May 2024
Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited (USS) – the UK’s largest private defined benefit pension scheme by assets – will be moving to Procentia’s pensions administration platform, IntelliPen, after signing a seven-year contract with the award-winning service provider.
Established in 2002, Procentia (part of the Brightwell Group) is a market leader in pensions technology and software. Its cloud-based administration platform, IntelliPen, is a powerful all-in-one solution offering an expansive suite of innovative tools, and significant levels of self-service and automation. It provides the features and functionality USS needs to deliver, and future-proof, its ambitions for the levels of service it offers to its members and sponsoring employers.
USS is aiming to complete the transition from Capita’s Hartlink platform by spring 2026.
Helen McEwan, USS’s Chief Pensions Officer, said: “Providing the most effective tools and platform to help members engage with their USS pension, so they can plan and prepare for their retirement with confidence, is hugely important. We also want to make it as easy as possible for employers to manage their day-to-day interactions with us.
“The pensions administration platform is fundamental to how we can best serve our members and sponsoring employers and we want to deliver a positive, long-term step-change in the member experience, and drive value.
“We’re confident that, in Procentia, we’ve got the right partner on board to help us achieve our ambitions. We want this to be transformational and are focused on achieving as smooth a transition as possible.”
Liam McGrath, Procentia’s Group CEO said “We’re delighted that USS, after a rigorous selection process, has chosen to partner with Procentia and use our IntelliPen platform to help fulfil its long-term goals. We’re looking forward to delivering a first-class service for their members and employers, and putting security, digitisation and automation at the heart of the journey we’re embarking on together.”
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Notes to Editors
Procentia’s appointment marks the completion of a process that formally began in March 2022 with USS testing the market with a Request for Information. Capita Pension Solutions Limited (CPSL) chose not to participate in the subsequent Request for Proposal process. Despite a positive partnership with USS since 2015, and being the incumbent provider, CPSL concluded that the long-term software requirements of USS are not aligned with the future strategy and market focus. CPSL will continue to work closely in partnership with USS until the expiry of its contract.
The contract with Procentia is for seven years, but there will be a two-year implementation period in advance.
About USS
Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) was established in 1974 as the principal pension scheme for universities and higher education institutions in the UK. We work with around 330 employers to help build a secure financial future for 528,000 members and their families. We are one of the largest pension schemes in the UK, with total assets of around £75.5bn (at 31 March 2023).
The trustee of USS is Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited. It has overall responsibility for scheme management and administration, led by a non-executive board of directors and employs a team of pension professionals in Liverpool and London. The trustee is regulated by The Pensions Regulator and has a legal duty to ensure that benefits promised to members are paid in full on a timely basis.
The trustee delegates implementation of its investment strategy to a wholly-owned subsidiary – USS Investment Management Limited (USSIM) – which provides in-house investment management and advisory services to the trustee. USSIM manages 70% of the investments in-house and appoints and oversees external investment managers to manage the rest. USSIM is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
USS is a hybrid pension scheme, which means we have both a defined benefit (DB) part – the Retirement Income Builder – and a defined contribution (DC) part – the Investment Builder.
Press Contacts:
USS
Joel Sawyer, Corporate Communications Manager
mediateam@uss.co.uk
+44 (20) 8538 2132
Procentia
Allie Taylor, Group Head of Marketing
+44 (0)117 332 7800