Financial advice for teachers - a guest post

Retired head teacher Nigel Lashbrook has kindly guest blogged for us to talk about the advice Jon gave to his teaching staff on tax, pensions and retirement.

I met Jon at a conference when I worked as a head teacher. It was clear he knew his stuff in terms of teachers’ pensions, and at a higher level than people who I’ve worked with in the past. So I asked him to come and chat to my staff.

There’s a lot of complexity around the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) and confusion around what can and can’t be done. Jon was invaluable in terms of helping colleagues explore their options and it worked very well.

I have colleagues who were able to take early retirement

I’ve also had staff with more complex arrangements because they’ve done a variety of different jobs throughout their career and Jon’s expertise has allowed them to get through the fog and work out how to move forward. 

People don’t have time to think about these things – they don’t want to have to read about it, they need someone they can talk through it with, in the right sort of tone. Unlike more generic pension advisers, who don’t really understand the nuances of the TPS, Jon is aware of all the nuances and can speak to them in a language they understand.

Clarity, patience, empathy

I’ve spoken to a number of people over the years and no one has got close to the clarity and patience that Jon has. He takes you through the ins and outs, explaining all the different loopholes and restrictions. Jon’s knowledge of accrual tax, for example, which limits some teachers in terms of how much can get paid into their pension pot each year, has helped them to avoid certain pitfalls.

He came to chat to the staff a few years ago when the government changed the pension from being a final salary to a career average. He explained how it would work, what they should do.

Jon’s also helped me and my wife with our finances. He calculated what our final lump sum would be, and it was correct to the penny.

In 15 years of doing this I’ve not had one person say it’s been a waste of time

Everyone talks about how simply he explains things and what a positive experience it is to speak to him. It’s far too complex to do on your own.

People can relax and have a laugh with Jon. He’s sharp, empathetic and fun. It would be odd for us to have a meeting and not to end up laughing about something!

If you’d like to talk to Jon about advice for teachers, please contact us today.