The chief executive of UK higher education’s largest pensions scheme was paid close to £1 million in her first full year in office, annual accounts reveal.

Carol Young, who took over at the Universities Superannuation Scheme in September 2023, received a base salary of £502,000 in the financial year 2024-25, topped up by an annual bonus of £282,000 and a buy-out award of £153,000, according to published on 24 July.

This latter perk was a result of an agreement when she was hired by USS because she forfeited deferred annual bonuses at her previous employer. She is expected to eventually receive a total of £457,000 in buy-out payments over the next few years.

It meant Young’s total pay package was £937,000 for the year. In contrast, in his last full year in office, her predecessor Bill Galvin received £790,000, made up of a salary of £528,000 and a bonus of £262,000.

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The report further reveals that the number of staff USS employs who earn more than £100,000 has risen again to 292, up from 247 last year and double the 144 it had in 2020.

Young has overseen a period of relative stability for the fund which has 577,000 members across UK universities and marked its 50th anniversary in 2024.

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Member and employer contributions were reduced at the start of last year after a long and bitter dispute with the University and College Union (UCU) over previous changes that the union argued had wiped off thousands of pounds from academics’ retirement income.

At 6.1 per cent, member contributions are now at one of their lowest ever levels, while employer contributions have dropped from 21.6 per cent of payroll to 14.5 per cent and previous benefits have been restored.

Another valuation of the fund, which will reassess whether contributions are at their right level, is due in 2026.

The accounts show that the value of the defined-benefit part of the scheme continued to grow despite the changes, increasing by £900 million in the year to £10.1 billion.

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Young also highlighted how member trust had reached “its highest level on record” and the number of people choosing to opt out of the scheme had fallen to a record low.

“After a decade of reporting deficits and requiring deficit recovery contributions on top of normal contributions, it is a welcome change for USS to be reporting an estimated surplus for a sustained period – and consistent with the higher education sector’s desire for stability expressed at the 2023 valuation,” said Young.

The improved position of USS came despite it having to write off its investment in ailing company Thames Water last year, having valued its stake at £956 million previously.

Addressing this investment directly in her introduction to the report, USS chair Kate Barker says “there is always the potential for investments being unsuccessful”, which was “clearly the case” with Thames Water.

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She says the board had “worked to learn lessons from this experience” but “private markets are a critical part of our portfolio”.

“Overall, they have delivered strong returns over the past decade and our in-house team has contributed to the scheme’s persistently strong value for money performance.”

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tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com