USS FAQs
This number is located on your recent benefit statement or for a recent joiner on the member certificate that USS issued when you joined the Scheme. If you cannot locate this information, then please email hr.pensions@warwick.ac.uk.
If you would like to join the scheme please email hr.pensions@warwick.ac.uk the following wording ‘I personally submit this notice to join a workplace pension saving scheme’. Please note USS membership is only eligible for Grade 5 and above.
You currently pay 6.1% and the employer pays 14.5% of your pensionable earnings.
The USS pension scheme is a Hybrid scheme which consists of two sections.
- The Retirement Income Builder, or the Defined Benefit (DB) section, which gives you a guaranteed income in retirement.
- The Retirement Investment Builder, or the Defined Contribution (DC) section, which gives you a flexible savings pot for your future.
The employee contribution rate is set by USS and you are unable to change it.
You can elect to make additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) into the into the Investment Builder section of the scheme on a regular or one-off basis. To do this, please login to your My USS account to elect the amounts you wish to contribute (you can choose a percentage or cash amount).
Further details are available at Investment Builder (uss.co.uk).
- Salary Sacrifice is the method of paying these contributions across to USS. If you pay your contributions on a Salary Sacrifice basis, the employee contributions are classed as an employer contribution which means that in addition to the normal tax saving you should also benefit from a national insurance saving, and therefore your take-home pay should be higher.
- Non-Salary Sacrifice contributions ae classed as employee contributions, and your take-home pay each month will be lower because you will not benefit from any National Insurance Saving. If you leave with under 2 years of service in the scheme you will be offered a refund of these contributions less a tax deduction.
Further information is available at Salary Sacrifice.
You can view your pension benefits and savings by logging into your MyUSS account. There are a range of calculators and tools available at Calculate your benefits.
You should update your address on Success Factors. Please also inform hr.pensions@warwick.ac.uk that you have changed your address.
In most circumstances, you can transfer benefits into the Investment Builder. Further details can be found at Transferring in to USS
You will need to log into your MyUSS account and complete an Expression of Wish form which can be found at What happens when you die. It is important to regularly review this form and update when necessary.
If you go on maternity leave you will pay pension contributions based on the actual pay you receive, whilst the University will pay contributions based on your notional pay. i.e. the salary that would have been paid but for the maternity leave. Further information is available at Becoming a parent.
If you go on a career break your service will be suspended and you will not be covered for Death in Service benefits. If you still wish to maintain death in service benefits you may have the option to either pay a special premium to maintain life cover or maintain contributions by paying both the employee and employer contributions). Further information is available at Absence from work.
You should request this from USS direct via Contact us (uss.co.uk)Link opens in a new window or call them on 0333 300 1043. Please note that only one CETV can be requested in a 12 month period. Further information can be found at Getting divorced.
If the move is on a permanent basis and is to a post within Grades 1 to 4, you will leave USS and join DCP.
If the move is permanent and Grade 5 or above you will remain in USS. If the new role is a secondment, then you will remain in USS unless the role becomes permanent.
You may wish to use the various retirement illustration/modelling tools that USS provides. Please be aware of the caveats when using these tools.
Alternatively, you can request a quotation by emailing hr.pensions@warwick.ac.uk with the potential retirement date you would like the quote to be requested for. Quotes can be requested up to a maximum of 12 months in advance.
As a member of the Scheme you accrue 3 times your pension as automatic tax-free cash. On retirement, you may be able to take more or less tax-free cash, however, this will be subject to HMRC restrictions that tax-free cash cannot exceed 25% of your total benefits. The Benefit Conversion Tool will help illustrate the maximum amount of tax-free cash you may be able to take from the Scheme.
Yes, you can withdraw and re-join in the future. Please note that whilst you are a non-member you will not be covered for Death in Service Life Cover or Incapacity.
If you wish to optout of the scheme, you need to complete a Notice to Optout Pension Savings form found at Thinking of leaving and email it back to hr.pensions@warwick.ac.uk within 3 months of being enrolled into the scheme.
Please note by opting out you will lose the death in service cover.
Upon leaving the University and after your last payment from payroll, the HR Pensions Team will inform USS that you have left. They will write to you about your benefits. Generally, your benefits will remain in the Scheme until you claim them on retirement.
Alternatively, you may be able to transfer them to an alternative arrangement. This will be detailed in the correspondence you receive from the Scheme. You can find out further information about what happens when you leave including options for those with less than two years’ service at Thinking of leaving.
Upon leaving the University and after your last payment from payroll, the HR Pensions Team will inform USS that you have left the Scheme. They will subsequently write to you about your benefits so you must provide up-to-date addresses. At retirement age, pensions can be paid to members who live overseas; please see Working or retiring overseas for further details. Alternatively, you may be able to transfer to an alternative arrangement. Whilst it may be possible to transfer benefits to overseas arrangements, the process is more complex.