How does your Investment Builder compare?

Here's our quick summary

• The Investment Builder

  Flexibility to take your savings before or after you retire, underpinned by a guaranteed for life defined benefit pension with the Retirement Income Builder.

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  Salary sacrifice – if your employer offers it, you can save on your National Insurance contributions, meaning your contributions cost you less.

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  No member admin/management fees on funds arising from normal/additional contributions to the Investment Builder as these fees are covered by the scheme subsidy.

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  No member investment fees for contributions on funds arising from normal/additional contributions to the Investment Builder as these fees are covered by the scheme subsidy.

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  If you transfer a pension from a registered or recognised overseas pension scheme to the Investment Builder the only thing you’ll pay for is the investment fees which range from 0.1% - 0.3%

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  You have the option of ethical investments that automatically manage your investment risk as you approach retirement.

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  The Investment Builder invests in Private Markets which can offer potential greater returns, better diversification, and more inflation protection.

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  Great tax benefits when you take your savings. Tax allowances are based on your overall USS pension, which means you may be able to take more than 25% of your Investment Builder as a tax-free lump sum.

• Personal DC pensions/other workplace DC schemes

  DC schemes can offer the same flexible ways to access your cash, but very few are part of a hybrid scheme which offers DB benefits as well that also gives you a guaranteed income for life, so you can use your DC savings to boost your retirement income or for something else.

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  There isn’t the option for USS employers to make salary sacrifice contributions to other savings vehicles or private pensions.

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  The average annual admin and investment management charges for a DC pension in the UK is 1.09%*

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  Typical investment fees can range from 0.1% to 1%**.

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  Typical investment fees in personal and many other workplace DC pension schemes can range from 0.1% to 1% plus any annual management charge as per above.

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  Most DC pension schemes don’t offer ethical investments where they automatically manage your investment risk, instead you need to manage moving your investments yourself.

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  Most DC pension schemes don’t offer investments in Private Markets.

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  You can generally take up to 25% of all pensions as a tax-free lump sum, but to get the same amount you might need to reduce your annual pension with USS .

• Next steps

  So, as a USS member, the Investment Builder brings you some big benefits. To manage your Investment Builder savings, review your investment decisions and update your preferences, visit My USS.