Developing a new higher education sector pension strategy

As in other business sectors, the costs of occupational pensions in the higher education (HE) sector are rising. Building on the outcomes of a similar project to develop a ten-year pension strategy this project developed a number of detailed options for the delivery of occupational pensions. Particular objectives were:

• to explore how higher education institutions (HEIs) can contain the costs of providing pensions
• to give individual HEIs firmer control on the management of pension schemes
• to ensure that pensions are regarded as an integral part of the remuneration package
• to allow employers to tailor pension provision to promote recruitment and retention
• to provide employees with more menu choices to tailor their individual pensions
• overall to ensure that employers can continue to provide affordable pensions.

The project reported on its principal aim of developing a pension strategy for the HE supported by the sector in March 2010. Another project to implement the pension strategy is taking the work of the project forward.

Total funding : £225,550