§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what recent estimate she has made of the funding level related to current and future liabilities of the teachers' pension scheme. [52522]
§ Mr. TimmsThe Teachers' Pension Scheme is an unfunded scheme, with a "notional" account maintained and valued periodically by the Government Actuary. The last valuation, as at 31 March 1996, revealed that total liabilities of the scheme (pensions currently in payment and the estimated cost of future benefits) amounted to £65,670 million and total assets amounted to £61,710 million. The 1996 report is available in the House of Commons Library.
I expect to have the Government Actuary's report on the 2001 review by the end of the year.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what has been the cost to the teachers' pension scheme of tax changes since 1997. [52538]
§ Mr. TimmsAs the Teachers' Pension Scheme is an unfunded scheme there are no associated tax liabilities.
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§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills who the fund managers are of the teachers' pension scheme. [52539]
§ Mr. TimmsThe Teachers' Pension Scheme is an unfunded scheme. There are, therefore, no fund managers.
§ Chris GraylingTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what arrangements are made for the payment of a pension to a teacher who takes early retirement through ill health; and how it is funded. [52541]
§ Mr. TimmsWhere a teacher is considered to be permanently unfit to teach as a result of illness or injury, they become entitled to receive payment of ill health retirement benefits, consisting of a pension and lump sum. Arrangements for the payment of benefits are made by the administrators of the Teachers' Pension Scheme. The cost of ill health retirement benefits, alongside the cost of all other benefits payable under the provisions of the scheme, is taken into account by the Government Actuary as part of the periodic scheme valuation. The results of the valuation determine the employer contribution rate needed to defray the costs of the scheme. Teachers pay a contribution of 6 per cent. of salary towards the cost of their pension scheme benefits; the current employer contribution rate is 8.35 per cent. of salary.