Legally unacceptable pension changes

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The largest teachers' union has argued that the government's plans to change the teachers’ pension scheme are legally "unacceptable".

The National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) argues that the procedure the government has taken in its plans to change the teachers' pension scheme is not in line with statutory law. The changes include moving the final-salary pension to a career-average scheme.

The NASUWT disputes that the changes can happen legally until the government carries out a valuation of the teachers' pension scheme. The government has a statutory responsibility to conduct a valuation of the scheme at least every five years. The last valuation was conducted in 2006.

Chris Keates, NASUWT general secretary, said: "The government has ignored our repeated requests to produce a valuation of the scheme."

"It is simply unacceptable and irresponsible for a government to embark on changes which will have such a profound adverse impact on the financial future of teachers and their families without having evidence to demonstrate that a problem even exists."

A valuation would reveal whether there was a problem with the viability and sustainability of the scheme and, if there was, the scale of it.

Keates went on to say: "It is, however, probably safe to assume that if a valuation would have provided evidence to support the government’s changes, it would have produced it".

"The failure to provide the valuation has deeply angered teachers."

The NASUWT has served a pre-action letter on the Government Actuary's Department, the Secretary of State for Education and HM Treasury.

"The NASUWT has pledged to leave no stone unturned to defend teachers and their conditions of service, and if this means recourse to legal remedy, the union will pursue such action," said Keates.