Funding position of OSPS
Funding valuation
Every three years, OSPS is required to have a funding valuation in order to assess whether its assets and income are building up fast enough to cover the cost of the benefits which the scheme will pay to members now and in the future. The last formal valuation of OSPS, as at 31 March 2010, showed that the scheme had a deficit of approximately £82.4 million.
An estimate of OSPS’s funding position, as at 30 November 2011, showed that the shortfall had risen to £130 million. A year later, the deficit was estimated to have grown to £167 million, despite the additional employer contributions.
This is because although the scheme'es assets have given a positive return, there has been a significant increase in the liabilities, mainly due to gilt yields. As the liabilities are valued using gilt yields to discount future values, the current low gilt yields lead to a higher valuation of the liabilities.
Next steps
In light of these risks, and in order to ensure that the scheme remains sustainable in the long term, the University ran a consultation on proposed changes to OSPS between 20 April and 19 June. A large number of staff took part in the consultation: around 900-1,000 people attended the 15 open meetings held at different venues around Oxford, together with one in Swindon, and over 1,300 staff sent in completed questionnaires. Overall, the consultation indicated a general acceptance of the proposals for change and a strong preference for Package A.
After careful consideration of the outcome of the consultation, and taking account of the views of the scheme’s Trustees, the Colleges and the Joint Committee with the support staff unions, Council has decided to take forward Package A and to work with the Trustees to implement the changes with effect from 1 January 2013.
Full details of the changes will be circulated to OSPS members in due course, along with an invitation to select which of the three available cost plans they wish to have from 1 January. Further information about the consultation, including the detailed results, a summary of Package A changes, and the consultation document, is available on the website.
Further information
For more information about the funding position of OSPS, please refer to the OSPS Members Annual Report Autumn 2011 
(1,244kb) .