Your benefits before April 2016

You built defined benefits (DB) through a Final Salary pension until 31 March 2016.

You built up defined benefits (DB) through a Career Revalued Benefits (CRB) pension until 31 March 2016.

Everyone started building their benefits in the Retirement Income Builder on 1 April 2016. On 1 October 2016, the salary threshold was introduced. If you earned over the salary threshold, you’d have contributed to the Investment Builder too – on top of building your benefits in the Retirement Income Builder.

If this applies to you, the different ways you’ve built up your benefits will be outlined in your Annual Member Statement.

We’d work out your salary for each 12-month period that you were a member, over a maximum of 13 years from your retirement date. Each of those 12-month periods (except the final one) would go up in line with inflation, using the Retail Prices Index.

Your salary would be whatever was higher – either the highest revalued annual salary from the last three years before your retirement or leaving date, or the highest average revalued salary across three consecutive years over the 13-year period.

The Final Salary scheme closed on 31 March 2016. So if you were contributing to USS on that date, we calculated the benefits you’d earned using your pensionable service and pensionable salary as at that date.

The benefits that you’d earned up to 31 March 2016 go up in line with our standard pension increases until the date you retire.

You can find your Final Salary statement in the My documents section of My USS. This shows details of how much you built up to 31 March 2016.

You’ll have built benefits in the Retirement Income Builder at a higher rate of 1/75 of your salary up to the salary threshold, as well as a one-off, cash lump sum (which is tax-free up to a certain limit) of three times your pension amount.

When you reach retirement, we’ll combine your Final Salary and Retirement Income Builder benefits into an annual pension and a one-off, cash lump sum. You can request a quotation up to 12 months before you retire, so you’ll know your options. Alternatively, you can use the Benefit Calculator in My USS.

You’ll have built benefits in the Retirement Income Builder worth 1/85 of your salary and a lump sum worth 3/85 of your salary each year up to the salary threshold.

When you reach retirement, we’ll combine your Final Salary and Retirement Income Builder benefits into an annual pension and a one-off, cash lump sum. You can request a quotation up to 12 months before you retire, so you’ll know your options. Alternatively you can use the Benefit Calculator in My USS.

Your building benefits in the Retirement Income Builder worth 1/75 of your salary and a lump sum worth 3/75 of your salary each year up to the salary threshold.

When you reach retirement, we’ll combine your Final Salary and Retirement Income Builder benefits into an annual pension and a one-off, cash lump sum. You can request a quotation up to 12 months before you retire, so you’ll know your options. Alternatively you can use the Benefit Calculator in My USS.

You’ll have built benefits in the Retirement Income Builder at a higher rate of 1/75 of your salary, as well as a one-off, cash lump sum (which is tax-free up to a certain limit) of three times your pension amount.

These benefits and your one-off, cash lump sum will go up in line with our standard pension increases until you retire.

Your annual statements will now show:

• the Career Revalued Benefits and Retirement Income Builder benefits you’ve built up
• the value of your Investment Builder funds (if you have this too).

You’ll have built benefits in the Retirement Income Builder worth 1/85 of your salary and a lump sum worth 3/85 of your salary each year up to the salary threshold.

These benefits and your one-off, cash lump sum will go up in line with our standard pension increases until you retire.

Your annual statements will now show:

• the Career Revalued Benefits and Retirement Income Builder benefits you’ve built up
• the value of your Investment Builder funds (if you have this too).

For important information on this guidance please see our key terms and important information page.

Your building benefits in the Retirement Income Builder worth 1/75 of your salary and a lump sum worth 3/75 of your salary each year up to the salary threshold.

These benefits and your one-off, cash lump sum will go up in line with our standard pension increases until you retire.

Your annual statements will now show:

• the Career Revalued Benefits and Retirement Income Builder benefits you’ve built up
• the value of your Investment Builder funds (if you have this too).

For important information on this guidance please see our key terms and important information page.