Tag Archives: USS

Let’s get USS done!

Posted on December 14, 2019 by

What does the Trustee do? Ask a 7 year old what a Trustee does and a 7 year old would say “do trust”.  This is the verdict of chapter 7 of the second Joint Expert Panel on the Trustee of … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

“Your pay-rise is a pension rise”

Posted on July 17, 2019 by

  I often “wake up to money” but not to this! In a discussion about when we last got a pay-rise, one listener mailed in that her boss told her “your pay-rise is a pension rise” It’s the first time … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, age wage, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The trouble with conformity – USS latest

Posted on June 28, 2019 by

  The dissenting voice has long been upheld in British Universities. Minority opinions are valued as an antidote to received wisdom which all too often degenerates into herd-like conformity. So I worry when I read the justification that the USS … Continue reading →

Posted in pensions, USS | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

TPR’s impatience with USS’ fibs

Posted on June 15, 2019 by

Phoney deficits The Pensions Regulator’s patience with USS and its Trustees is running short. The FT has got hold of an email from TPR which rebukes USS for overstating its deficit and misrepresenting the views of TPR on discount rates. … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on Jo Grady’s letter to the Trinity dons

Posted on June 1, 2019 by

Here’s Jo Grady’s open letter and I think it’s worth some thinking about. Trinity College Cambridge, the one who’s Great Court is supposed to feature in Chariots of Fire, is rich. It is rich because of endowments given to it … Continue reading →

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Risk-taking , ground-breaking academics in our universities

Posted on May 28, 2019 by

I have been impressed by the way academics , through their unions, took on university employers and the received wisdom of the pension industry and refused to let their defined benefit scheme close to future accrual. I’m pleased that one … Continue reading →

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Get up, stand up, for your pension rights

Posted on March 7, 2019 by

      Josephine Cumbo has written an important blog in Pensions Expert. If you aren’t registered to see the article, I urge you to do so. Access to the article is free and it pretty well sums up my … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, pensions | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Is the tide turning in favour of pensions?

Posted on November 26, 2018 by

As we reach the last few weeks of the year, I’ve been looking at the stories that are dominating the pension landscape and increasingly they are positive. Despite UK and global equity markets being down on the year, pensions are … Continue reading →

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Do academics have special rights of pleading?

Posted on October 29, 2018 by

Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people of similar competence to the producers of the work. It constitutes a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review methods … Continue reading →

Posted in advice gap, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Schools staring into a pension “abyss”

Posted on October 2, 2018 by

  Contrary to indications that the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) employer contributions for 2019-20 would be set at 19.1%, schools have now been told  that the figure from September 2019 will be 23.6%. The Teachers Pension Scheme, along with all … Continue reading →

Posted in accountants, pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments