In September 2018, Universities UK (UUK) launched an independent consultation with Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) employers, to invite their views on the recommendations proposed in the Joint Expert Panel (JEP) report. The JEP was formed by UUK and the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) in April 2018 to consider future options for the USS pension scheme following the 2017 valuation and proposed changes to the scheme.

127 USS employers, including Warwick, responded to this independent consultation – view UUK’s summary and analysis of the responses.

What the responses mean

The responses show that the vast majority of employers which responded are supportive of the JEP’s recommendations. However, a large number of the employers – accounting for over half the scheme’s active membership – expressed important conditions and caveats to their support.

These conditions included the need for a second phase of the JEP to inform further work and ensure long-term stability and sustainability of the scheme. A number of employers also commented how challenging the proposed contributions are, both for employers and for members, even over a short term.

Next steps

UUK will take the report and subsequent analysis into discussions with UCU and the USS trustee over the coming weeks.

• View UUK's summary and analysis of the USS employers' responses
• Visit the USS employers website to find out more