16 to 19 teachers' pension scheme employer contribution grant: conditions of grant for local authorities and academies 2026 to 2027
Updated 8 July 2026
Applies to England
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Introduction
The 16 to 19 teachers’ pension scheme employer contribution grant (TPSECG) provides 16 to 19 related funding for institutions in the school sector to support the increases in the employer contributions to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) that came into effect since 1 September 2019.
When the grant was introduced, the employer contribution rate had increased to 23.6%, from the pre-2019 contribution rate of 16.4%. We provided additional funding for institutions to help them meet the difference in costs.
In October 2023, the Department for Education (DfE) published the outcome of the valuation of the teachers’ pension scheme based on 2020 data. The outcome confirmed a need to increase the employer contribution rate by 5 percentage points from the 23.6% rate, to 28.6%, from 1 April 2024. The change was made to ensure that the scheme continued to meet present and future obligations. The grant was increased from April 2024.
DfE pays the grant on behalf of the Secretary of State for Education.
The terms and conditions in this guidance apply to the 16 to 19 TPSECG for the financial year beginning 1 April 2026.
Legislation
The TPSECG will be paid by the Secretary of State for Education as a grant under section 14 of the Education Act 2002.
July 2026 update
The government has announced that, from April 2027, employer contribution rates for the TPS will decrease from 28.6% to 17.6%.
Funding for schools and other eligible education settings will be reduced from 1 April 2027 to reflect the decrease in pension costs.
This adjustment to reflect pension valuation is not expected to have any net impact on schools’ and academies’ ability to employ staff or invest in pupils’ education nationally. While there may be variation at individual school level, the overall effect will be cost-neutral.
Since the rate is currently 28.6%, the grant is helping with the extra costs of a 28.6% rate compared with a 16.4% rate (12.2 percentage points). From April 2027 when the TPS employer contribution rate will reduce to 17.6%, the grant will only need to help with the gap between the pre-2019 rate of 16.4%, and the new 17.6% rate (1.2 percentage points).
We will scale back the grant in proportion, reducing the support provided by just over 90% in the 2027 to 2028 financial year. We will do this by reducing the rates we publish for the 2027 to 2028 financial year. We aim to publish 2027 to 2028 financial year information by May 2027.
Eligibility
This grant provides financial assistance to maintained schools and academies with sixth forms.
The following information is for grants for other settings:
- for mainstream schools, since financial year 2025 to 2026, we rolled TPECG into the schools national funding formula so it is part of core budgets
- for high needs settings, we include the funding in the core schools budget grant for special schools and alternative provision
- for early years settings, we include the funding in early years core funding rates
- for eligible institution types in the further education sector we provide a separate teachers’ pension scheme employer contribution grant for further education providers
Funding
We do not include 16 to 19 TPSECG funding for institutions providing 16 to 19 education in the schools sector in 16 to 19 funding allocations. Instead, local authority maintained mainstream schools and mainstream academies will receive allocations under the 16 to 19 TPSECG, covering financial year 2026 to 2027 (April 2026 to March 2027).
We published school-level allocations of the mainstream schools’ portion of the 16 to 19 TPSECG for financial year 2026 to 2027 in May 2026 for April 2026 to August 2026.
We aim to publish further allocations in October 2026 for September 2026 to March 2027.
We will pay funding directly to mainstream academies.
Local authorities and academies will receive their payments for 2026 to 2027 in 2 instalments. We will make payments in:
- June 2026 for local authorities and July 2026 for academies to cover April 2026 to August 2026
- October 2026 for local authorities and November 2026 for academies to cover September 2026 to March 2027
Funding rates
We use a per-student rate differentiated to take into account higher teacher wages in London.
We calculate allocations using student numbers:
- from academic year 2025 to 2026 funding allocations, for April 2026 to August 2026
- from academic year 2026 to 2027 funding allocations, for September 2026 to March 2027
We then convert the students into full-time equivalent (FTE) figures based on the number of planned hours and funding bands that apply in the given academic year.
Table 1 shows the 16 to 19 TPSECG rates.
Table 1: April 2026 to March 2027 16 to 19 TPSECG funding rates
| Region | April to August rate | September to March rate |
|---|---|---|
| Inner London | £161.25 | £225.75 |
| Outer London | £149.18 | £208.85 |
| London fringe | £139.65 | £195.50 |
| Rest of England | £135.55 | £189.77 |
Allocation and payment to institutions not covered by funding formulae
Local authorities must pay to each maintained school with 16 to 19 provision the amounts shown in the ‘mainstream schools’ tab for each school in the allocations table. These will be:
- maintained secondary schools for their 16 to 19 provision only
- all-through maintained schools for their 16 to 19 provision only
- 16 to 19 maintained schools
Local authorities must pay each school irrespective of any deficit relating to the expenditure of the school’s budget share.
TPSECG is not part of schools’ budget shares and is not part of the individual schools budget. It is not to be counted for the purpose of calculating the minimum funding guarantee.
We will pay the 16 to 19 TPSECG direct to academies.
Permitted use of TPSECG funds
Local authorities must ensure that the relevant maintained schools only spend the 16 to 19 TPSECG funds for either of the following reasons:
- for the purposes of the school
- for the benefit of students registered at other maintained schools
The 16 to 19 education institution receiving the grant does not have to spend 16 to 19 TPSECG funds in the financial year beginning 1 April 2026. Some or all 16 to 19 TPSECG funds may be carried forward to future financial years.
Certification
Each local authority will be required to certify to DfE that they have complied with these terms and conditions.
We will set out the arrangements for certification by 1 May 2027.
Variation
The basis for allocation of this grant may be varied by the Secretary of State from those set out above.
Overpayments
Any overpayment of TPSECG by DfE to a local authority or academy shall be repaid by the recipient on terms and conditions as determined by DfE or the Secretary of State for Education.
Further information
Books and other documents and records relating to the recipient’s accounts shall be open to inspection by the Secretary of State and by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
The Comptroller and Auditor General may, under Section 6 of the National Audit Act 1983, carry out examinations into the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which the recipient has used its resources in discharging its grant-aided activities.
Schools, academies and local authorities shall provide information as may be required by the Secretary of State to determine whether it has complied with these conditions.