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UCU consultation delivers record vote against 'two-tier' pension plans

31 May 2010

Union tells employers: 'let's clear our diaries and talk today to secure future'

Thousands of staff working in higher education have voted to reject proposed changes to their pensions, it was announced today. Members of the UCU have voted overwhelmingly against plans that would see a typical new starter lecturer lose £127,000 from their pension compared to the existing benefit package.
 
Ninety-six per cent (96%) of those who responded rejected the proposals from the Employers Pensions Forum to reform the Universities Superannuation Scheme ('USS'). The very high turnout in this consultation (60.5%) more than doubled the previous record for a UCU online consultative ballot indicating how important staff see defending their pensions. A similar number (97%) supported proposals from UCU aimed at sharing costs fairly between employer and employee, which would ensure the stability of the fund and protect members' benefits without the need to introduce a two-tier pension benefits system.
 
USS is the main pension scheme for academic and academic-related staff in more than 300 higher education institutions and is the second largest private pension fund in the UK. UCU's predecessor union, the Association of University Teachers, jointly founded the USS scheme with the employers to provide financial security in retirement for staff.
 
Staff fear the creation of a two-tier system will allow the employers to establish a precedent to remove final salary pensions from everyone, and that a two-tier system will affect the recruitment of high quality staff into USS participating universities, especially given that superior benefits would exist in institutions where academic staff are members of the Teachers Pension Scheme (TPS).
 
The proposed changes to the scheme would have forced new starters onto an inferior careers average scheme (CARE), rather than the final salary scheme in place for current staff. The employers had earlier taken off the table a proposal to introduce CARE for all staff following objections from UCU. As a joint custodian of the fund on behalf of staff, UCU takes its responsibilities very seriously and following the result of the consultation has now called for urgent talks facilitated by independent chair Andrew Cubie aimed at making progress on the basis of the changes endorsed overwhelmingly by UCU members.
 
Speaking after the result of the ballot, UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'This consultation shows how important pensions are to our members. There is clearly little if any support from within the profession for the employers' CARE proposals.  Both sides have a responsibility to work constructively to protect the value of benefits and ensure pensions continue to support the recruitment and retention of high quality staff. I would therefore like to use this opportunity to personally invite the employers to clear their diaries and meet for urgent talks aimed at securing the future of our fund'.
 
Lead UCU negotiator, Terry McKnight, added: 'As a USS member myself I know how much staff value their pension benefits. Even so I and my colleagues were still taken aback by the strength of feeling about this issue and I would like to thank all who took part. Old and young alike want the fund to continue to be successful and secure but they have clearly decisively rejected the employers' inferior CARE proposals and the creation of two-tier benefits.
 
'Both the employees and employers have benefited from the guidance of the independent chair Andrew Cubie and in particular his determination that the two sides move forward together. Now we have the clearest indication yet of the views of ordinary USS members, it is vital that we meet urgently in order to move forwards.'
 
Notes
 
The ballot was conducted online, with votes verified by a unique membership number.

Total USS eligible staff contacted: 35,078
Total responses: 21,214 (60.5%)
 
Full result of consultation

Q1. Do you support UCU's negotiating position with regard to the USS pension scheme?
Yes         20,497 (96.62%)
No          717 (3.38%)
 
Q2. Do you REJECT the employers' current proposals for the USS pension scheme?
Yes         20,359 (96.16%)
No          815 (3.84%)
 
*A full Q&A on the changes can be found at www.ucu.org.uk/usschanges and further details on the difference for a new starter on the career average scheme, compared to the final salary scheme can be found here.

**The constituency was defined as those USS eligible members for whom the union holds a valid email address.
 
***The previous record for turnout in a UCU  online consultation was 25% when the union sought views on the Higher Education Research Excellence Framework

Last updated: 11 December 2015

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