Broadcast: News items

This is the first in a series of regular communications over the next few months to update staff on the progress of the 2020 valuation of the USS pension scheme.

In this update:

• Staff information sessions with independent expert
• An introduction to the 2020 valuation
• Who does what
• Current status and next steps
• New web resources

Staff information sessions with independent expert

To make sure that you have access to independent, clear and transparent information, we have arranged for an independent pensions expert to come and talk to staff about the current situation regarding USS.
 
Rebecca Dodd, from Mercer, is holding open Q&As for staff on Tuesday 2 March at 11am-12 noon and Wednesday 10 March at 2-3pm. Mercer work with individuals and organisations across many sectors and organisations, not just higher education.
 
As well as answering questions, Rebecca will provide an independent overview of:

• USS benefits
• The current situation
• What happens next 

The forum is open to any staff but will be particularly of interest to colleagues who are members or eligible to be members of USS. 

An introduction to the 2020 valuation

The Trustee of the USS pension scheme is carrying out a 2020 valuation of the scheme. All pension schemes are legally required to carry out a valuation at least once every three years. However, the previous valuation of USS, in 2018, was completed as a technical exercise, which the Trustee expected to be able to replace with the 2020 valuation, to supersede the higher contributions that are scheduled for October 2021.

USS has 340 participating employers and University of Sussex members account for around 0.5% of the total USS membership. All decisions are made at a national level and not within individual universities. All sponsoring employers are represented by UUK.

Who does what

There are four key stakeholders who have a role to play in relation to any potential valuation outcome:

• The USS Trustee is responsible for the management and administration of the scheme and has a duty to act in the interest of all scheme beneficiaries. It is the Trustee that calculates and sets the required levels of contributions.
• Universities UK (UUK) represents all 340 participating employers in USS. It consults with them to determine a position whenever the USS Trustee issues information and is responsible for communicating the views of employers back to USS.
• The University and College Union (UCU) represents the scheme’s members. Along with UUK, UCU sends representatives to the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) to decide how the level of contributions required by the USS Trustee should be paid.
• The Pensions Regulator is a public body that protects workplace pensions in the UK, by working with employers and those running pensions to ensure that commitments made to pay pensions can be met in full. A submitted valuation must meet the Regulator’s approval.

Current status and next steps

The Trustee consulted with all 340 USS employers in September and October 2020 on its valuation consultation documents and UUK responded to the consultation in November 2020. The Trustee is currently considering this response.

The Trustee is expected to communicate next steps in the valuation process with employers in March 2021. This will be ahead of the Trustee issuing a report to the JNC, made up of national representatives from UUK and UCU, setting out what the overall contribution rate will need to be in order to maintain the current pension benefits.

New web resources

We have updated the USS 2020 valuation page on our website, to make it easier for staff to find out the latest situation regarding the USS pension scheme.

The page contains up-to-date information and documents relating to the valuation of the scheme that is taking place this year.

Further information: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/humanresources/payrollandpensions/uss2020