Some Implications Of Capping The Inflation Indexation Of USS Pensions

On 1 October 2011 the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) substantially reduced the pension entitlements of its members. The most onerous of the changes is the cap placed on the indexation of pensions where in the event of high inflation the cap will quickly lower the real value of the pension. This paper quantifies the impact of the inflation cap and high inflation on the real value of the member’s pension and the concomitant impact on the USS and universities.

O Universitário Transformador na comunidade: a experiência da USS

Relato da experiência de atuação precoce dos alunos do primeiro ao terceiro período do curso de Medicina na comunidade em bairro periférico do município de Vassouras (RJ) . Visitam-se famílias, momento em que o acadêmico desempenha uma função de acordo com o período em que está matriculado e seu grau de conhecimento. Ao término das atividades, nas quais é priorizado o uso de tecnologia leve, alunos e docentes discutem a situação de saúde dos moradores e planejam ações. Esta experiência representa a incorporação de novas práticas educativas, centradas no aluno, que tem estimulada a autonomia e uma postura proativa em busca de soluções para problemas. Colabora para a compreensão pelo aluno do seu papel de transformador social por meio de ações de promoção de saúde e incentivo ao empoderamento da comunidade, e contribui para melhorar os indicadores de saúde e, consequentemente, a qualidade de vida das pessoas. Esta inserção contribui para a formação de médicos valorizadores da Atenção Primária à Saúde, imprescindível para a resolução dos agravos mais prevalentes na população.

Asset liability modelling and pension schemes: the application of robust optimization to USS

This paper uses a novel numerical optimization technique - robust optimization - that is well suited to solving the asset-liability management (ALM) problem for pension schemes. It requires the estimation of fewer stochastic parameters, reduces estimation risk and adopts a prudent approach to asset allocation. This study is the first to apply it to a real-world pension scheme, and the first ALM model of a pension scheme to maximise the Sharpe ratio. We disaggregate pension liabilities into three components - active members, deferred members and pensioners, and transform the optimal asset allocation into the scheme’s projected contribution rate. The robust optimization model is extended to include liabilities and used to derive optimal investment policies for the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), benchmarked against the Sharpe and Tint, Bayes-Stein, and Black-Litterman models as well as the actual USS investment decisions. Over a 144 month out-of-sample period robust optimization is superior to the four benchmarks across 20 performance criteria, and has a remarkably stable asset allocation – essentially fix-mix. These conclusions are supported by six robustness checks.

Pension scheme redesign and wealth redistribution between the members and sponsor: the USS rule change in October 2011

The redesign of defined benefit pension schemes usually results in a substantial redistribution of wealth between age cohorts of members, pensioners, and the sponsor. This is the first study to quantify the redistributive effects of a rule change by a real world scheme (the Universities Superannuation Scheme, USS) where the sponsor underwrites the pension promise. In October 2011 USS closed its final salary scheme to new members, opened a career average revalued earnings (CARE) section, and moved to ‘cap and share’ contribution rates. We find that the pre-October 2011 scheme was not viable in the long run, while the post-October 2011 scheme is probably viable in the long run, but faces medium term problems. In October 2011 future members of USS lost 65% of their pension wealth (or roughly £100,000 per head), equivalent to a reduction of roughly 11% in their total compensation, while those aged over 57 years lost almost nothing. The riskiness of the pension wealth of future members increased by a third, while the riskiness of the present value of the sponsor’s future contributions reduced by 10%. Finally, the sponsor’s wealth increased by about £32.5 billion, equivalent to a reduction of 26% in their pension costs.

Type 3 Design H Starboard Side; USS Elinor

Print No. 14

Type 3 Design H Port Side; USS Elinor

Print No. 79

ʻUyūn al-ḥussāb fī fann al-ḥisāb : manuscript, undated

Title from f. 1r.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from the H.M.S. Egeria, H.M.S. Penguin, H.M.S. Waterwitch, USS Enterprise and USS Tuscarora expeditions in the Southwest Pacific Ocean

The author is summarising the marine deposits of the south-west Pacific from a total of 773 samples taken during cruises of hms Challenger in 1874; USS Tuscarora and USS Enterprise in 1875 and 1876; HMS Egeria in 1888, 1889, and 1890; HMS Penguin in 1894, 1895, and 1896; and HMS Waterwitch in 1895.

Investigation of the column strength of USS "T-1" steel round bars for the United States Steel Corporation,

Mode of access: Internet.

Oceanography of the Greenland Sea, USS Atka (AGB-3) survey, summer 1962.

At head of title: Informal manuscript report no. 0-64-63.

USS electrical steel sheets; engineering manual.

Mode of access: Internet.