Teachers pensions: Mother 'misses out' after son's death

Helen Pentelow (left, pictured with her mother and brother) believed single, widowed or divorced teachers were being discriminated against

The family of a teacher who died after 31 years of service has started a petition calling for changes to pension scheme rules following his death.

Nick Stone, 55, who taught at City of Norwich School, was unmarried and single and died with Covid in January.

His sister Helen Pentelow wants rules changed after discovering her mother could not be named as a beneficiary of a £151,000 pot.

The government said the current rules were "compassionate and responsible".

The petition has more than 100,000 signatures in support of rule changes that would allow single people the same nomination rights as others.

According to Ms Pentelow, 53, from Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, their mother Carol Stone, 77, had been Mr Stone's named beneficiary.

"My brother's always said he wanted her to be nominated," she said.

Instead, she will only benefit from a death in service grant - the life insurance portion of his pension.

The rest of his contributions - which had amounted to £151,000 - will go into the Department for Education (DfE) pension pot.

Ms Pentelow said she was told by the fund's administrators, Teachers' Pensions, that, had Mr Stone been married or in a civil partnership, his pension would have been passed on to his spouse or partner.

She said she was also told that had her mother been single and not divorced, and dependent financially on her son, she would she have received the pension.

She believed single, widowed or divorced teachers were being discriminated against and their relatives were losing out.

Nick Stone died with Covid after serving as a teacher at City of Norwich School for 31 years

Ms Pentelow said other government employees might not be aware of the rules.

"I've got people signed [on the petition] saying 'I cannot believe this', 'I did not know this', 'I'm in the same boat', I'm absolutely shocked'," she said.

"I don't know if this will change anything at all, but it certainly needs looking at."

'Bonkers'

She said her brother "would be turning in his grave".

"It's sickening; he's worked so hard... now his pension has disappeared into thin air," she said.

"If he had decided to put £150,000 in the bank instead, the bank wouldn't be allowed to turn round and say 'oh well, your brother was single, we can't give it you'.

"It's just bonkers."

A DfE spokesperson said: "Any death of a serving teacher is a tragedy.

"Survivors' pensions from the Teachers' Pension Scheme can be paid to a nominated family member provided that certain conditions have been satisfied, including that the family member was financially dependent on the scheme member at the time of death.

"This balances the financial needs of teachers and their surviving family with that of the taxpayer, as is both compassionate and responsible."

The spokesperson said the rules for a nominated family member, were outlined in the Teachers' Pensions family benefits document.

Following his death hundreds of students, parents and colleagues paid tribute to Mr Stone, who taught at the City of Norwich School for his entire career

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