Teachers who retired this summer have been left waiting for pension payments they were supposed to receive at the start of September, with some saying they are \u201csick with worry\u201d and unable to pay bills.<\/p>\n
Current and retired teachers have contacted the Guardian to complain about delays, backlogs and poor communication at Teachers\u2019 Pensions<\/a>, which administers the profession\u2019s scheme on behalf of the government.<\/p>\n Sally Close said she was \u201cjust one of many teachers\u201d who retired in August who had not received their tax-free pension lump sum. She was also awaiting her first monthly pension payment.<\/p>\n The Guardian has previously highlighted complaints about administrative problems and delays at the scheme affecting people getting divorced<\/a> and partners of retired teachers<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, it has now emerged that some newly retired teachers are awaiting money \u2013 in some cases tens of thousands of pounds.<\/p>\n \u201cI retired in good faith, having taught for 25 years, and applied for my pension in March,\u201d Close said. The 58-year-old, who lives in south London and taught psychology and sociology, said she was due a lump sum of about \u00a336,000 and a pension of about \u00a31,000 a month. Her \u201cpayable date\u201d, according to the scheme, was 1 September.<\/p>\n She said the scheme did not seem to be able to give a date for when she and others would be paid.<\/p>\n Another teacher, Nicky Caveney, 59, said she had not received her pension lump sum payment of \u00a365,000, also expected on 1 September. She told the Guardian she was on a holiday planned to celebrate her retirement this summer, but \u201cinstead I\u2019m sick with worry as to how I\u2019m going to pay the bills when I get back\u201d.<\/p>\n Similarly, Caroline, 58, who retired this summer, said: \u201cI haven\u2019t a clue when I\u2019ll get my money or how much I\u2019ll get. I don\u2019t have another income and am relying on the lump sum to clear my mortgage.\u201d<\/p>\n Caroline, who taught for 30 years, is due a lump sum of about \u00a340,000 and a pension of about \u00a311,000 a year.<\/p>\n A primary school teacher of 32 years who recently made the decision to take early retirement at age 55 said she, too, was supposed to receive her lump sum payment on 1 September. \u201cWe have been unable to pay our large credit card bill this month (which has generated additional interest payments) and, if not resolved promptly, it will leave us unable to meet our monthly food costs, bills, mortgage and direct debit payments,\u201d said the teacher from Warwickshire.<\/p>\n Current and ex-teachers have flooded the website Trustpilot with scathing reviews<\/a> of Teachers\u2019 Pensions: at the time of writing, 95% of the more than 700 reviews were one-star, the lowest rating available.<\/p>\n Teachers\u2019 Pensions runs the Teachers\u2019 Pension Scheme \u2013 one of Britain\u2019s biggest, with more than 2.2 million members \u2013 on behalf of the Department for Education (DfE).<\/p>\n The scheme is administered by the outsourcing company Capita, but in 2023 it lost the contract<\/a> to Tata Consultancy Services. Tata was originally due to take over in October this year but this has reportedly been pushed back to summer 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the Guardian sent details of six cases \u2013 including those featured here \u2013 to Capita. On Thursday afternoon it told us: \u201cWe can confirm that four of these cases are resolved and are in payment, and two are expected to be closed within 48 hours.\u201d<\/p>\n A Capita spokesperson added: \u201cThere are a number of reasons outside our control why payments can be delayed \u2013 in the cases outlined, some of the reasons included waiting for members\u2019 transitional protection<\/a> decisions [this relates to some older members who were allowed to remain in their final salary schemes while other members moved to career average schemes] and the submission of an incomplete application. We are working with the DfE on ways to address members\u2019 inquiries more quickly and apologise for any delays in response times.\u201d<\/p>\n