Calculate your TPS contributions and estimated pension accrual for 2026-27
This is an illustrative estimate only. Actual pension benefits depend on your full service history, salary progression, and scheme rules. Contact Teachers Pensions for a formal projection.
The Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) is one of the most valuable benefits available to teachers and education professionals in England and Wales. As a defined benefit scheme, it provides a guaranteed income in retirement based on your career earnings, making it significantly more generous than most private sector pension arrangements. Understanding your TPS contributions and projected pension is essential for financial planning. Teacher pension contributions are tiered based on salary, ranging from 7.4% for those earning up to 32,947 to 11.7% for salaries above 92,697 in the 2026-27 scheme year. These employee contributions are supplemented by an employer contribution of 28.68%, meaning total pension investment amounts to over 36% of salary for most teachers. The current TPS operates on a Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) basis, introduced in April 2015. Under this arrangement, each year of service accrues a pension entitlement of 1/57th of your pensionable salary for that year. This accrued pension is then revalued annually in line with CPI plus 1.6%, ensuring that your pension keeps pace with inflation over your career. For many teachers, the TPS represents a substantial portion of their overall remuneration package. A teacher earning 35,000 per year benefits from an employer contribution of over 10,000, which would be difficult to match in the private sector. Over a full career, the TPS can provide an annual pension of 25,000 or more, equivalent to a pension pot worth over 500,000. Our calculator estimates your current contributions, your employer's contributions, and projects your potential annual pension at retirement based on your salary, age, and expected pay progression. It also calculates the optional lump sum you could receive by commuting part of your annual pension.
To calculate your teacher pension: 1. Enter your current annual salary. This determines your contribution rate band. The TPS uses your full-time equivalent salary to set the contribution rate, even if you work part-time. 2. Enter your current age. This is used to calculate the number of years remaining until your selected retirement age. 3. Set your expected retirement age. The current State Pension age is 67, but the TPS allows access from age 55 with actuarial reduction. Most teachers retire between 60 and 67. 4. Enter any years you have already served in the TPS. If you have existing CARE service, this is included in the pension projection. 5. Set your expected annual pay progression as a percentage. The default is 2%, reflecting typical progression through the pay scales plus any inflationary increases. 6. Review your results. The calculator shows your annual employee contribution, employer contribution, total contribution, your contribution rate percentage, estimated annual pension at retirement, and the estimated lump sum if you commute your pension at the standard rate.
The TPS calculation uses the following components: Contribution rate bands (2026-27): Salary up to 32,947 = 7.4%; 32,948 to 43,945 = 8.6%; 43,946 to 51,681 = 9.6%; 51,682 to 67,819 = 10.2%; 67,820 to 92,697 = 11.3%; above 92,697 = 11.7%. Employee contribution = Annual Salary x Contribution Rate. For example, at 35,000 the rate is 8.6%, giving 35,000 x 0.086 = 3,010 per year. Employer contribution = Annual Salary x 28.68%. At 35,000 this equals 10,038 per year. CARE pension accrual: Each year, you build up 1/57th of your salary as annual pension. At 35,000 this equals 614.04 per year. Revaluation: Each year's accrual is revalued by CPI + 1.6%. Using an estimated total revaluation of 3.6% per year, the pension built up in earlier years grows in value until retirement. Projected pension: The calculator sums all future years of accrual (accounting for pay progression) plus any existing service, with each year's accrual revalued to retirement date. Lump sum option: At retirement, you can commute pension for a lump sum at the rate of 12 pounds of lump sum for every 1 pound of annual pension given up.