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For staff

 

University Council also agrees to higher contributions to maintain DB in the short term.

The following statement was issued by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stephen Toope, on Monday 12 March.

I have asked for and received Council’s approval for the University to make higher pension contributions to support a Defined Benefit pension in the USS. We believe the continuation of Defined Benefit is the right short term resolution to the current impasse. The University of Cambridge is now ready to act without delay should such an agreement be reached between UUK and the UCU.

We then need to start work immediately to find a better long-term solution for individual members of the USS, the University and the sector. This is the third time in recent years that the scheme has had to be renegotiated. We cannot risk another crisis in three years’ time.

I also urge transparency in order to begin to restore trust. I am writing to the USS to call for full public disclosure of the assumptions and methods behind the current valuation. We have already engaged with the group of experts proposed by Imperial College London to examine the valuation.

I will continue to work with my colleagues here and at other institutions to achieve a fair and sustainable pension for staff now and in the future.

Published

12 March 2018