Transferring Teacher's Pension to LGPS?

Quixoticity11

Hi,
I started teaching in 2008 and have 8 years of Teacher's Pension saved. Following a career break I started a Local Authority role last September. I have 10 days to decide whether or not to move my teacher's pension over to the Local Government Pension Scheme. I have no idea how to even begin to make this decision. I have been reading about pensions online and I feel more confused, not less! I'm reading a lot of fractions and financial vocabulary which I'm ashamed to say is double Dutch to me. I would be incredibly grateful if somebody could shine a light on the sort of things that I should be taking into consideration when making this decision.

If it's relevant, I'm mid 30s and expect to be working now until I reach retirement age. I am on a better salary now than when I was a teacher, by a few thousand. My earning potential now is increased, but not hugely - all being well I could hopefully add another 15K or so to my current salary (not counting inflation) by the time I retire.

Can anyone offer me any guidance please?
Many thanks

hyubh

This would transfer on preferential 'Club' terms with the final salary part of your TPS pension (the major part, as CARE only started in April 2015) purchasing a final salary service credit in the LGPS (specifically, on LGPS 2008 terms, so 1/60ths, normal pension age of 65). Since TPS 2008 and LGPS 2008 were very similar, I would expect the service credit to be of very similar length to the actual TPS service forgone. In which case, if by the time you leave active LGPS membership your salary (whole-time equivalent if part time) comes to be higher than your final pensionable pay in the TPS, taking account of inflation, then it would generally have been better to transfer.

The main negative in that senario would be the fact you aren't able to take different parts of an LGPS pension with different NPAs separately (your CARE membership, like the CARE part of your TPS pension, has an NPA of your state pension age). However, transfer and draw at state pension age (or at any age after 65), and the final salary part would be subject to an actuarial increase... so it's not like having to take all parts of your LGPS pension together makes you lose out as such.