What you pay gets:
A tax boost:
You get tax relief on what you put in.*
Basic tax rate tax payers: for every £100 you contribute, the £20 you would have paid in tax goes to your pension instead.
Higher rate tax payers: for every £100 you contribute, the £40 you would have paid in tax goes to your pension instead.
An employer boost:
Your employer pays the equivalent of 14.5% of your salary to help you build a pension.
Your pension:
Your defined benefit Retirement Income Builder gives you:
A guaranteed income for life and plus the option of a cash lump sum.
Inflation protection (subject to certain caps).
Life cover of three times your salary to look after your loved ones if you die while paying in. This could also include a pension for your dependants too.
We may be able to support you if you can’t work because of ill health.
A defined contribution pension – the Investment Builder
Everyone who’s building a USS pension can make contributions to the Investment Builder. But if you earn above the salary threshold or transfer benefits to USS, you’ll start saving into it automatically. With the Investment Builder:
You still benefit from tax relief on your contributions, and investment costs are subsidised by your employer.**
You can choose how your savings are invested.
Their value depends on how well your investments perform and can go up or down, or be less than what was paid in.
You can take your savings from 55 (rising to 57 in 2028 for certain members)and have flexible options in how you take them.