Deliberate Miscalculation of Public Sector Pensions?

Polar_Divide

For the last five years I have been asking my employer to correct my reckonable teaching service with Teacher Pensions, unfortunately to no avail. My current recorded service would leave me some 30-40% down on both my annual basic pension and tax-free lump sum. I tried to approach this from the other direction and contacted Teacher Pensions and was assured that my employer would be contacted to remedy this. Several weeks later there is still no sign of my online statement being amended.
I know that a number of my colleagues have had similar difficulties and this has raised several questions. Would 'clerical errors' on this magnitude across the public sector have a significant impact on the calculation of national debt and borrowing, essentially reducing figures owed, not unlike when the banks took debt off their balance sheets? Could this create a political advantage by understating the up and coming size of the financial commitments of the state? If this is a significant problem, are sufficient funds in place to meet the true pension commitment when the errors have been rectified?

Dunnit

You should try looking up the MyCSP thread which is doing the rounds at the moment which shows there is no great conspiracy just giant !!!!-ups and staff cuts.

jem16

Polar_Divide wrote: »

For the last five years I have been asking my employer to correct my reckonable teaching service with Teacher Pensions, unfortunately to no avail. My current recorded service would leave me some 30-40% down on both my annual basic pension and tax-free lump sum. I tried to approach this from the other direction and contacted Teacher Pensions and was assured that my employer would be contacted to remedy this. Several weeks later there is still no sign of my online statement being amended.

How did the discrepancy come about?

gardener_ruth

As Dunnit says "giant !!!! ups and staff cuts" and possibly the move from paper to IT records. Just managed to get mine corrected after months of persistence. I know it's not nearly as long as OP's but would suggest you are persistent so they know you're not going to give up. Do you have your own paper records or other evidence to prove you are correct? I was told I may have to provide them as my employer had destroyed theirs. Hope you manage to get it sorted soon.

hyubh

Polar_Divide wrote: »

For the last five years I have been asking my employer to correct my reckonable teaching service with Teacher Pensions, unfortunately to no avail.

Presumably you're sure about your figures, and it's not just a matter of having been a part timer and so having less reckonable service than calendar membership?

I tried to approach this from the other direction and contacted Teacher Pensions and was assured that my employer would be contacted to remedy this. Several weeks later there is still no sign of my online statement being amended.

You should check again with HR/payroll to see whether they have done anything, as in principle it's possible that the resolution was to correct matters at next year end. If they haven't, then in the nicest/most professional way, ask how you go about raising a stage one IDRP (Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure) complaint, which should hopefully do the trick.

Would 'clerical errors' on this magnitude across the public sector have a significant impact on the calculation of national debt and borrowing

No, because the liabilities for unfunded public sector pension schemes like the TPS are essentially 'off the books'. Hence George Osborne's claim on nationalising Royal Mail's final salary pension fund prior to selling off the company itself that the scheme's assets were a 'windfall' that would be used to reduce the national debt (the old Royal Mail scheme is now a 'pay-as-you go' one like the TPS).

If this is a significant problem, are sufficient funds in place to meet the true pension commitment

There are no 'funds in place' for the TPS and similar schemes - they are paid for out of general taxation. The main exception amongst public sector schemes is the LGPS, where (roughly speaking) each county administers its own pension fund that it and other local public sector employers contribute to.