Thread by @JosephineCumbo

NEW: The deficit at the UK's largest private-sector pension scheme, the #USS, has been slashed from £14bn in March 2020, to £2.9bn at the end of January this year, as the schemne's assets recovered to pre-pandemic levels. #UUK #UCU

More follows.

A funding update released by the #USS showed the scheme's funding ratio - or plan's assets as a percentage of liabilities - had grown to 97% at the end of January this year from 83% in March 2020 - the timing of the scheme's last formal health check.

#USS published this update on February 16, the day before a Feb 17 deadline for hundreds of employers to respond to a consultation on cuts to #pension benefits, which were based on the scheme's position in March 2020, when its finances were less rosy.

uss.co.uk/news-and-views…

In spite of the #USS scheme's signficantly improved finances, #USS warns there are still dark clouds on the horizon bc it expects investment returns to be lower in future - meaning the cost of #pension promises is rising. That its justification for wanting higher contributions.

In an update, the #USS said more than 3,500 responses had been submitted to a statutory employer-led consultation with affected employees and their representatives, on the #USS benefit changes proposed by the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC).

The #USS scheme's health has rebounded, albeit with some bumps, since the March 2020 valution which took place while markets were rocked by Covid-19 uncertainty.

This chart from #USS shows how the scheme's deficit shrunk while a dispute took place over proposed #pension cuts.