The UK's second-largest pension fund, the £34bn Universities Superannuation Scheme, said at the end of August that its deficit has ballooned in the past year to almost £10bn. With university finances in the spotlight as the first students paying fees of £9,000 enrol this month, should we be worried?

On the face of it, the numbers look pretty bad. USS estimates its total pension liability at £43.7bn as of March 31 2012, the date of its most recent annual valuation. With assets worth £33.9bn, that means a shortfall of £9.8bn.