The recent rise in employer contributions to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) to 28.68 per cent – almost double that of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) – presents a genuine and growing challenge for institutions legally required to offer it.

We absolutely agree that university staff deserve competitive salaries with generous benefits and high-quality pensions. The question is how universities can sustain that commitment responsibly at a time when all universities are facing financial challenges for a variety of well-documented reasons.

Urgent action is needed, and many universities are looking at ways to manage the costs of TPS. Last week, Ucea and Universities UK asked the government to remove the requirement for post-92 universities to enrol academic colleagues in TPS. The University and College Union (UCU) has also called on the government to act, although its demand for an emergency financial support package to help universities meet TPS costs is less likely to appeal to ministers.

Some universities have chosen to employ their academic staff via subsidiaries using defined contribution schemes, thereby restricting access to TPS. At Northumbria University, we have chosen a path that prioritises access to a scheme with defined benefits and that offers colleagues a choice, rather than mandating change. We wanted our academic colleagues to have parity with those at other research-intensive universities and therefore rejected the option of a defined contribution scheme. Now that we have secured access to USS for existing staff alongside TPS, our colleagues can choose between two high-quality schemes with defined benefits based on what works best for them.

Crucially, in the long term, the overall cost of the reward package per employee to the university will remain the same regardless of which pension scheme a colleague is in. In our model, they can choose how that cost is allocated between take-home pay and pension contributions. Those in USS will have a salary that keeps pace with the rest of the sector, reflecting the outcome of national collective pay bargaining and the employer contributions for that scheme. Those remaining in TPS will have their salary growth restricted to reflect the higher cost of pension contributions, with total costs equalising over time.

Ultimately, we are aiming for USS to become the normalised pension scheme for our academic staff, as it already is in pre-92 universities. We are not reducing our commitment to competitive pay and pensions, and nor are we changing how we employ colleagues or any of their other attractive terms and conditions.

We recognise that decisions about pensions are important and complex, and we also know that moving to USS will not be the right option for everyone – we have been clear on this throughout. This is why we are giving colleagues appropriate time and support to make the right choice for their own circumstances.

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