Tag Archives: Mike Otsuka

USS Pensions: Time for Agreement ; Michael Bromwich

The 2020 valuation of this Scheme with a deficit of £14bn led to sweeping cuts in benefits and a substantial strengthening of the financial backing (additional covenant support) provided by employers to the revised Scheme which commenced on 1 April … Continue reading

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Guess what! USS isn’t bust any more!

To no great surprise for readers of this blog, the notional deficit on the USS pension scheme has all but gone away , at least according to an interim valuation of assets and liabilities in March this year. In two … Continue reading

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The USS valuation and a way forward

The controversy over the University Superannuation Scheme’s current valuation sums up all that’s gone wrong with defined benefit pension schemes. Let’s start with the view of John Kay, one of Britain’s most respected and outspoken economists. John Kay, one of … Continue reading

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Lecture: ‘Can CDC turn base metal into pensions gold?’ by John Ralfe

That friend to financial economics and foe to open pension schemes, John Ralfe, is delivering a public lecture on CDC on February 23rd. Register here for my @ImperialBiz on-line lecture. https://t.co/d23ex5RlH9 What does CDC “inter-generational risk sharing” really mean? How … Continue reading

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USS; are UCU and UUK missing the big picture?

This is nonsense. If universities can’t pay the required #USS DB contribution, then simply move to DC, which was of course the original plan. Universities backed down in the face of strikes https://t.co/rYtU1azGjM via @timeshighered — John Ralfe (@JohnRalfe1) November … Continue reading

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A pension tax- relief debate (beats Love Island any Sunday)

While the nation was working out Dancing on Ice and the new #loveisland line-up,  I was engaged in an intellectual arm-wrestle with amongst others, Mike Otsuka, John Ralfe, Sam Pickford, Steve Bee and (in the stands) Ros Altmann. The topic, … Continue reading

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“The way we were” – Mike Otsuka calls for USS to return to Topper form.

Here I distill my threads of the past few days into a single message: the @FirstActuarial & @ucu approach to the investment and valuation of #USS is not some radical new theory. Rather, it’s in line with the way #USS … Continue reading

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#beetroots, #biscuits – how the battle for truth @USS is being won.

I find myself embedded in a bizarre discussion on #transparency between some of the brightest bods on twitter. This ill becomes me, I am out of my depth, a TUC cracker in the posh biscuit barrel. #beetroot #biscuits pic.twitter.com/Hywkpf8U2W — … Continue reading

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Otsuka finds balm for USS’ “forty year itch”

    With remarkable restraint , Mike Otsuka reports on conversations he’s had with the USS on unknown unknowns. We do not know what the future brings, but past performance suggests that universities do not fail as people need higher … Continue reading

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Why the USS got itself into trouble ( Mike Otsuka).

Mike Otsuka’s extraordinary diligence in understanding the pension scheme he is a member of, is an example to us all. In this article he delves into the archives and uncovers some disturbing statements. They shed light on the current “unaffordability” of … Continue reading

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