Statement of the ninth meeting of the tripartite group

24 Apr 2020

The statement following the ninth meeting between the University and College Union (UCU), Universities UK (UUK) and Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) in relation to the recommendations of the Joint Expert Panel's (JEP) second report has been published.

The statement from chair of the JEP Joanne Segars, which can also be found on the JEP website, is as follows:

In light of the government guidelines, the meeting took place via Video Conference.

The tripartite group received an update from USS regarding the work of the Valuation Methodology Discussion Forum which had continued to meet.

The tripartite group went on to consider the draft report from the JNC Effectiveness Group (JNCEG). This group had been commissioned by the tripartite group to consider and set out options for how the JNC could be made to work more effectively. The JNCEG had been asked to take the JEP’s recommendations as its starting point, but not to be limited by these recommendations. The JNCEG had set out, as its emerging views, a set of options covering a range of issues relating to the operation of the JNC. These included: greater visibility of the USS Board of Directors; the Trustee’s Committee structure and valuation matters; a joint forum on valuation matters; improving the effectiveness of the JNC (which had a number of dimensions); a high-level steering committee on strategic issues; employer representation in USS; and member representation in USS.

The tripartite group held high level discussions on the JNCEG’s draft report. It was noted that a number of changes had already been implemented, such as Trustee Director attendance at JNC meetings and the creation of the VMDF. These had helped build understanding of the issues and had helped to build trust and confidence. Discussion took place around how these developments could be further enhanced. The Tripartite Group welcomed the JNCEG’s work and requested further work to be undertaken.