Coalition of education unions call for a review of link between Normal & State Pension Ages

Earlier this month, members of the TPS Scheme Advisory Board wrote to James Murray MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury to request that the Government initiates a review of the link between the State Pension Age and the Normal Pension Age in the TPS.

In 2015, TPS members’ National Pension Age (NPA) was increased to align with their State Pension Age (SPA), as a cost control measure which was fair to the taxpayer. These reforms were introduced as a result of the 2011 Hutton Review of Public Service Pensions, which also included a recommendation that the link between the NPA and SPA should be regularly reviewed. 

To date, this review has not occurred in respect of the England and Wales TPS and the Scottish TPS, despite the recommendation being accepted by the Government 14 years ago.

A coalition of Scheme Advisory Board members, including NSEAD, are calling on the government to implement the provisions of the Hutton Report and we ask for a review of the link between the NPA and SPA in non-uniformed public service pension schemes to take place. We are also asking that Scheme Advisory Boards and public service unions are invited to submit evidence to a review of the NPA-SPA link.

Our request is given greater importance by the impact on life expectancy of the coronavirus pandemic and other social and demographic factors, as demonstrated in the 2020 TPS Valuations.

Read the full letter to Mr Murray and accompanying appendices:

1. Letter to James Murray MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury (4 September 2025)
2. Independent Public Service Pensions Commission Final Report (Hutton, 2011)
3. Teachers Pension Scheme Valuation Results Report 2020 (England & Wales)
4. Teachers Pension Scheme Valuation Results Report 2020 (Scotland)
5. Teachers Pension Scheme Valuation Results Report 2020 (Northern Ireland)
6. National life tables – life expectancy in the UK: 2020 to 2022