TCS bags 10-year contract to administer UK-based Teachers’ Pension Scheme

TCS will manage the scheme’s administration services using its digitally enabled, omnichannel platform.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on June 5 announced that it has won a 10-year contract from the Department for Education (DfE) to administer and enhance customer experiences for the Teachers’ Pension Scheme in England and Wales. This will be the IT services major’s third large deal from the region following the $723-million deal from insurer Phoenix Group and the Marks & Spencer deal in 2023, despite macro-economic uncertainties.

The Teachers’ Pension Scheme is the second largest public sector pension scheme in the UK with over 2 million members. The size of the deal was not disclosed by the company, but according to sources, it's a large deal.

Through this contract, TCS will manage the scheme’s administration services using its digitally enabled, omnichannel platform powered by TCS BaNCS. TCS has been tasked with providing digital-first, self-service pension experience, “giving scheme employers and members any-time, any-channel access to their account information, along with personalized insights to help them understand their pension plan better and empower them to make informed decisions.”

As part of the partnership with DfE, TCS also plans to expand its already significant presence in the UK life and pensions industry by establishing a service hub in Darlington. TCS is the largest provider of software and IT services in the UK, and has a workforce spanning 30 locations around the country.

Vivekanand Ramgopal, President, BFSI Products & Platforms, TCS said, “We are delighted to partner with the Department for Education to digitally transform administration of the Teachers’ Pensions Scheme and deliver the best-administered UK public sector pensions scheme…Enhanced customer experience has been the cornerstone of our platform’s value proposition to clients in the UK pensions industry.”

He added, “ We will continue to strategically invest in our platform and pursue our aspiration to be the preferred growth and transformation partner to life and pensions companies in the UK.”

Overall, with this TCS would have bagged around four large deals in the first half of calendar year 2023 so far. The Marks & Spencer deal, according to reports is worth $1 billion.

Closer home, a consortium led by the IT services bellwether, received advanced purchase order of Rs 15,000 crore or $1.8 billion from the government-run telco BSNL to expand its 4G network pan India.