UCEA and UCU have been working with support from the USS trustee to consider how to achieve greater stability in the scheme over time, reducing the volatility in contribution rates and Retirement Income Builder benefits seen in recent years.
The Retirement Income Builder, the defined benefit (DB) part of USS, has performed well in recent years. At 31 March 2025, the scheme was in surplus — the value of the assets in this part of the scheme, at over £73bn, was around £10bn more than we estimated would be needed to cover the benefits that members have already accrued at that point in time.
The energy transition isn’t a distant goal — it’s a present-day financial imperative. In a new paper authored by USS Investment Management Limited, with support from Transition Risk Exeter (Trex), we make the case for stronger action from governments, improved management of climate risks and opportunities from asset owners, and a more collaborative approach to managing these challenges.
