For School Business Managers, HR teams and payroll officers, pension record errors often only come to light when an employee reviews their pension benefits or begins planning for retirement.
By that point, resolving missing service or incorrect member details can require extensive investigation and liaison with Teachers’ Pensions or LGPS funds.
We work with over 80 pension funds and regularly see the challenges pension discrepancies create for schools and trusts. When records don't match, resolving issues can be time-consuming, particularly when they relate to historic data.
The good news is that many discrepancies can be spotted early by encouraging employees to carry out a few simple checks throughout the year.
This guide will take you through the common pension record errors our teams see and explains the checks schools and trusts should encourage to help staff keep their pension records on track for retirement.
1. Teachers' Pensions and LGPS: The basics for school payroll teams
2. Common causes of data mismatches in schools
3. Why it's important to spot errors early
4. What teaching staff should check in Teachers' Pensions
5. What support staff should check in LGPS
6. Why monthly payslip checks matter for pension accuracy
7. Your free Employee Pension Pack
For schools and trusts, any staff eligible to join a pension scheme will be auto enrolled into one of the two main schemes used for those working in Education. Teachers are enrolled in the Teachers’ Pension scheme (TPS), while support staff join their Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
Each month, contributions to these schemes are deducted from employees' salaries and paid across to the relevant pension fund.
Depending on the fund's requirements, a monthly return is submitted to inform the fund exactly how much of the school's payment has been contributed by each enrolled employee. In most cases, the contributions you make as an employer are also reported.
From here, the pension fund then uses this information to make sure contributions are allocated to the correct employee record.
When there’s a difference between the information that a fund holds for an employee, and the employee data submitted in monthly reports from the employer, this makes it difficult for funds to correctly allocate contributions to the employee’s account.
If these issues go unnoticed, common errors like missing service, and mismatched personal details could place employees in a situation where their retirement benefits are delayed or miscalculated when they come to access their pension.
The most likely causes of pension discrepancies our teams see include:
Once an employee has left the organisation, correcting pension records often becomes significantly more complex. Schools may need to retrieve historic payroll information, submit manual returns and correspond with pension providers, creating additional admin work for already stretched teams.
The sooner an employee spots an issue with their record, the easier it is to put right. Encouraging your staff to check their pension records regularly can help identify errors before they escalate into larger problems.
Here are our best practice tips to pass on to your staff to keep pension contribution records on track.
Teaching staff can access their personal records through the Teachers’ Pensions self-service portal: My Pension Online (MPO), which allows them to easily check and update data held by Teachers pensions on their account.
The My Pension Online portal allows teaching staff to:
Teachers aren't required to use My Pension Online. However, it provides an easy way for them to review their pension records and identify potential issues early.
Your teaching staff should regularly check that their personal information is up to date, including:
Teachers should regularly review their benefit statement to check for any gaps in service, particularly where they have changed employers. It’s an important step to ensure that all service records are up to date to prevent errors from occurring.
Most support staff in schools will contribute to a Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). Access to pension records can vary by fund, so schools should make sure staff know which local LGPS provider manages their pension and how to access their account information.
There are currently 86 pension funds across England and Wales, all operated locally. Employees can search LGPS ‘Contact your Fund’ to find the correct portal and contact details for their fund.
It’s worth noting that not all funds operate an online portal for employees. In these cases, employees can check their personal details and service record via an Annual Pensions Benefit statement. If not accessible online, support staff will often receive a copy of their Pensions Benefit statement in the post.
Processes between LGPS schemes can vary. Where support staff find discrepancies in their pension record, they should contact the fund, who will be able to advise on the correct steps required to amend personal details or service records.
Aside from regularly checking membership details, what else can employees do to make sure their pension is on track?
While it’s always good practice to review monthly payslips, it’s equally important for employees to check that pension contributions are being deducted correctly each month.
Not only will this help employees see how much they regularly save towards their pension pot but also reduces the risks of over or underpaid contributions from going un-checked.
As good practice, both teaching and support staff should check their payslips monthly to make sure:
• Their contribution rate is being deducted at the correct rate for their salary banding
• Their pension contributions match their anticipated deduction
• Check that year-to-date employers’ contributions match what they are expecting
If staff spot any discrepancies, corrections can then be made within the same tax year, making the process easier to resolve.
Helping employees understand their pension can be challenging, especially when HR, payroll and finance teams are already managing competing priorities.
Our specialist pensions team have put together a free pack of resources you can share with your staff to give them straightforward guidance when it comes to their pension.
Even small inaccuracies can remain unnoticed for years. In some cases, they only become apparent when an employee begins planning for retirement, which can result in delays while records are investigated and corrected.
But by consistently reviewing service history, personal details, and monthly payslips, employees can take charge of their pension enrolment and avoid potential issues.