USS: University Council’s response to a further short consultation

University Council has responded to Universities UK's (UUK) USS pension consultation on covenant support.

Following UUK’s April-May consultation of USS employers, UUK sought further clarity from employers via another short consultation on “potential modifications to the indicative outcome to the 2020 valuation”. This short consultation was about additional covenant support. The ‘covenant’ is the collective financial strength of over 340 employers in the USS scheme. 

University of Leeds responded in support of UUK’s option A below. Read UUK’s summary of consultation responses 

Option A

“Accept the USS Trustee’s counter proposal and provide backing for the modified outcome (including the 10% threshold for pari-passu security, and no gap between the ending of the current short-term moratorium and the commencement of the rolling 20-year moratorium) and continue discussions with the USS Trustee to find a way that the 0.5% difference can be bridged in a way which might be acceptable.

“Over the weeks ahead we [UUK] would engage further with the USS Trustee, employers and UCU on the options to address the additional 0.5% in contributions. This could for example involve further adjustments to the USS Trustee’s assumptions, adjustments to the proposed benefits package, accept higher contributions or changes to the plan for implementation. Given the need for further exploration, it is too early to specify the particular approach at this stage.”

Option B

“Oppose the counter proposal from the USS Trustee as the covenant support package proposed is not acceptable, and prepare alternative approaches.”

Related links

Glossary of key terms

USS pension In Depth