Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS)

• Grades 6 and above are eligible to join the USS Pension Scheme. Qualifying employees on a standard contract (not Zero hours/casual contracts) are automatically entered into the scheme from the start of their contract.

  For standard contracts, providing that you pay NI, you will pay contributions via Salary Sacrifice.  While paying via Salary Sacrifice your Niable pay will be reduced which means that you will need to pay less national insurance and so keep more of your salary. However, contributions paid via this method are not refundable after 3 months, so those on a short-term contracts (less than 2 years), or not planning to remain with the scheme long term may wish to consider their options.

  You can choose not to pay via Salary Sacrifice by contacting the University Payroll Team for a Salary Sacrifice opt out form.  

  Paying via salary sacrifice does not affect your pensionable pay/benefits just the calculation of how much NI you need to pay each month.

• Staff on casual contracts will only be enrolled into USS if they meet the governments auto-enrolment criteria or request to join. You will be contacted if you trigger auto-enrolment and are enrolled. Note in this case your contributions will not be deducted via salary sacrifice.

From 1st April 2016 the USS scheme became a hybrid pension scheme.

All members are entered into the USS Retirement Income Builder, this is the defined benefit (DB) section of the scheme.

• The defined benefit (DB) part of the scheme guarantees you a pension income when you retire for the rest of your life. From 1st April 2024 you build up a pension of 1/75 of each year’s salary in this section of the scheme up to the salary threshold of £70,296 and 3/75th as a tax free lump sum. 

  If you earn over the salary threshold, your contributions above the threshold will go into the USS Investment Builder.

• This is the defined contribution (DC) section of the scheme where contributions are invested (hopefully to increase in values) in one of a range of funds provided, which the member can choose from.  At retirement you can use the value of this fund to supplement your income from the Retirement Income Builder. 

All members are entered into this version of the scheme, even if they have previous USS membership.  If you have service in the previous version of the USS scheme, the benefits you accrued before April 2016 are not affected.

An example of how the benefits are calculated can be found in the USS member guide linked below (pages 15-20): USS Member Guide

Employees pay 6.1% of their salary into the scheme as a contribution towards the cost of providing benefits.  If you are a UK taxpayer, you will receive tax relief on your contributions.  For example, if you make a contribution of £100, as a standard rate (20%) UK tax-payer this will cost you £80 from your take-home pay as you would save 20.  If you’re a higher-rate UK tax-payer the cost will be £60.  

The employer pays 14.5%.

The contribution rate is the same for both sections of the USS scheme. However only 13.9% of the employer contributions above the threshold go directly into the investment builder. The remaining contributions go towards funding this section of the scheme.

Further information can be found at USS - What will you pay

Only staff on pay grade 6 or above can join the USS pension scheme. You can request to join a scheme by emailing payroll@mailbox.lboro.ac.uk. The email must be from your own email address and must contain the following statement: "I confirm I personally submitted this notice to join a workplace pension scheme." Upon receipt of this you will be entered from the next available payroll run - the Team will contact you to advise when you will be entered into a scheme.

If within the first 3 months of joining the scheme you decide to opt out, you will be refunded all your contributions via the payroll.

You must complete a valid opt out form and supply this to the Payroll Team.  A scanned copy is acceptable providing that the form has a signature on it. Please note: The date of opt out will be the date the form is received, and we cannot accept opt out forms completed in advance of your enrolment.

If you have been a member of the pension scheme for over 3 months, it is not possible to opt out with a refund of contributions from the university. However, you can still withdraw from the scheme and cease paying further contributions (same form as for opt outs). 

If withdrawing after 3 months, we will take you out of the scheme from the end of the month 28 days after we received the completed form. This is as per USS’s instructions on the form. “For withdrawals, your date of leaving USS will be the end of the month in which the 28 days’ notice expires, and your final contribution will be deducted from your pay for that month”. After you have left the scheme, we will notify USS who will send you a statement of your built-up pension benefits along with details of your options regarding them.

If you have been paying via salary sacrifice the options will be to either keep your benefits with USS and claim them when you reach retirement age or transfer them to another pension scheme if applicable.

If you have been contributing via non salary sacrifice and you have been a member of the scheme for less than 2 years a further option of a refund of contributions less any tax deductions will be offered.  

If you have been a member of USS previously, your periods of membership will be automatically linked together by USS.

If you are joining the University from an employer where you are currently in the USS pension scheme, your previous employer will report you as a leaver with them and we will report you as a new starter with us. USS will link up your membership and you will keep the same membership number. Please note that if you were paying additional contributions with your previous employer these will not transfer over as these are institution specific. So, you will need to log in to MyUSS and make a new election if you wish to start/resume paying extra at Loughborough.  

If you have pension savings elsewhere that you have not started taking and are under 66 (normal USS pension age) you could transfer these to the Investment Builder (the defined contribution part of USS).

If you wish to investigate this option simply complete USS’s Transfer in request form to start the process. They would then contact your previous scheme and send you details of the additional benefits in the investment builder you would gain from a transfer along with a further form to then complete if you wanted to proceed with and complete the transfer.

Find out further information regarding transferring into USS.

You can choose to increase the value of your retirement savings by paying more into USS.

Members can make one off extra payments or regular deductions (percentage or fixed amount). All additional contributions will go into the USS Investment Builder section of the USS scheme.

Members can pay as much as they want extra into the scheme however, we must be able to deduct the contributions through payroll from your monthly salary. So, the maximum you could practically pay would be 100% of your monthly pay less your normal pension contributions (6.1%), any NI contributions and any additional payroll deductions you may have (e.g., if you are paying for parking each month).

To pay extra you will need to log in to your MyUSS account. Here you will find a section where you can set up the additional contributions. USS will then notify us of your decision and the payroll team will be notified to make the extra deductions. You can elect to pay extra/change your election whenever you wish. However, please note that any new election / change you make on MY USS will only take effect from the start of the following calendar month.

Employers no longer contribute towards AVC’s. If you do log on to MyUSS, you will see an option called the 1% match. This is an old arrangement which for technical reasons still exists. Members can still set this up to pay 1% extra, however the employer no longer matches it.

You will receive tax relief on any additional contributions you choose to pay and you can choose to pay them via salary sacrifice.

To register or log into MyUSS please follow the link:  MyUSS

Please note that any elections to pay more will commence from the following months payroll. For example, if you make an election to pay more on MyUSS on the 1^st February, this will commence from March’s pay not February’s.     

Unfortunately, USS sets the contribution rates, and you are unable to pay less into the scheme.

The scheme produces annual benefit information which is sent out directly to members from USS. You can also access your latest benefits statement through your MyUSS access.

If you are commencing a new role that moves you from grade 5 to grade 6 or above, you will be entered into USS. If you are a member of the LGPS scheme and this is the first time you will be in a position that is eligible for USS (grade 6 or above), you have an option to remain in the LGPS scheme providing that you meet the following criteria:

• You were active members of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) immediately before the position change.
• You have not held a grade 6 (or above) position at the University
• You have not been a member or opted out of the USS pension scheme previously.

If you wish to remain in the LGPS, you will need to contact payroll@mailbox.lboro.ac.uk and complete an application form before the start of your new position.

Note

• This election can be made only once, and that it remains binding for as long as you remain in employment with Loughborough University.
• You will not be permitted to join USS in the future whilst employed at Loughborough University.

We cannot give financial advice, but the links below give further information about the schemes. Applications cannot be accepted after your new position has commenced (unless the grade change has been backdated and USS contribution have not yet been deducted).

USS New Joiner Information

LGPS Scheme Information

Maternity leave

For the first 39 weeks of maternity leave you will continue to pay contributions on the pay you receive. The University will maintain your contributions up to the full amount of your normal contributions you would have paid had you not been on maternity leave. You will receive full pension benefits/service for this period.

After 39 to 52 weeks: During this period all contributions will cease, and you will stop building up pension benefits. You can however elect to make up your contributions once you return to work and if you do so will regain full pension benefits/service for this period. Contact us if you require further information on this option. If you choose not to repay these, you will have a reduction on the pension accrued for the year.

Sick leave

While you are in receipt of pay you will continue to pay contributions on the pay you receive. The University will maintain your contributions, up to the full amount of your normal contributions you would have paid, had you not been on sick leave.

We will notify the scheme once your final payment has been made. The scheme will contact you at your home address with your options.  There are no forms for you to complete, just ensure that we have any change of address that applies.

Visit the USS leaving or already left web page for details on your options and next steps. 

The current normal pension age (NPA) in USS is 66. However, if you were a member before October 2019 some of your benefits may have a lower NPA (60 or 65), depending on when they were accrued.

Members can choose to retire early from age 55 (rising to 57 in 2028). If claimed early your benefits will be reduced by approximately 4% for each year they are claimed before their normal pension age. Note your investment builder fund is not reduced for early retirement.

The modellers on the USS website will give you a good indication of the benefits you would receive, these figures will include any early retirement factors that may apply.

You can access the modellers by clicking on the link:  USS Modellers

In the first instance, a member should use the modellers on the USS website to look at pension benefits. We can request a full formal quote for you if the date you are considering retirement is within the next 12 months. However, USS will only produce two full quotes in a 12-month period, so please consider this if you request formal quotes.

You can access the modellers by clicking on the link:  USS Modellers

Yes. There is a facility for an employer to allow a member to receive their pension without leaving that employment, by authorising flexible retirement. Flexible retirement allows a member, with the University’s agreement, to take between 20% and 80% of their USS Retirement Income Builder benefits as long as they agree to reduce their hours and salary by at least 20%.

You can have up to 2 flexible retirement events, reducing your hours and taking part of your benefits, before needed to fully retire. Any benefits claimed will be reduced as normal for flexible retirement.

Due to the reduction in hours and how this may affect your role/department flexible retirement requires approval from the university. If you are interested in investigating this option speak to your line manager/HR and they will start the process.

You cannot draw your pension and continue working unless you use flexible retirement.

In order to retire on the basis of redundancy, a member must meet one of the following criteria at the point they are made redundant:

• Aged 55 or over with at least two years’ qualifying service
• Aged 50 or over with continuous service in the scheme since 5 April 2006.

You should note that the option to retire from age 50 is only applicable if retirement is on the basis of redundancy.

Most tranches of members’ benefits under redundancy are subject to early retirement reductions in exactly the same way as if the retirement was at the member’s request. In most cases this means that reductions will apply if the retirement is before the scheme’s normal retirement age.

To start the retirement process all you need to do is hand in your notice giving your reason for leaving as retirement. You will need to give at least your contractual notice period however you can agree an end date further in advance if you wish.

HR will acknowledge receipt and confirm your leave/retirement date in writing.

We will notify USS and send you the retirement forms you will need to complete to claim your benefits around 3 months before your planned retirement date (provided that your leave/retirement date has been confirmed by HR).

When you have completed the retirement forms you can either send them back to USS by uploading them via MYUSS or you can send them to us, and we will upload them for you.

The lump sum (if taken) is normally paid within 5 days of the first day of your retirement. The annual pension is paid in monthly instalments on the 21^st of each month following retirement or the previous working day if the 21^st falls on a bank holiday or weekend.

Note the lump sum and your first monthly pension payment may be slightly delayed if the retirement forms are completed and returned less than a month before your retirement date as it will take USS some time to process them and set up the pension payments.

The lump sum is tax free however the annual pension is taxable as income (but not subject to National Insurance deductions) for this reason you may with to contact USS once in receipt of your pension to ensure that they are applying the correct tax code to your benefit payments

Immediate Life Cover - If you die whilst paying into USS, your beneficiaries will receive a lump sum of three times your annual salary (this will be your full salary ignoring the threshold). Your surviving spouse or civil partner and any eligible children may also receive an income, should the worst happen. An income may also be payable to a financial dependant if you’re not married or you don’t have a civil partner.

Ill Health Cover - If you ever become seriously ill and you've met the 2-year qualifying period, you could receive immediate ill health benefits. If you wish to investigate ill health retirement you would need to be referred to the University’s Occupational Health Team for assessment.   If you are permanently incapable of returning to work due to illness/injury you and your manager, in consultation with your HR Partner, may wish for ill health retirement (IHR) to be considered.

Further information about the University’s ill health retirement process.

If you are an active member of the scheme only the employer is able to change your address with USS as the contact details, we/USS have for you must match.

Simply update your address on your MY.HR record and let us know by emailing the payroll team and we will update USS.

After leaving/retiring you will be able to update your address details on MYUSS or completing USS’s change of details form.