The Special Meeting of Court on Tuesday 16 December heard a presentation which explained how USS works currently, what changes have been proposed and why many think the changes are wrong. This was followed by a presentation by the University’s Director of Finance, who explained that the university was looking for a sustainable future for USS but also conceded that the Trustee’s assumptions underlying the valuation of the fund were overly prudent and therefore overestimate the deficit. The debate which followed included some very good points made from the floor. Some minor amendments to the motion were made and it was then carried overwhelmingly. The motion passed:
What we are asking of Council
- to declare a belief in the importance of a good defined benefit pension scheme that provides a secure and predictable income to staff in retirement as an essential element of a world class university;
- to note that the proposed changes would make the USS benefits inferior to those enjoyed by staff in the TPS at post-92 universities
- to note that the latest Annual Report and Accounts of the USS pension scheme (March 2014) indicates an operating surplus of over £1 billion for the year;
- to also note that the fund has seen surpluses in each of the past 10 years
What we are asking of Council
- to recognise that the scheme has not yet matured and that the scenario presented by the trustees is overly prudent in reporting a large deficit
- to bring its influence to bear within UUK and the Employers Pensions Forum to work towards a withdrawal of the proposals, and;
- to explore ways for UUK to lobby for regulatory change with the Pension Regulator in order to revise the assumptions for the overly cautious actuarial valuation of USS