tinecu Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 i have about 9 years in USS - anybody know what my options are? is there any way i can close it, get some money back? i can do better if i invest it myself. Me too. Oh dear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saver Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 It's early days as well. Just wait until they get started on the education budget. They won't have to. Research disciplines are turning on each other already to provide the government with ammo to cut budgets! : http://exquisitelife.researchresearch.com/exquisite_life/2010/07/cut-particle-physics-engineers-tell-government.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scunnered Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 (edited) b ) What are Sir Cubie's qualifications? - Does he understand the power of compounding? He's a busy man (link). Sir Andrew Cubie CBE Sir Andrew Cubie was for much of his career the senior partner of a leading Scottish law firm. He continues as a Consultant to that firm and also holds a number of non-executive Directorships in public and private companies ranging from investment trusts to corporate finance and manufacturing. He is also the Chair of Quality Scotland, an organisation committed to the promotion of business excellence. He is a former Chair of the Confederation of British Industry in Scotland. He has been engaged in education issues throughout his professional career. He is currently the Chair of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework and of the JNC of the USS. He is a Board member of the Inspectorate of Education in Scotland. He is a former Chair of George Watson's College, the Court of Edinburgh Napier University and of the Committee of University Chairs (CUC) for the UK. He is the Chair of VSO in the UK, and a Trustee of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and of Common Purpose, Chair of Scotland’s Garden Trust and of the Centre for Healthy Working Lives and Vice-Chairman of the Northern Lighthouse Board. With all those jobs, I bet he'll be OK pension-wise. Oh, he's also a trustee of the RNLI: Deputy Chairman, Sir Andrew Cubie CBE FRSESir Andrew Cubie is a Consultant to the law firm, Fyfe Ireland WS. He has been Chairman and senior partner of that firm having specialised in Corporate law. Engaged in education issues throughout his professional career, he has been Chairman of Governance of George Watson’s College and is currently Chairman of the Court of Napier University and of the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework. He has held, and still holds, numerous non-executive positions. As former Chairman of the Confederation of British Industry in Scotland, he was a member of the McIntosh Commission, which made recommendations for the reform of local government and working arrangements of the Scottish Parliament. He was Convenor of the Independent Committee of the Inquiry into Student Finance (“the Cubie Committee”), which brought about the abolition of tuition fees in Scotland. He is a Trustee of British Council, VSO and the Calyx. Andrew has been a member of the RNLI’s Council since 1989 and was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Fundraising and Communications Committee in 1994. He was appointed Vice Convenor of the Scottish Lifeboat Council in 1996 and Chairman in 2003. Andrew enjoys theatre, reading and sailing. He and his wife Heather live in Edinburgh and have three children. Edit: Common Purpose as well. ... and he's a director of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra too! Edited July 13, 2010 by Scunnered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Lorne Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 I was enrolled into the pension by default without my knowledge and when I found out after a couple of months pay I had to fight to get them to get me out of it. I always knew that I was on a fixed term contract that would only last for two years and that I could not guarantee it continuing. Quite why they thought I would want to be enrolled in their pension scheme knowing that I was on a two year fixed term contract without any guarantees of it continuing I don't know. Maybe they didn't care and just wanted my contributions? ...a case of misselling ...certainly not fit for purpose..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sillybear2 Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 It's all very well turning on the axeman, however that just leaves the small question of the £18bn deficit. Of course these people appreciate the power of the exponential function, that's why they're rigging the indexing It is indeed all too predictable, like the latter days of Madoff's scheme. People are only beginning to twig that there is no magical pension fund, just a giant, gaping black hole that needs near infinite amounts of money poured into it, and these are meant to be intelligent people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Lorne Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 It's all very well turning on the axeman, however that just leaves the small question of the £18bn deficit. ...if you are talking the UK deficit...the current annual deficit is £150 billion + while the debt is circa £1 trillion...while another £1trillion can be added for public sector pensions promised.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sillybear2 Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 ...if you are talking the UK deficit...the current annual deficit is £150 billion + while the debt is circa £1 trillion...while another £1trillion can be added for public sector pensions promised.... The USS alone has a £17bn deficit, on a good day at least, and the whole fund is 'only' worth £30bn, so you can see the scale of the problem. More denial and can kicking me thinks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lulu Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 The USS alone has a £17bn deficit, on a good day at least, and the whole fund is 'only' worth £30bn, so you can see the scale of the problem. More denial and can kicking me thinks. I am not surprised this is all going tits up. Everyone I know who has retired over the last 6/7 years on the USS scheme have all done very well out of the situation. With people living much longer than they used to then it is inevitable that things would get tricky. I just wish there was some way to get those who have already retired to not pull quite so much out of the scheme, it is inevitable people are drawing far more than they could ever have paid in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bingobob777 Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 so is it possible to transfer your fund out into a SIPP and invest it into RPI Index Linked Bonds? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sillybear2 Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 (edited) I am not surprised this is all going tits up. Everyone I know who has retired over the last 6/7 years on the USS scheme have all done very well out of the situation. With people living much longer than they used to then it is inevitable that things would get tricky. I just wish there was some way to get those who have already retired to not pull quite so much out of the scheme, it is inevitable people are drawing far more than they could ever have paid in. It's a bad situation for younger workers, and inevitably future students are going to really get it in the neck with outrageous tuition fee's and debts, they will always choose the cowardly way out rather than address fundamental problems. Nearly every aspect of our society is turning into a bad joke against the unborn and younger generations, from the housing market, crappy rental tenancies, student debts, the public debt, PFI, banking bailouts, rising taxes, and carrying pension deficits with scant countervailing entitlements or job prospects in return. They are paying for their own impoverishment. Edited July 13, 2010 by sillybear2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sillybear2 Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 The scheme is supposedly very 'young' which means that at the moment it has few retired members. The defecit has emerged in the last 3 years, primarily i would guess due to poor investment in the stock market. However, they have time to recoup this and are proposing to inrease premiums to aid this. The deficit is not 'structural' yet, I think. They are using this as propaganda to get their caps and reductions in. There is no hope, seriously, sorry if you were duped into joining that bucket shop. Given that existing obligations will be fully honoured I just pity the younger workers that will be carrying the can with ever increasing contributions and mis-indexing, not to mention the ominous cost sharing agreements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sillybear2 Posted July 15, 2010 Share Posted July 15, 2010 Old Lefties turn Right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STR 2006 Posted July 19, 2010 Share Posted July 19, 2010 USS has posted some clarification on its website: http://www.uss.co.uk/news/Pages/Changestopensionincreases.aspx It appears that benefits accrued from service prior to 1 April 2011 will not be affected by the proposed changes, i.e. pensions deferred prior to this date will not be subject to the 2.5% ceiling on inflation linking. However, as part of the measures introduced in the June 2010 emergency budget, future increases for such benefits will be linked to CPI instead of RPI. Well that's my reading of it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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