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No deficit = no detriment

Posted on 15 October 2018 by admin18 October 2018

The latest development in the ongoing USS saga sees the revelation that USS themselves seem to have failed to correctly apply their own ’Test 1’, and that when this is corrected there is no deficit in the scheme as of March 2018. If there is no deficit, then there is no longer any argument for any change to our contributions or for any ‘benefit reform’, the euphemism we hear often which means changes to how much we receive in pension, and the means by which it is calculated. This seeming flaw has been exposed by Sam Marsh, a member of the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC).


‘Test1’ and ‘self-sufficiency’

The USS have three tests which they apply in coming to a valuation.* Test 1 considers the viability of achieving a ‘self-sufficiency’ position in 20 years. ‘Self-sufficiency’ is, in effect, a position whereby all owed pensions can be paid without any further contributions to the scheme from employers or employees. The Joint Expert Panel (JEP) expressed concern about Test 1 as “given too much weight in determining the valuation and its effects extend beyond its original purpose” (p. 8) and that specifically “Test 1 drives the investment strategy toward a low return investment strategy that results in a higher deficit and higher contributions than would be the case if the current investments strategy were maintained” (p. 24). In other words, the JEP argued that Test 1 was responsible for magnifying the very deficit that it seeks to address.

We should note that, of course, this calculation of a ‘self-sufficiency’ position is to ignore the fact that the contributions made to the scheme each month more than cover the pensions paid out each month, always have done, and are forecast do so safely for at least the next fifty years (JEP, p. 7). That is to say, the USS make a valuation of the scheme not on the basis of affordability in these income/outcome terms, but on a basis of whether we can reach ‘self-sufficiency’ in 20 years, regardless of the unlikely necessity such a position. The ‘deficit’ is the projected amount needed to attain something close to that position. This is a response to the regulatory requirements put on the scheme to demonstrate its viability.


Test 1 can flag a problem even when none exists

Sam Marsh made a submission to the JEP on Test 1, but it was received too late to be factored into their report. He had concluded that Test 1 could flag a problem even if the projected value of assets in 20 years was greater than the cost of paying off all pensions at that point, because Test 1 as formulated does not take into account the projected value of the assets. What is more, USS confirmed his calculations that, applying their own measures and projections, there will indeed by a surplus in year 20. The deficit disappears. It’s just that USS, remarkably, never do this calculation of what the assets will be worth as part of Test 1.


USS’s response

USS have today begun to respond to the critique of their application of ‘Test 1’, and in doing so confirm that ”current contributions are ultimately adequate” (via @JosephineCumbo on Twitter). Sam Marsh comments on this admission that “this is pretty much the first time #USS have explicitly said this. I have a feeling that @UniversitiesUK and many VCs/finance directors around the country may be surprised to hear this.” (@Sam_Marsh101 on Twitter)

No deficit means no detriment

Where does this leave us? Well, if there is no deficit, then there should be no detriment. If the JEP report vindicated our strike action, tenths latest revelation furthers our cause: the status quo should be the outcome of any further deliberations, and JEP can continue their scrutiny and exposure of Test1, and thinned for better transparency from USS.


Links

The JEP report: http://www.ussjep.org.uk

Sam Marsh’s blog ‘A flawed valuation’: https://medium.com/ussbriefs/a-flawed-valuation-the-laypersons-guide-to-my-findings-on-uss-s-test-1-b9e0c53f5d67

Michael Otsuka’s blog ‘USS’s valuation rests on a large and demonstrable mistake’: https://medium.com/@mikeotsuka/usss-valuation-rests-on-a-large-and-demonstrable-mistake-691103c94ca6

Michael Otsuka’s take-down of the USS’s response to the exposure of this flaw: https://medium.com/@mikeotsuka/a-response-to-usss-reply-to-my-claim-that-their-valuation-rests-on-a-mistake-6aad4f10eec7

USSbriefs’s clear and detailed article: https://medium.com/ussbriefs/there-must-be-something-missing-here-sam-marsh-exposes-new-problems-in-the-uss-valuation-351c90b1ab30

Michael Otsuka’s more detailed critical response to the USS response: https://medium.com/@mikeotsuka/test-1-de-risking-is-dead-long-live-de-risking-63540ad44e84


*Test 2 measures the stability of contributions to the scheme and Test 3 considers the ability the HE sector to underwrite the scheme in a disaster scenario. The recent report from the Joint Expert Panel (JEP) found that “Tests 2 and 3 appear not to play a significant role in either the valuation or the on-going monitoring” (p. 8)



Posted in Pensions

Why you really do need to vote – from a reluctant striker

Posted on 9 October 2018 by Alan Smith9 October 2018
Chloe and colleagues outside the School of Law during the USS pension strike

A personal post from new UCU committee member Chloe Wallace

When I look back over our strike action in February and March, I have a lot of good memories: standing with friends old and new; the support of my colleagues and students; the feeling of empowerment and hope for the future. But all in all, it wasn’t much fun. Quite apart from the snow, the rain, and the pay deduction, there was disruption to the job I love and the students I’m committed to, anxiety in such an uncertain situation, and an ever-present feeling of guilt. When it was over, I breathed a sigh of relief; back to normal at least for a while. 

So my heart sank when it became clear that we would have to ballot on striking yet again for a fairer deal on equality, casualization and pay. We, individually and collectively, have too much to do, and university staff and students don’t deserve more disruption after what we dealt with this year. We talked about fairness, equality and casualisation on the pickets and on #striketwitter throughout and beyond the action. We know they matter and that we have to fight for them, but the memory of the difficulties of that fight make being pushed to disruptive strike action (by employers who, it turns out, still aren’t listening) difficult to contemplate. 

The problem is, we have to do this. Above all, we all have to vote in the ballot. The Trade Union Act 2016 requires, for a ballot on industrial action to be valid, that at least 50% of eligible members vote in the ballot, as well as that a majority of those voting vote for the proposed action. This is quite clearly, and explicitly, intended to make it harder for unions to strike. In January this year, UCU branches defied the legislation, with a 58% turnout across affected branches. We need to do it again, to prove that that was not a fluke and that we remain a force to be reckoned with. Abstaining the ballot is not sitting on the fence. It undermines the strength of the union across the board, not only on pay, equality and casualization, but in the many local issues, disputes and negotiations on which UCU works for its members, and all university staff, around the country. It also undermines us on pensions. The JEP report was a massive vindication and felt like a moral victory, but it isn’t a victory. We need UUK to stand with us to push its recommendations through to the trustees and regulator, and I don’t believe they will do that if we show weakness at this point. We need to beat the turnout threshold to show that we are still engaged and we still care; if we don’t, we risk undoing all the good we did earlier this year. 

Voting “no” in the ballot is better than abstaining. But voting yes/yes is even better, and I think it’s the strongest way to maintain pressure and show we mean business. Universities are now expecting to be able to get away with below inflation pay-rises for ever more, and that has to stop. Most university staff, particularly support staff and academics who can’t, or won’t, work long hours to fast track to promotion, can’t rely on incremental pay-rises – and increments are supposed to recognise professional advancement, not increased cost of living. The gender pay gap in the sector is simply unacceptable, and recent reports confirming that over half of all academic staff are on insecure contracts ought to be pushing university management into action – but they aren’t. And, given that the size of the pension fund is dependent on contributions, which are dependent on salary, the further our salaries fall behind inflation, the less money goes into the fund to pay out later on. I am privileged in academic terms: full time, permanent contract, senior and well paid. It’s easy for me to say that a percentage point or two on the pay scale isn’t worth the challenge of another strike. But the stakes are much higher than that, for my colleagues (present and future) and for the health and success of the sector I’ve spent my whole life in. 

So please dig out your ballot paper and vote in the ballot, to show that we are a united and active union. And please make that vote Yes/Yes, to show that there’s fight in us yet, and we’re not giving in. 


Posted in Anticasualisation, Dispute, Gender pay gap, Pay, Workload

October 2018 Leeds UCU newsletter

Posted on 9 October 2018 by editor19 October 2018

Here’s the latest Leeds UCU newsletter for your enjoyment, including (of course!) articles about pay & equality and USS pensions.  Also with news of the upcoming anti-casualisation roadshow kick-off, our concerns about IT, progress with our gender pay claim and an update on the volume of individual casework this branch is doing.

  • Download the October 2018 Leeds UCU newsletter (PDF format, 255kb).

 

Please share the newsletter with your colleagues, hopefully they will find something of interest whether they are a union member or not.

If you have any suggestions for content for the next edition of our newsletter, please email ucu@leeds.ac.uk and we’ll get back to you.  Thanks.

Posted in Newsletter, Uncategorized

Open Meeting on USS pensions 11 October

Posted on 8 October 2018 by editor19 October 2018
Flyer for pensions open meeting (text reflected in article text)

Come to this meeting, open to all, to discuss our progress towards saving the USS defined-benefit pension scheme, what the next steps are and how scheme members might respond to the current USS consultation.

Thursday 11 October, 2 – 3 pm
Dental Lecture Theatre (level 6, Worsley building)

A key outcome of the historic 14-day strike by UCU members in February and March this year was the creation of a joint expert panel to review the controversial valuation of USS which had led to USS trying to close the defined-benefit scheme.

The panel’s report should now totally change the landscape of the pension negotiations and may affect how scheme members want to respond to the current USS consultation.

In this meeting we’ll discuss the Joint Expert Panel report and what happens next.  The meeting will be chaired by Mark Taylor-Batty, our resident pensions expert, with an appearance by Sam Marsh, Sheffield mathematician and national UCU pensions negotiator.  Members may remember Sam visiting us in February to give a wonderfully clear explanation of the USS pensions situation – see video of that talk.

Bring your questions and comments.
All welcome!

Posted in Pensions, Uncategorized

Black history month event – seminar and social

Posted on 1 October 2018 by Alan Smith1 October 2018

The UCU Yorkshire and Humber black and minority ethnic (BME) network’s Black History Month event is on Wednesday 3 October, 3pm – 5pm.

All UCU members welcome.

Seminar programme

Surviving the workplace – empowering yourself

Wednesday 3 October, 3pm – 5pm

Room A – 103, Broadcasting Place
Leeds Beckett University, Woodhouse Lane

Welcome
Steve Mardy and Steve Lui, the network team
3pm – 3.10pm

Opening address
Saleed Rashid, Y&H regional equality officer
3.10pm – 3.20pm

Workshop: surviving the workplace; “how to raise BAME issues in the workplace”
3.20pm – 4.15pm

Saleem Rashid (Sheffield College) and Nitin Rajyaguru (Cardiff and Vale College, Coleg Caedydd a’r Fro)
Questions and answers
4.15pm – 4.50pm

Discussion relating to network activities
4.50pm – 5pm

Seminar close
Steve Lui and the network team

5pm onward
Yorkshire and Humber black and minority ethnic (BME) network social in The Fenton pub

seminar programme in image format
Posted in Black members / BME, Equality
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