The University and College Union (UCU) general secretary, Jo Grady, has urged the fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge, to rethink their decision to leave the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).

In an open letter, Grady said that the college's decision “threatens the sustainability of the largest private pension scheme in the country” and that Trinity College “will not benefit from the decision to exit”.

If Trinity departs the scheme, others in further education sector will boycott the college, which will target its dependence on Cambridge University the wider academic community.

Grady stated: “Along with many other UCU Congress delegates, I voted to make that boycott UCU’s official policy and will pursue it vigorously as general secretary. Do not let your council hurt your students and your research by continuing on its current course of action.”

She added that it would not only negatively impact the college, but also the scheme, stating: “Your college will not benefit from the decision to exit. There is no plausible scenario in which USS will need to call on Trinity’s assets.”

Grady warned that Trinity's assets in the scheme face a greater risk of being wiped out by “sudden, unexpected economic downturns” than in USS's large, globally diversified fund, and described the reports commissioned by the council a “incoherent, inadequate, and often inaccurate”.

Earlier this month, Trinity announced that it was planning to buy itself out of the scheme for £30m, a sum which Grady described as a “waste”, as it would be “twice the amount that would be due to Trinity's pensioners if the college remained in the scheme”.

She also warned that moving to a smaller scheme would create greater risk for its members, as the trustees of a smaller scheme “encounter far fewer obstacles” to reducing member benefits than USS employers do.

Grady concluded: “My understanding is that at the time of writing, you may still be able to call a meeting of enough Fellows to reverse the Council’s decision, or take other measures against its poorly-informed, irresponsible, and destructive choice.

“Please do whatever you can in the time you have left.”

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