Teachers Scheme Advisory Board

Bio to follow.

Bio to follow.

Des has been a class teacher in East Renfrewshire for 18 years and is currently seconded full-time to the EIS as the Local Association Secretary for East Renfrewshire. He’s a member of the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme, convenor of the EIS Salaries Committee and joint chair of the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers. He also holds the position of joint chair of East Renfrewshire Local Negotiating Committee for Teachers, and is an elected teacher representative on East Renfrewshire Council’s Education Committee.

Stuart has been appointed to the role of Assistant Secretary (Employment Relations) with the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS). As part of his role, he is the servicing official for the Salaries Committee, which has responsibility for pensions related matters within the EIS.

Bio to follow.

Michael has been a chemistry teacher working in West Dunbartonshire since 1978 and is now on phased retirement. He has been an active member of the EIS since 1978 and is currently the joint Local Association Secretary for West Dunbartonshire.

Stephen currently works for the EIS as a Pensions and Payroll Specialist. He has over 30 years' experience in Academic and Consultancy environments and has worked for a range of organisations such as HAYS, West Lothian College, the Forestry Commission and SRUC Edinburgh. Stephen has expertise in many areas including Payroll, Pensions, HR Systems, Project Management, Employee Relations, Recruitment and Learning and Development.  

Mike was a Secondary teacher for 26 years and a member of the Scottish Teachers' Superannuation Scheme (STSS) and then the Scottish Teachers' Pension Scheme (STPS) throughout that period. He was a Union activist for much of this time, latterly being elected to the Presidential team of NASUWT across the UK. His various lay roles for NASUWT over the years necessitated accurate and intimate knowledge of teachers' pensions, including, latterly, the STPS. After becoming a full-time official with NASUWT in late 2021, Mike substituted for the NASUWT nominee on the STPSAB on a number of occasions, before being appointed as a member of the Board himself in May 2024.

As an Assistant General Secretary of the Association Iain is well placed to represent the views of scheme members.

Bio to follow.

Bio to follow

Andy has worked in the public and charity sectors for over 20 years. He is currently working for Colleges Scotland (the membership body for all colleges in Scotland), with responsibility for finance issues related to teachers’ pension. He was also a member of the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme Negotiating Group. In his previous role for COSLA, Andy was a member of the Negotiating Group responsible for overseeing financial aspects on behalf of local authorities. As such, he was fully involved in the negotiations on scheme design and governance arrangements of the new Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme. Andy also has wider experience of working in partnership and exercising judgement at a senior level, while understanding appropriate governance arrangements and respecting decision making processes. He’s a clear communicator and has demonstrated his ability to challenge for benefit and to think strategically. Andy also has the ability to assimilate information on complex issues, including direct experience of critically looking at actuarial information and valuations.

Stuart Bain is the Chief Officer in the COSLA Employers' Team.

Bio to follow.

Alastair is currently a Councillor with Aberdeenshire Council. After nine successful years of military service, Alastair joined the financial services sector where he enjoyed an 18 year career finishing as a Senior Financial Planning Consultant with the Royal Bank of Scotland. During this time Alastair was concerned with pension systems and spent many years lecturing on the features, advantages and benefits of funded and unfunded schemes. His work was primarily to make people aware of the best use of these systems to secure strong and reliable financial outcomes in retirement.

Councillor Richardson's career in Banking & Financial Services has spanned some 35 years since joining Clydesdale Bank straight from school in the late 1980s and has recently retired from AVIVA where a broad understanding of Pensions has been gained over the last few years and he holds several banking and investment Professional Qualifications. He is currently a local Councillor with East Ayrshire Council representing WARD 2 North Kilmarnock.

Cllr Murray was born and brought up in Stornoway in the Western Isles. Following University in Glasgow, she spent 35 years working in education, first as a teacher of English in Castlebay Community School in Barra, then in a number of promoted posts in The Nicolson Institute in Stornoway, and finally as Rector of that school, from 2011-2022. Throughout her teaching career Cllr Murray was involved, first as a teaching union representative and then as a manager, in collective decision making and negotiation. Her Education Doctorate focused on educational language and discourse, and communication around public policy. After retiring in 2022, Cllr Murray was subsequently elected as a local councillor to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) and is a member of the Policy & Resources Committee, the Education Committee and the Human Resources Sub Committee.

Bio to follow.