made redundant or retires in the interest of efficiency. The pension would be actuarially reduced because the member is retiring early and employer must agree to make up the shortfall to the full pension amount. Therefore, there is no impact on the final pension amount the member receives.
• Voluntary Early Retirement is where the member chooses to receives an actuarially reduced pension. The benefits are reduced to take into account the fact the pension will be paid over a longer period of time than a normal retirement pension.
• Phased Retirement allows members to take up to 75% of their pension while reducing their working commitment. To do this, members must reduce their pensionable salary by at least 20% for a minimum of 12 months. Any percentage of pension benefits taken before normal pension age would be subject to an actuarial reduction.

While Scottish Ministers have executively devolved responsibility for the Scottish Teachers' Pension Scheme (STPS), occupational pensions policy is reserved to the UK Government and is outside the powers of the Scottish Parliament.

The STPS was last reformed in 2015, as provided for under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013. When the 2013 Act was introduced, the UK Government made a commitment that the reforms would be sustained for 25 years. Therefore, the Scottish Government do not intend to carry out a full review of the scheme in the near future, however, we continue to work closely with the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme Advisory Board who advise Scottish Ministers on the desirability of changes to the design of the Scheme.

The Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) undertakes the role of Scheme Manager of the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme, on behalf of Scottish Ministers. Scheme members can raise any concerns or enquiries with the SPPA by using the Contact Us page at www.pensions.gov.scot/contact-us or by calling the Agency.