The UK’s largest pension scheme has appointed a new technology platform to cater for its 528,000 members.
The £75.5bn Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) will replace its current technology provider, Capita, with Procentia in a process that is expected to take two years.
USS will replace Capita’s Hartlink technology with Procentia’s IntelliPen system, which the scheme said would provide “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,” the scheme said in a statement.
The agreement is for a seven-year term once the two-year implementation phase is completed.
Capita was hit by a cyberattack on 31 March last year, and it later reported that personal information related to around 470,000 USS members may have been accessed.
The company took “extensive steps” to secure the data, according to a press release at the time, and USS gave its members free access to an identity protection service.
There was no suggestion that the incident played a role in USS’s decision to change providers, but the scheme said Capita “chose not to participate” in the tender as its strategy and focus did not align with USS’s long-term needs.
In November last year, Capita was awarded a lucrative £239m contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme, which has more than 1.6 million members.
Helen McEwan, USS’s chief pensions officer, said USS wanted the new administration platform to be “transformational”.
She added: “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.”
The move also coincides with the rollout of the pensions dashboard. As one of the largest schemes in the country by membership, USS’s connection deadline is 31 May 2025.
