New contribution rates have been agreed by the USS Trustee and representatives of employers and the University and College Union, representing scheme members, at the JNC.
At these meetings the responses to the employer-led consultation with affected employees and their representatives were considered. The responses were overwhelmingly positive, and no modifications were made to the contributions and benefit changes proposed by the JNC.
This means that the employee contribution rates will drop from 9.8% of salary to 6.1% of salary from 1 January 2024. For a scheme member earning £50,000, their pension payments will fall by £1,850 a year, or £154 a month.
The new employer contribution rate will be 14.5% of salary from 1 January 2024.
The improvement to benefits, and the one-off uplift to benefits earned between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2024, are on course to be implemented from 1 April 2024.