Universities UK (UUK) has formally confirmed the views of employers on the three options presented by the USS Trustee for concluding the 2018 valuation.
Responses were received from 98 employers, representing over 90% of the active membership of USS. 85 of those responses, representing nearly 85% of the active membership, expressed an indicative preference for the further exploration of Option 3.
Employers now require further detail on Option 3 from the USS Trustee, in order to understand more about the conditions that are attached (relating to the taking on of new debt, the monitoring and reporting of existing debt, and the ability of employers to exit the scheme) and to establish whether the valuation could be concluded under these terms. A significant number of employers have also indicated that they want further details on the quantum of risk involved, and on the recovery plan.
Employers will be consulted again once the USS Trustee has provided these details, to inform discussions at the next meeting of the Joint Negotiating Committee in July.
You can download the full response below. UUK has also published a Q&A document to help explain the next steps in concluding the 2018 valuation.
