Northumbria pension switch scheme ends with nearly half signed up

Two in five academics at Northumbria University have agreed to switch pension schemes at the end of a concerted push by the institution to save millions of pounds on its staffing costs.

In a move that has been watched closely by the rest of the cash-strapped sector, Northumbria offered incentives for academic staff to opt out of the expensive Teachers’ Pension Scheme or face having their pay frozen.

After extending the deadline for people to make their decision to 31 May, the university confirmed to Times Higher Education that about 500 staff have agreed to move on to pensions provided by the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which come with lower employer contributions.

This equates to about 43 per cent of 1,150 eligible staff. An additional 50 employees have been granted an extension and are still considering their position.

When it announced the move, the university said that it hoped to save £11 million, but the University and College Union (UCU) criticised the exercise, fearing that it would create a “two-tier” workforce.

Post-92 universities are required to offer the TPS but have long complained that employer contributions, which currently stand at 28.68 per cent, are too high.

Northumbria offered staff between £8,000 and £12,000 to transfer to the USS. THE estimates that the university will therefore spend between £4 million and £6 million on staff payouts as part of the scheme, meaning that it will save nothing in the first year.

The university noted that 200 academic staff had retained their USS pension after moving to Northumbria from a different institution, meaning that “more academic colleagues [are] enrolled in the USS than the TPS”.

A university spokesperson said: “Having more than 500 staff move voluntarily to the USS is significant and puts us well on track to achieving our intended savings. Over half of Northumbria’s academic staff are now USS members – a substantial shift from where we were just six months ago.”

But the university would like to go further. “Our goal is that the USS becomes the standard pension scheme for our academic staff, as it already is in pre-92 universities,” they added.

However, the local UCU branch, which has been on strike over the plans, said this ambition raises concerns.

“We are not a pre-92 university, and it is concerning news to us that the university is aiming to eventually force all remaining academic staff from TPS to USS,” a spokesperson said.

They added that many staff had “felt forced” to switch pensions to protect their salary, and “their move wasn’t as much an indication that they were happy…[but rather] more evidence that academic salaries are being depressed during the prolonged cost-of-living crisis”.

Pension experts have said that employer TPS contribution rates are expected to come down next year by as much as 10 per cent, according to government forecasts, and the union criticised the university for still pushing ahead with the plans despite the anticipated fall.

However, the university argued that while a reduction is “welcome”, it does “not address the structural disadvantages” caused by an “unpredictable and volatile” scheme.

The university spokesperson added that Northumbria remains committed to “competitive pay and reward packages”, and confirmed that academic staff on the USS pension will receive a 3 per cent pay rise next year, “which is above the current national offer”.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com