The Education Secretary, Gillian Shephard, is inviting views on the future of the Teachers’ Pensions Agency, which administers the Teachers’ Superannunation Scheme.
The agency, which was set up under the Government’s Next Steps Programme in 1992 and is an executive agency of the Department for Education, has recently been the subject of a review by consultants KMPG to find out whether introducing private sector contractors to administer the superannuation scheme would improve efficiency.
The TPA has already contracted the collection, control and monitoring of pensions contributions to Hartshead Limited, a Sheffield-based administration company, following a competitive tendering exercise last year. Hartshead replaced previous providers Giro Bank which held the contract for 20 years.
According to DFE figures, the TPA cut its costs by 5 per cent last year and is on target for a further 5 per cent cost reduction in the current financial year.
Mrs Shephard said: “My aim in reviewing the future of the Agency is to ensure that the superannuation scheme is administered as efficiently and effectively as possible.
“I shall look forward to receiving comments on the consultants’ findings before deciding how to proceed, whether by letting a contract to a private sector company or by another route such as market testing, designed to identify and secure further efficiency improvements.”
She added that the superannuation scheme would remain within the public sector and its statutory basis would be unchanged.
