The Trustee of Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) will signpost its members to LifeSight, which offers drawdown services.
Members of the USS who want to access their benefits through drawdown will be able to do so by transferring funds directly into a LifeSight drawdown account.
USS has over 470,000 scheme members in total, with more than £80bn in assets under management. There are approximately 90,000 members with DC savings totalling £1.6bn in AuM. In 2020-21, USS members retired with a total DC savings of £52m.
USS chief pensions officer Helen McEwan says: “As the largest private pension scheme by assets under management in the country, we are always looking for ways to improve the experience and services available to our members. Signposting members to a drawdown provision as part of a balanced range of retirement options is an important part of the USS retirement experience.
“We have an in-house team who conducted a thorough review of the master trust market, and we were very impressed with LifeSight, from the transparency and access provided by the management team to the independent governance provided by its trustee board. Its investment operations, its commitment to ESG and the online experience and tools available to members, were particular strengths that we identified.”
LifeSight managing director Fiona Matthews says: “We are so proud that USS is signposting members to LifeSight’s drawdown services. There are 38 master trusts in the UK, and when one decides to appoint another to provide member services, it shows how this market is evolving and maturing. The USS trustee was very thorough in its due diligence and, once again, LifeSight’s independent Trustee board and market-leading member experience was a differentiating factor in this competitive market.”
LifeSight Trustee Board chair Jane Platt says: “We’ve worked closely with the USS team to make sure that they are fully satisfied that LifeSight can provide a high-quality member experience with thorough independent governance. The LifeSight Trustees are very pleased to welcome USS members to our drawdown service.”