At Teachers Assurance, we strive to provide teachers across the UK with up to date information that can answer their longstanding pension and retirement questions.

Since participating last year, we’ve received regular updates on the success of the winning proposals and it’s been hugely rewarding hearing how the ideas we encouraged have flourished into inspiring pilots.

We’re delighted to have the support of Teachers Assurance as part of Let Teachers SHINE for the second year running.

Teachers Assurance strategic and financial support has enabled Let Teachers SHINE to continue to grow and enable more teachers to reach disadvantaged young people

Whether you’re looking for insurance or another financial product, there is a huge range of options available – and they often differ greatly in terms of what they provide. It is therefore important to focus on the quality of a product – not just how much it costs – when comparing the market.

Defaqto’s Star Ratings provide an independent, robust and trusted assessment of the quality of financial products and with Teachers Assurances 5 Star rated Home Insurance, customers can rest assured that they’re getting the very best cover.

Our experience, gained over 137 years of providing financial planning support to the teaching profession, tells us that many teachers have a lot of questions as they near retirement.

Our aim is to demystify teachers’ pension arrangements and the upcoming pension scheme reforms have made this more vital than ever.

We have had huge interest from teachers wanting to attend this year’s programme of events and have had to arrange additional seminars to cope with the demand

Having supported those in the education profession for over 137 years, we know that teachers want to make informed decisions about their finances.

With the new tax year approaching, our aim is to equip teachers attending the Education Show with the information they need to make the most of their annual tax-exempt savings allowance.

2015 marks the tenth consecutive year that Teachers Assurance staff have chosen to support Julia’s House. When we first began supporting the charity back in 2005, Julia’s House consisted of a few dedicated carers providing home based care. It has since grown into a strong team of over 70 nurses and carers, supporting around 100 children both at their Dorset hospice and at home.

Julia’s House receives very little government funding and instead relies on vital donations from the community. It is for this reason we are immensely proud of our staff’s charitable endeavours and were pleased by the recent news that the charity has plans to open a second hospice in Wiltshire to extend their valuable work across the region.

We’re delighted to be able to offer LV=’s financial advice service to our members and customers, especially those who attend our seminars looking for support and guidance as they approach retirement

This agreement will mean Teachers Assurance can offer access to highly qualified financial advice with immediate effect

We strongly believe that financial advice can significantly enhance the outcome that individuals achieve, especially at the point of retirement and although the majority of teachers will have a final salary pension scheme, our advice service could help many decide how best to structure their finances and make the most of their pension lump sums, their long-term savings and their investments

Our research among the teaching profession shows that our customers particularly value growth potential, capital guarantees and flexibility when it comes to saving and the Flexible Savings Plan provides all three

Partnering with Teachers Assurance in advance of the transaction completing means that it can continue to offer teachers a long term savings plan as part of their financial plans. These plans have been popular with teachers as they offer an efficient way of saving over the longer term

It’s reassuring to know that the majority of teachers are saving for the future but it pays to take some time to think about why you’re saving and how to make the most from your money.

The UK interest rate is currently at 0.5% while inflation has risen to 1.3% , meaning the value of cash savings may be eroded over time.

While cash investments can provide a short term home for savings, in order to maximise their potential return teachers may wish to consider stock market based investments.

Staff members at Teachers Assurance continue to donate their time, effort and money to support Julia’s House and I’m proud to see that their charitable endeavours have raised in excess of £3,000 so far in 2014

Julia’s House carries out extraordinary work in caring for young people who are experiencing life limiting conditions, as well as their families – and Teachers Assurance hopes to continue to support them in every way possible

It’s extremely worrying to learn that the vast majority of teachers feel they have no option but to return to work after they’ve retired. All of the teachers we spoke to were either retired or within five years of retiring, which indicates that people are leaving their retirement planning until it’s far too late

We know that teachers work extremely hard throughout their career and believe they should be able to enjoy their retirement living, which is why it’s so important they start thinking about future finances sooner rather than later

The great news is that the majority of respondents are preparing for their future, with nearly half (49%) of those surveyed saving between £1 and £200 each month

A worryingly large proportion of UK adults however, admitted to having no savings at all, creating worries for the financial futures of themselves and their families

Encouragingly, the most popular item saved for was an emergency fund, with 55% of respondents having a lump sum saved for a rainy day

We’re excited to be sponsoring the 2014 Let Teachers SHINE project. Having worked with teachers for over 135 years, we understand their passion and determination for introducing innovative ways to encourage learning. We feel proud to be part of an initiative which allows teachers to bring their ideas to life and keeps the needs of disadvantaged pupils at the heart of its efforts.

At SHINE we believe that educational inequality is a matter of social justice. We are delighted that Teachers Assurance has decided to partner with us on Let Teachers SHINE, helping to give all children the best possible chances at school and beyond.

With inflation currently running at 2% (Consumer Prices Index: December 2013), those looking for a real rate of return might consider our new, stock-market linked, Guaranteed Growth Bond.

Our financial strength enables us to provide innovative With-Profits investments with guarantees that deliver a positive return.

We know that our customers are busy people who don’t always have the time to plan for the future or think about their finances. That’s why Teachers Assurance is here to help by encouraging people to start saving and to plan for their future. By using the concept of origami we’re encouraging busy individuals and parents to think ahead about what they could make from their money for themselves and their families.

We know there are lots of things people could be saving for including a new house, a holiday of a lifetime, children’s university fees or even their own retirement. Whatever the end goal, Teachers Assurance can help customers to make rewarding, sensible financial decisions.

All of the teachers we spoke to were either retired or within five years of retiring, and so it is worrying to see that so few of them had a comprehensive understanding of their provisions. 35% of the teachers who were worried about not having enough money for retirement stated they would either live frugally or have to change their expectations as a result of their lack of preparation. This demonstrates that through failing to prepare for retirement early, teachers are running the risk of having to compromise the lifestyle they want.

We are very proud to have had the pleasure or presenting Mr Sheppard with his Lifetime Achievement Award. As a company we teamed up with the TES Schools Awards in order to honour the hard work and dedication of the many unsung heroes within the teaching industry.

Mr Sheppard is an incredibly inspiring educator, something that has been proven not only in his success within the profession, but also through the support shown by colleagues and pupils alike.

We know that teachers are extremely busy people who may not always find the time to dedicate to their financial future, and this fact was proven by the 59% of teachers who told us they struggled to find the time to manage their finances. This is where Teachers Assurance can help; we’ve developed a Financial Education Programme designed specifically for teachers, including free to use online financial calculators, Money Talks in schools and a comprehensive seminar programme across Britain. Our six Financial Calculator tools allow teachers to plan for their financial future, and most take less than five minutes to complete. In taking control of their finances we believe that teachers can alleviate some of the overall stresses they are experiencing and increase their all-round wellbeing.

The findings of the recent study conducted by Teachers Assurance highlight that the significant majority of teachers suffer from stress, with 83% of teachers reporting that due to stress they constantly felt tired. Fatigue is incredibly detrimental to a teacher’s ability to carry out their work effectively, which in turn negatively affects the quality of their teaching. On average 13.2 days sick leave are taken per teacher in the UK. This substantial amount of absenteeism depletes the British economy due to the unprecedented costs on our medical and social support systems.

The experience of stress in the education system can no longer be ignored. It is important to raise awareness of the issue so that both the internal factors and external circumstances contributing towards the experience of stress by teachers can be addressed by both teachers as individuals and by the organisations they work for. The Teachers Assurance study highlights that common factors contributing towards teacher’s stress include work place worries and concerns about finances. With regards to finances a great deal of teachers’ stress could be alleviated if they had access to financial education and were given guidance with budgeting, savings pensions and protection plans like sickness cover.

We understand that our customers would like the best possible cover on the market without paying extremely high premiums. Our Home Insurance has always been designed with teachers in mind, but recently we conducted vital research that provided us with insight into what is important to them. Teachers told us that they wanted reduced excesses and no administration fees, both of which have been factored into our new policy. We believe the additions we’ve made to our Home Insurance policy make it one of the best on the market.

When insuring their home it is essential that people match the features and benefits they require with those offered by the product they choose. If consumers focus on price alone they can run the risk of buying an inappropriate product that doesn’t meet their needs – and they are only likely to discover this when they need to make a claim. Our Star Ratings provide an independent rating of the level of features and benefits offered by all home insurance policies on the market. They provide an at a glance view of where products sit in the market in terms of feature quality and comprehensiveness – with the aim of supporting consumers’ financial decision making process. 5 Star rated products, such as the one offered by Teachers Assurance, are among the best quality propositions on the market.

At the start of 2012, we took the decision to invest in a three-year plan to transform the way in which Teachers Assurance operates. The reason and rationale for changing our strategy in light of the new financial regulation was simple; to ensure that Teachers Assurance could continue to offer good value products and services to the education community in a way that was relevant, viable and sustainable in the longer term.

Teachers Assurance delivered another pleasing result in 2012 as well as successfully initiating the reposition of our business. In 2012 we’ve paid out over £103 million to members and customers and have also entered 2013 with a substantial capital reserve of £85 million.

“We’re over the moon to be sponsoring the Lifetime Achievement prize at this year’s TES Schools Awards. As a company we’re committed to excellence in teaching and have been working alongside teachers since 1877, which is why these awards seemed the perfect choice for us. We feel proud to be sponsoring the Lifetime Achievement Award and can’t wait to honour the hard work and dedication of those nominated. As an organisation we endeavour to support teachers throughout the life stages of their career, and so it is a pleasure to recognise teachers in this way.”

“We’re very pleased that organisations like Teachers Assurance show such support and commitment to the education sector. The dedication and teamwork found in UK schools really is worth celebrating, and we’re delighted to work with organisations that understand this.”