What your pension might look like

There are two main different types of workplace pension. A defined benefit pension (like the Retirement Income Builder) guarantees you an income for life once you retire. A defined contribution pension (like the Investment Builder) invests contributions into your own savings pot. USS has both types, making us a hybrid pension scheme.

Visit your pension explained.

Contributions are paid by active members and their employers. You will pay in 6.1%* of your salary each month and you get tax relief on your contributions, so some of the money that you normally pay towards tax goes into your pension instead.

Your employer pays in 14.5%* of your salary each month towards your benefits and running USS. You can also pay additional contributions to the investment builder to save more.

Visit what you pay and what you'll get, for more information on the contribution rate.

*This is subject to the outcome of future valuations.

If you have pension savings elsewhere that you haven’t started taking yet and your previous scheme is registered with HMRC, you could transfer them to USS.

The funds you transfer will go into your Investment Builder pot, which is the defined contribution (DC) part of USS. Visit transferring in to USS for more information.

Your member number will be on any emails you receive from us, your welcome letter and your Annual Member Statement. Please note that you typically won’t receive your first Annual Member Statement until the Autumn after you join. But it could be longer.

If you’ve not received either of these yet, you can get in touch with our Member Service Team on 0333 300 1043. Lines are open 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Your previous employer will send us a leaver notification and, if you’re eligible for a USS pension in your new role, your new employer will send a joiner notification. You’ll then be able to continue building your pension.

Depending on when your employers submit their notifications, you may not start paying in until the month after your new role starts.

If you want to continue making additional contributions, you’ll need to set these up again in My USS.

Salary sacrifice is an alternative way to build up your pension. It means you can agree to give up the part of your salary that you would usually pay towards your pension, and instead your employer will pay your contributions for you. Because of this, you (and your employer) could pay lower National Insurance contributions, which can mean higher take-home pay.

However, there are reasons why this may not be right for you. For example, if you’re with USS for less than two years and you use salary sacrifice, you’ll still be able to choose to keep pension benefits in USS or transfer them to another scheme. However, you won’t have the option to get a refund of contributions when you leave. It may also affect the amount you’re eligible to borrow, if you’re looking for a mortgage or other finance. You should speak to your employer for more details.

If you’re still in a USS eligible role up to age 75, you can re-join USS at any time – speak to your employer first. They will then send a joiner notification to us. You’ll then be able to continue saving for your future.

If you’ve been paying into your USS pension for less than two years, you may be able to get a refund of your contributions. Whether you are eligible for a refund will depend on various things like how long you’ve been paying in and if you contributed via salary sacrifice.

If you begin the process to leave, you will receive a leaver statement which would include details on how much you could be refunded. This could take up to a few months after your final contribution payment to USS.

Take a look at getting a refund.