Pension deal agreed for UK academics but divisions over pay remain unsolved

University staff will have their pension benefits restored by next April under an agreement reached between Universities UK (UUK) and the University and College Union (UCU), which represents over 120,000 researchers and teaching staff. UCU members have taken 69 days of strike action since 2018 to defend their pension benefits. But the union has vowed to keep the pressure on as it seeks concessions on pay and job security. UCU has balloted its members and will know by the beginning of November if it has a mandate for more strikes.

The deal will restore up to £17 billion to member pensions after universities agreed to reverse the 35% cut made to the industry’s pension scheme – the largest in the UK. An additional £900 million payment will be made to make up for money lost since 2022. The agreement also paves the way for new contribution rates to be introduced in January. Employee contribution rates are likely to fall from 9.8% to 6.1%.