This page was updated on 25th November 2019 and on 12 December 2019 to include additional documentation
As part of reviewing the 2018 valuation, the Pensions Regulator has asked the USS Trustee to develop and engage with the stakeholders regarding a ‘Monitoring and Action Framework’.
The USS Trustee concluded the 2018 valuation on 12 September 2019, and contribution rates of 9.6% and 21.1% (to apply for 2 years starting from 1 October 2019) were confirmed to members and employers respectively. Nevertheless, USS pointed out that “the Pensions Regulator has repeatedly confirmed their view that the valuation approach remains at the limit of what they consider to be compliant with legislative requirements for prudence”.
Concerns over recent volatility in financial markets dominated discussions with the Pensions Regulator on the 2018 valuation. The Regulator confirmed that it did not anticipate carrying out any further investigations into the 2018 valuation provided that the USS Trustee’s decision-making rationale and monitoring and action framework is robustly explained.
The USS trustee has developed a ‘Monitoring and Action Framework’, to provide a basis for how the ongoing financial position of USS is measured. The framework will operate for a limited period, and new longer-term arrangements will be developed as part of the 2020 valuation.
The USS Trustee are due to further consider the temporary framework on 20 November 2019, and USS employers are welcome to provide their views on the framework to UUK before 19 November 2019.
The framework and associated materials, including an advisory note prepared by UUK's actuarial advisers Aon, can be downloaded below.
