*Passed at the general members meeting on Thursday 27th September, 1pm, in Arts LR1*

This branch notes:

The Joint Expert Panel (JEP)’s report proposes that USS member benefits can be maintained with a 29.18% contribution rate.

The changes underpinning this 29.18% rate are a compromise, designed to replace the USS-imposed 36.6% rate as soon as possible. The report indicates that a proper revision of the 2017 valuation would result in no need for contribution increases above the current 26% rate. The JEP has shown that the contribution increases imposed on members for this valuation are the result of failures in scheme governance, regulatory oversight, and employers’ handling of consultations and negotiations.

This branch calls on the University:

1. To agree that USS is not in deficit, and benefit and contribution changes could have been avoided.
2. To pay for any contribution increases still deemed necessary for this valuation after Universities UK, USS, and the Pensions Regulator have responded to the report.
3. To publicly endorse the contribution rates (29.18%) and the consultation reform recommended by the JEP report.
4. To urge universities to repay the deducted wage of those staff who took strike action during the dispute, as it has now become clear that the dispute resulted directly from universities’ own errors.