NEW: UniversititIes UK, the employer body for the UK university sector, said “We have not made misleading claims" about the impact of April 2022 pension cuts on members of the #USS.
UUK:"It's reasonable for us to conclude in headline terms - using the example personas developed by USS – that reductions in retirement benefits will be in range of 10-18%. We've consistently said members should use the USS modeller to check (their specific) possible impacts."
UUK says using a headline of 35 per cent cuts to #USS members' pensions - from the April 2022 benefit reforms - is potentially misleading and potentially damaging to members.
UUK is keen to explore a move to conditional benefits for the #DB element of the #USS scheme. This could means inflation rises would not be hard-wired but conditional on scheme investment performance.
This may come into play for the next valuation, in my view.
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BREAKING: Govt has released further details about a "Green Nudge" trial to be launched in coming weeks and involving some of the UK's biggest pension providers.
Details to follow.
More than 160,000 pension scheme members in the UK are to be "encouraged to learn more about making greener pension choices" in a 3-week trial, as part of the UK government's COP26 agenda
Aviva, Smart Pension and Hargreaves Lansdown will deliver the “nudges” to scheme members 2/
The DWP says the “Green Nudge” trial will "test the impact of behavioural nudges and messages on increasing saver engagement with the sustainability of pension investments and how this could translate into greener pension decision-making".
NEW: MPs have raised concerns with the Sec of State for Work and Pensions over an alleged 'lack of transparency' of the information it uses to inform policy.
More to follow
Stephen Timms, chair @CommonsWorkPen, wrote to Thérèse Coffey, to say a number of organisations & individuals had been in touch concerning further research and information that had not been published by her Dept, despite expectations or previous commitments to do so.
2/
In a six-page letter Timms set out examples of where there were concerns with the DWP and transparency.
BREAKING: 68 universities in the UK face a further 5 days of strike action this month over #pension cuts and pay.
Staff at the 68 universities this week finished taking up to 10 days of strike action.
UCU, the union, said further strike action was called after employers "forced through pension cuts and refused to negotiate meaningfully over pay and working conditions.
UCU, the union, says preparations are also underway for for a marking and assessment boycott
All universities across the UK to be reballoted for potential action next term, the union added.
NEW: The CIO of the UK's state-backed NEST pension plan says Russia is now an investment "no-go area"
Mark Fawcett, CIO of NEST, said over the short- and medium-term Russia looked “uninvestable”.
More follows:
“People (investors) are going to be very concerned about the respect for international law and property rights in Russia as a result of this action (invasion of Ukraine),” Fawcett told the FT.
“People will be cautious whether at a corporate level or pension fund level."
NEST has announced plans to divest all its investments in Russian govt bonds and Russian companies "as soon as possible.”
Around 0.2 per cent of its £22bn portfolio was exposed to Russia.
BREAKING: The #USS trustee board today agreed to proceed with controversial #pension cuts for tens of thousands of #university sector members, effective from April 2022.
#USS said: “The Valuation was signed off in September 2021. At the meeting today, the Trustee board agreed to the deed giving effect to the changes to the member benefits from April 2022 in the form recommended by the Joint Negotiating Committee.”
The USS trustee approved the #pension cuts today as a High Court judge in London gave the go-ahead for a legal challenge to the 2020 #USS valuation.
"The Trustee’s view remains that this claim is without merit," said USS, adding it had not yet puts its case to the Court yet.
BREAKING: The UK High Court has over-turned a decision to deny legal action by academics against the #USS pension scheme over the handling of the controverisal #2020 valuation. #UCU#USS#UUK
Details follow.
The UK High Court set aside a previous court order and allowed a claim by 2 academics who are pursuing legal action against the #USS directors, as well as against the scheme’s chief executive, Bill Galvin, over the 'flawed' 2020 valuation.
Neil Davies of Bristol University and Ewan McGaughey, of KCL, argued USS directors acted in breach of their duties in conducting “a flawed valuation and predicting a so-called ‘deficit’ as well as proposed cuts that will disproportionately impact women, minorities & young people.