Academics and senior university administrators will suffer an effective pay cut of 10 per cent if proposed reforms of their pensions are introduced, according to John Ralfe, an independent pensions consultant.
“The Employers Pensions Forum, the sponsor of the Universities Superannuation Scheme, the UK’s largest pension fund, with 300,000 members and £58bn of liabilities, has proposed axing final-salary pensions and moving all its members to a less-generous system based on career average salaries.A previous push to scrap final-salary pensions prompted a wave of walkouts at universities in 2011. The proposals were watered down so they only applied to new members.
However, the scheme’s deficit is believed to have jumped from £2.9bn at its last triennial valuation in 2011 to around £13bn, prompting a renewed push for reform.
