University Self-Administered DB Pension Scheme Survey

The Education Pensions Club is gathering insights into self-administered defined benefit (DB) pension schemes within the higher education sector.

We would greatly value your input on the following questions relating to your university’s self-administered pension scheme - that is, a scheme in which only your university participates, and over which you have more direct control. These questions do not relate to centrally administered schemes such as USS, LGPS, SAUL, or the Teachers' Pension Scheme.

Your responses will help identify current market practice, key challenges, and emerging trends across the sector.

The findings will directly inform an upcoming BUFDG webinar (17 September 2026, 10am) focused on the self-administered DB pension scheme landscape. Only anonymised aggregated survey results will be shared during the session to provide participants with a practical snapshot of current sector approaches and thinking.

All participants (whether BUFDG members or not) will receive a summary report direct from us, sharing the key insights and takeaways following the webinar and will be notified once the webinar date is confirmed.

Survey Information

This survey is intended for universities with a self-administered DB pension scheme only.

Participation is free of charge.
All data will be anonymised and aggregated.
The survey should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete.
Results will be shared following the BUFDG webinar (expected mid-September 2026).
Further information on our privacy policy can be found here.

About Us
The Education Pensions Club is being developed as a dedicated peer network for those responsible for pensions within educational organisations. It builds on the work of the Charities Pensions Club, an independent specialist networking forum supporting charities through knowledge sharing, collaboration, and practical insight on pension-related issues.

To find out more about this initiative please click here.

If you have any questions regarding this survey or the Pensions Clubs, please contact chloe@charitiespensionsclub.com.

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University

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Name

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Email Address (details of the BUFDG webinar and results of this survey will be sent to this email address)

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Your role - Which of the following best describes your role?

CFO / Finance Director

HR Director / Head of HR

Pensions or Benefits Manager

Trustee (lay or professional)

Other

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Sharing Experience - What's the single most useful thing your university has done in relation to its self administered pension scheme in the last three years: whether that's cutting costs, improving governance, setting a long term strategy, engaging members, or anything else entirely?

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Looking Ahead - Which of the following would you most like to have a better handle on by the end of this year? (select all that apply)

Whether we're making the right long-term decisions about the scheme: run it on, wind it down, or something in between

Whether our trustees have the right skills and bandwidth for what's coming

How other universities are managing this, and whether we're behind the curve

Whether we're getting value from our current set up, suppliers and advisers

None of the above, our main focus is on our USS / LGPS / SAUL / the Teachers' Pension Scheme participation and commitments

Other (please specify):

This is required

Governance - Which of the following, if any, do you see as barriers to good pension scheme governance at your university, for your self administered scheme? (select all that apply)

Lack of trustee time, capacity, or expertise

Cost, it feels hard to justify spending more on governance

Adviser complexity — too many voices, hard to know who to challenge

Institutional inertia — it works well enough, change feels risky

Other (please specify):

This is required

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The asset reframe - Is your university aware that your self administered DB pension scheme could, in the right circumstances, return financial value to the university?

Yes — we're actively thinking about this

We've heard something about it but haven't looked into it

No — that's not something we've considered

We're in deficit so it feels irrelevant to us right now

Leaning into peer wisdom - When it comes to recruiting member nominated trustees for your self administered pension scheme, which of the following strategies has worked at your university? (select all that apply)

Not an issue — we have a healthy pipeline

Positioning it as a leadership and career development opportunity

Active outreach through HR and staff networks

Partnering with trade unions to identify engaged members

Offering structured induction and ongoing training

We're still looking for the answer

Other (please specify):

This is required

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Are you happy for your organisation to be named as a participating organisation in the survey report? (All data will be aggregated and anonymised in the report).

Yes

No

Introduction

University

Name

Email Address (details of the BUFDG webinar and results of this survey will be sent to this email address)

Your role - Which of the following best describes your role?

Sharing Experience - What's the single most useful thing your university has done in relation to its self administered pension scheme in the last three years: whether that's cutting costs, improving governance, setting a long term strategy, engaging members, or anything else entirely?

Looking Ahead - Which of the following would you most like to have a better handle on by the end of this year? (select all that apply)

Governance - Which of the following, if any, do you see as barriers to good pension scheme governance at your university, for your self administered scheme? (select all that apply)

The asset reframe - Is your university aware that your self administered DB pension scheme could, in the right circumstances, return financial value to the university?

Leaning into peer wisdom - When it comes to recruiting member nominated trustees for your self administered pension scheme, which of the following strategies has worked at your university? (select all that apply)

Are you happy for your organisation to be named as a participating organisation in the survey report? (All data will be aggregated and anonymised in the report).