Yes, you can transfer your Teachers' Pension, but once qualified only to another defined benefit scheme, not a SIPP. Short service has an exception.

That is the rule for the Teachers' Pension Scheme in England and Wales, in law since April 2015. Your own service record may change that, and teachers who fill in this page's form are rung back, free, by an FCA-authorised adviser able to check it.

Can I transfer my Teachers' Pension to a SIPP?

No, if you have qualified for a pension in the scheme. Teachers' Pensions says that once qualified you "can only transfer your pension to another "defined benefit" scheme". It describes those as schemes where the pension paid is set by the scheme's regulations or rules, not by how invested contributions perform; a SIPP works the second way. MoneyHelper gives the same rule for unfunded public sector schemes, naming this one.

Teachers' Pensions names the destinations that do qualify: the teachers' schemes in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the Local Government, Civil Service, NHS, Police, Firefighters and Armed Forces schemes. Members not yet qualified have one more option, explained later.

Can I transfer another pension into my Teachers' Pension?

You may be able to. Teachers' Pensions says "you can only do it if it meets HM Revenue & Customs' rules and your previous scheme is willing to pay a transfer value", and that you have 12 months from entering, or returning to, pensionable teaching service to complete it, including for service earned teaching in Scotland or Northern Ireland. Private sector pensions come in on a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) basis, its December 2023 transfers factsheet says.

Former unprotected and tapered members had a special window, running from 1 October 2023 until 30 September 2024, to bring other pensions in after their remedy-period service was rolled back to the final salary scheme. That window has now closed. An older public service pension can still count even if you never move it: Teachers' Pensions says one left where it is "might provide you with Salary Link protection", which lets salaries in career average service count when final salary benefits are worked out. What an old pot would buy in teaching service depends on that pot and your record, a point an FCA-authorised adviser will happily unpick for nothing when a teacher's enquiry form arrives from this page.

Moving to the NHS, Civil Service or another public scheme

Between public service schemes there are two routes, according to the factsheet. Club transfers run between members of the Public Sector Transfer Club "on favourable terms". Anything else, including a move to a scheme outside the Club or one that misses the Club conditions, is done on a CETV basis.

The Club's rules are in the Cabinet Office's Club Memorandum, the September 2023 issue in force from 1 October 2023. It requires an "election to proceed" to reach the receiving scheme in writing within 12 months of becoming eligible to join it, though a late one can go ahead in exceptional circumstances if the schemes agree, and a break of "no more than 5 years" between leaving one scheme and joining the next. Each scheme can say how it applies them. Teachers' Pensions' transfer-out form warns that without your start date in the new scheme the value "will be calculated on a non-Club basis", and asks you to check whether that scheme has its own time limit. For remedy-period service, a Club transfer passes on the higher of the final salary and career average values, while a non-Club transfer pays the highest, the factsheet says.

A Club transfer is not in itself a benefit enhancement for annual allowance purposes, the Memorandum says, but the difference a salary change makes is counted; see the pension annual allowance. Comparing two final salary promises is fiddly; name both schemes in this page's short form when you send it, letting an FCA-authorised adviser lay the pair side by side with you when they ring.

Should I transfer my Teachers' Pension if I have not qualified?

Members who have not qualified for a pension have one extra route, to a money purchase scheme. The two Teachers' Pensions documents disagree on how much service you need. Its web page says "at least three months of qualifying service"; its transfer-out form says "more than 3 months service". Exactly three months meets the first wording but not the second, so if your service is close to three months, ask Teachers' Pensions which it applies before planning around it. Qualifying is explained in how long it takes to qualify for a Teachers' Pension.

Being allowed is not the same as being wise. The FCA and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) say they "believe it's in most people's best interests to keep their DB pension". Among the risks listed on the same page is less income in retirement, particularly if the pot's value falls. Invested money can drop in value as well as grow, so you might end up with less than was moved. No transfer can be undone, MoneyHelper points out. A transfer of safeguarded benefits into flexible ones can also need regulated advice first: see when advice is required.

What the law says about unfunded schemes

The limit comes from section 95 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993, as amended by section 68 of the Pension Schemes Act 2015. A public service defined benefits scheme counts as "unfunded" under the Act when it pays for some or all of its promises from somewhere other than a fund saved up for them, as the Teachers' Pension Scheme does. For its members, subsection (2A) lets the cash equivalent go to another occupational or personal pension scheme only if its benefits from the transfer "are not flexible benefits", the receiving scheme can and will accept the money, and it meets requirements set by regulations. The Treasury may switch the flexible-benefits test off in prescribed cases (subsection (2B)), and (5A) closes the route into "other pension arrangements" unless regulations open it. Section 68(8) says none of this affects an application made before 6 April 2015.

Spotting a pension scam aimed at teachers

Teachers' Pensions warns that firms "are singling out savers and claiming that they can help members cash in their pension early". The FCA's advice is to hang up on a pension cold call, which it calls "illegal and probably a scam"; to treat an unexpected free review offer as a likely scam, since professional pension advice is not free; and to take no advice from whoever contacted you. The Pensions Regulator's warning signs include words such as 'pension liberation', 'loophole', 'savings advance' and 'cashback'. Before acting on any approach, check with Teachers' Pensions. More on the tactics is in our guide to pension scams, with where to report one and the FCA's own scams page.

Teachers' Pension transfers: other questions

What is a Teachers' Pension cash equivalent transfer value?

It is the cash valuation a scheme puts on your benefits, used for non-Club moves. Asking Teachers' Pensions to look into a transfer through its form "will not commit you in any way". How such values work is in pension transfer values.

Can I cash out my Teachers' Pension?

Not by moving it to a flexible pension once you have qualified. Drawing the pension is a different matter: see Teachers' Pension age and the tax-free lump sum.

Can I use drawdown with a Teachers' Pension?

Not directly, as drawdown from a final salary pension explains.

I teach in Scotland. Is it the same?

No. The Scottish Teachers' Pension Scheme has its own rules, administered by SPPA, and asks for transfer-in requests "within 12 months of you joining or re-joining the scheme". Its transfer page has the detail.

Before you decide

Teachers' Pensions can confirm what your record allows, and MoneyHelper gives free guidance. Pension sharing on divorce is covered in the divorce guide, what you pay in under contribution rates, and other pensions in how to transfer a pension. To see a teacher's pension set against your other savings, ask that an FCA-authorised adviser calls you about it; the request is a minute's work on the form on this page.

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