The handover of the teachers’ pensions scheme to an Indian IT giant has been delayed for a second time.
Tata Consultancy Services was due to take over the reins managing the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) from outsourcing firm Capita last October.
But the transfer was delayed a first time last August, with completion instead promised this summer by the Department for Education.
Now it has been delayed again until later this year, the DfE confirmed. Schools Week understands it will transfer in October.
Capita, which has managed the scheme since 1996, will continue to run it in the meantime.
The DfE had initially promised a two-year “transition”, from October 2023 until the new contract began in October 2025.
Extra time needed for ‘effective’ transition
The department said additional time was required to complete the transition “effectively” and “maintain service continuity for members and employers”.
It’s “priority is to ensure a smooth and secure handover of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme after almost thirty years of administration by Capita”.
“This change does not affect pension entitlements or payments. The department remains committed to supporting current and retired teachers throughout the process.”
A Capita spokesperson said: “The Department for Education is a long‑standing and valued partner, and we are working with them to continue to deliver the Teachers’ Pension Scheme until later in 2026. Our focus is on supporting a smooth handover.”
One insider with knowledge of the situation told Schools Week anonymously they felt the delay “doesn’t fill one with optimism that it’s going to be a smooth transition”.
But Natalie Highfield, senior policy officer at school leaders’ union ASCL, said delays were “far preferable to the handover being rushed through prematurely, and issues then arising”.
“It is important that there is a smooth transition to the new provider and that all necessary requirements are in place.”
Highfield said delays should not affect members’ pension entitlements.
She added: “This delay is probably sensible and prudent, especially given the concerns we raised last year about members facing delays in receiving pension payments and remedy statements following the McCloud judgement.”
Delays to McCloud remedies
The McCloud scheme was designed to correct age discrimination in public sector pensions, after 2018 court judgment ruled reforms three years earlier had treated younger workers unfairly.
A Schools Week investigation previously revealed that 77,600 retired teachers had not yet received McCloud remedy statements as of last March. As of mid-November, 69,700 were still waiting.
A senior Tata figure said it was “delighted” to partner with the DfE and would “digitally transform” the administration of the TPS when the company won the contract in 2023.
“Enhanced customer service has been the cornerstone of our platform’s value proposition to clients in the UK pensions industry,” said Vivekanand Ramgopal, the firm’s president for financial products and platforms, at the time.
Tata was approached for comment.
