Over 1 Million UK Students Will Be Affected by Pensions Strikes

Four weeks of strikes began Thursday at 64 universities in the UK over proposed changes to the pension plans of higher education employees.

The University and College Union (UCU), which represents the striking workers, said it called for the strike after the universities’ representatives refused to resume negotiations with them. The union says the strike will affect more than 1 million students, and will result in 575,000 teaching hours lost.

The UCU said it will meet on March 2 to consider the universities’ response to the first wave of strikes, and decide what further action to take. UCU said that although it doesn’t want a prolonged dispute that drags out towards exam season, its members are “determined to fight for fair pensions.”

UCU members are striking over plans to end the defined benefit element of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) pension plan. UCU says this would leave a typical lecturer almost £10,000 a year worse off in retirement than under the current set-up.

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According to UCU, analysis by actuarial consultants First Actuarial shows that a lecturer starting work today could lose £9,600 a year, or £208,000 over the course of their retirement, if the pension changes are implemented. It said the total loss in retirement for current USS members reduces with the more past service they have.

Picket lines outside entrances to universities affected by the action began at 8 am local time on Thursday, and there will be a series of events over the next four weeks including rallies on Thursday in Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle, and Oxford. The strikes will also take place on, Feb. 23, Feb. 26 -Feb. 28, March 5 March 8, and March 12–March 16.

“We deliberately announced these strike dates to give universities time to come back round the table with us and get this mess sorted out,” said UCU general secretary Sally Hunt in a release. “They have refused to do so and want to impose their reforms on staff. Unsurprisingly, staff are angry and significant disruption on campuses across the UK now looks inevitable.”

Tags: Pension, strikes, Universities Superannuation Scheme, University and College Union

On the 33^rd day of the 60-day regular legislative session, Kentucky finally delivered its long-overdue pension bill, filed in the Senate Tuesday.

The 30-year plan known as Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) was designed to save the Bluegrass State’s public pension system. According to WKYT.com, the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Joe Bowen, said months were spent by lawmakers reaching out to state employees, teachers, experts, and taxpayers in addition to the drafting process for SB 1.

“Future generations of Kentuckians are counting on us to get this right,” Bowen said, reported by WKYT. “We were elected to solve big problems, and this plan…unravels the biggest fiscal crisis Kentucky has ever faced.”

The new bill is different from the controversial one Gov. Matt Bevin released last October as it does not require current or future teachers to transfer to a 401(k)-style plan.

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Teachers and government workers will also not be required to pay an additional 3% of their salaries as part of a retiree health benefit. However, the Courier Journal reports that Kentucky Retirement System members hired between 2003 and 2008 will have to put in an additional 3% toward health benefits.

Although current teachers can stay in their current defined benefit plans, new ones will go into a hybrid cash balance plan, which will incorporate some elements from both traditional pensions and 401(k)s. As for cost of living adjustments (COLA), new teachers will not see any increases while current ones will see theirs cut in half from 1.5% to 0.75% for a 12-year duration. This is still a slight upgrade from October’s proposal, which would have frozen COLA’s for five years.

Unused sick days will also no longer be allowed to be used as an early retirement credit.

The Journal also reports that benefit calculations will be done differently for teachers. Those with less than 20 years of service by July 31, 2018, will require a minimum 35 years of service and be at least 60 years old to get a pension based on their salaries of their highest three years. If not, their highest five years will be calculated instead.

Before the legislature takes action on SB 1, the public will be able to review the new bill. Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer is hoping SB 1 passes within the next week so discussion may move to the House.

“We are committed to funding our plan, meeting our obligations to state employees, and to making systemic reforms to ensure these systems will be financially sound for current and future employees. When this bill passes, we will over time eliminate the unfunded liability that has been estimated to be as much as $60 billion,” Senate President Robert Stivers said in a statement obtained by the Journal.

Tags: Kentucky, Kentucky Pension Crisis, Pension, Senate Bill 1, Teachers