Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many employers providing private education for school age children have stopped participating in the Teacher’s Pension Scheme in each of the last five years.

Work on finalising the 2020 valuation of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) is still ongoing and the department expects to be able to publish the outcome in late summer.

There are several policy decisions and scheme-based assumptions still to be determined that could affect the final outcome, which means it is not possible at this stage to accurately assess the likely impact on scheme employers. Following His Majesty’s Treasury’s (HMT) announcement on 30 March 2023 of the government’s response to the consultation on the methodology for determining the discount rate to be applied in the valuation of public service schemes, it is expected that the contribution rate for the TPS will need to rise.

The department appreciates that the independent schools that choose to participate in the TPS will therefore be faced with an increase in employee-related costs. Mindful of this and their need to plan, the department is working with HMT and the actuary for the TPS, the Government Actuary’s Department, to progress the TPS valuation as quickly as possible. Regular updates will continue to be provided to the groups representing employers and members.

817 employers providing private education for school age children are currently participating in the TPS.

A total of 333 employers providing private education for school age children have stopped participating in the TPS in the last five years. This comprises 96 in 2019, 110 in 2020, 82 in 2021, 38 in 2022 and 7 in 2023. Additionally in the last five years, a further 90 such employers have taken the option of a phased withdrawal meaning they will continue participating for existing teaching staff only. This comprises 14 in 2021 (when the phased withdrawal policy was introduced), 62 in 2022 and 14 in 2023 (the latter including two establishments with future withdrawal dates).