Teachers vote to fight bid to increase age of retirement

TEACHERS voted yesterday to reject any moves to make them work until later in life.

Delegates at the NASUWT teaching union’s conference said pension changes since 2011 have already had a devastating impact on the value of their pensions and hopes of a decent retirement.

A teacher’s pension age is pegged to the state pension, which is 65 for men and between 60 to 65 for women.

It is due to rise for both to 66 by 2020, to 67 by 2028 and 68 in 2044.

However, a recent review suggested it should rise to 68 between 2037 and 2039, while latest data suggests anyone now aged 30 or under might wait until 70 to get a pension.

NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said: “Teachers have already faced hugely detrimental changes to their occupational pensions, which have resulted in them having to pay in more to receive less in retirement at a time when they have also faced years of real-terms pay cuts. We are calling for the link between the state and teachers’ pensions schemes to be broken if the state pension age is increased.”

Delegates at the Manchester conference also argued that changes to GCSE grading will put extra pressure on pupils. The A*-G grades will be replaced with scores of one to nine. Supporters claim it will allow more differentiation between pupils.

Meanwhile, members of the National Union of Teachers in Cardiff yesterday called on their leaders to campaign to win backing for industrial action if the Government did not tackle their pay “crisis”.

General secretary Kevin Courtney said later: “The Government’s public sector pay policy since 2010 has cut teachers’ pay in real terms by 15 per cent.”