A growing number of teachers are reporting difficulties accessing their pension accounts, with one educator detailing a weeks-long struggle to regain access and citing unhelpful customer service from Capita, the current administrator of the Teachers' Pension scheme.
Graeme Hull, 45, a special educational needs teacher, described his attempts to log into his Teachers' Pension online account as an "unacceptable" experience. Hull, who was visiting the UK this summer from his current teaching post in Turks and Caicos, found that multi-factor authentication failed, his passcode was repeatedly rejected, and the website incorrectly stated no telephone number was saved on his account. His attempts to resolve the issue through phone calls to the Teachers' Pensions scheme resulted in long wait times, with conversations yielding no progress.
"I was repeatedly told to 'write in' but staff were unable — or unwilling — to explain what information was required," Hull stated. He was also asked to provide a payslip from 20 years ago, which he deemed "wholly unreasonable." Despite submitting written correspondence with identity verification and historical employment information, Hull reported receiving no response.
Capita, which has managed the Teachers' Pensions scheme since 1996, is scheduled to hand over the contract to Tata Consultancy Services in November. The company is currently facing scrutiny over issues with the civil service pension scheme, which it took over from MyCSP in December. In that instance, a government minister and Members of Parliament condemned Capita's administration, which led to hardships for civil service pensioners and bereaved families who experienced payment delays.
Capita has not provided a public statement regarding its efforts to ensure a smooth transition for the Teachers' Pensions scheme to Tata Consultancy Services, aiming to prevent a backlog of unresolved cases. This situation mirrors the challenges Capita faced when it assumed control of the civil service scheme.
Online searches by Hull and others suggest a pattern of similar difficulties, including locked accounts, failed multi-factor authentication, incorrect personal details, and unresponsive customer service. However, these widespread issues have not been independently verified.
Following intervention from This is Money, Hull was contacted by a Capita representative who updated his details, allowing him to pass security checks. Although the SMS option for authentication eventually worked, Hull felt the resolution was only achieved due to media pressure. He stated, "It's a little disappointing that they only really responded due to media pressure."
A spokesperson for Capita acknowledged that members may experience issues with their My Pension Online accounts, stating that the company works directly with them to investigate and provide support. They noted that "there is no current technical issue preventing Teachers’ Pension Scheme members from accessing My Pension Online." The spokesperson added that a small number of members face login issues due to outdated contact details, incomplete identity verification, or difficulties setting up multi-factor authentication, and that Capita works to resolve these cases.
The Department for Education stated that it is aware of the high volume of member contact experienced by Teachers' Pensions and apologizes for any inconvenience. The department is collaborating with the scheme administrator to ensure these cases are resolved, monitored, and that feedback and emerging issues are addressed.