Op ons on leaving. Your op ons should you leave USS. For the future

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1 1 Op ons on leaving Your op ons should you leave USS If you change jobs, whether your new employer is a USS par cipa ng ins tu on or not, this factsheet sets out the choices that are available to you with regard to your pension.

2 2 Op ons on leaving What happens to your pension? Transferring to another USS ins tu on Over 360 employers from the university and higher educa on sector par cipate in the Universi es Superannua on Scheme (USS). It is therefore very likely that, should you move employers within the UK university or higher educa on sector, your new employer will also par cipate in USS. If you take employment at another USS ins tu on and there is less than one calendar month between employments, you are en tled to remain in USS without a break in your service. Your former ins tu on will no fy your new ins tu on that you are transferring. If there is more than one calendar month between employments, you will be classed as having le the scheme and your op ons are the same as any other leaver as detailed in the following paragraphs. Leaving USS within two years of joining If you leave USS either because you have le employment or you choose not to con nue in USS and you have less than two years of USS service, your op ons are as follows. You can receive a refund of your own (not your employer s) contribu ons, less deduc ons for Na onal Insurance and tax. The deduc on for Na onal Insurance is necessary because you will have been contracted-out of the state second pension for membership up to 5 April If you receive a refund, USS must pay a premium to HM Revenue & Customs to reinstate you into the state second pension. There is also a tax deduc on of 20% (50% tax on the excess of refunds over 20,000) in respect of the tax relief you received on your contribu ons whilst a member of USS. In respect of the USS Investment Builder, if you have less than three months contribu ons, your refund will be based on the amount you have paid in. If you have paid more than three months contribu ons you will receive the fund value applicable on the date of the refund. If you transferred benefits from a personal pension into USS you will not be able to receive a refund, even if your service including the transfer is less than two years. If you choose to opt out of USS whilst remaining in pensionable employment at a USS ins tu on, you must give your employer sufficient no ce - please contact your employer if you are considering this op on. If you opted into a salary sacrifice arrangement offered by your employer in respect of your standard USS contribu ons, for the period of any sacrifice you will not be en tled to a refund of contribu ons as these will have been paid for you by your employer as part of the salary sacrifice arrangement.

3 3 As alterna ves to the refund you can either: 1 2 Receive a deferred pension and tax-free cash based on the value of your own contribu ons to the scheme less supplementary contribu ons (if you have entered into a salary sacrifice arrangement, these contribu ons will include contribu ons which will have been paid on your behalf by your employer). This would be calculated by mul plying your contribu ons by an actuarial factor; or Transfer your benefits to another approved pension arrangement. Leaving USS with two or more years of USS service If you have two or more years of USS service when you leave, or if before you leave you transferred benefits from a personal pension scheme into USS, then you are eligible for a deferred pension and tax-free lump sum from normal pension age. This will be the total pension you have built up in the scheme at the point you le and the tax-free lump sum will be three mes your pension, as standard. Within broad limits, the balance between pension and tax-free cash may be altered at your request just before the benefits come into payment. This pension and tax-free cash will be increased between your date of leaving and re rement or subsequent transfer by the rise in official pensions over that period. This increase is limited to a maximum increase of 5% a year. Official pensions are pension schemes for public sector employers like Teaching, NHS, Civil Service and the Police. If official pensions increase by more than 5% in any year then for each % over 5%, 50% of this increase will be applied in USS, up to a maximum increase of 10%. So, if official pensions increased by 10%, the USS increase would be 7.5%. Any USS Investment Builder funds (and any money purchase AVC funds) you have built up will con nue to be invested for you and you will s ll be able to manage these investments as usual, but you will not be able to contribute further. If you choose to opt out of USS whilst remaining in pensionable employment at a USS ins tu on, you are required to give sufficient no ce. Please contact your employer if you are considering this op on. What happens if I die as a deferred pensioner? If you die before your deferred pension becomes payable, a lump sum equal to the value of your deferred lump sum, increased to the date of your death is payable. Universi es Superannua on Scheme Ltd (the trustee) has discre on to decide to whom the lump sum is payable. You are strongly advised to nominate your beneficiary/ies. Please see the Expression of Wish form on the USS website at In addi on to this lump sum, a pension may be payable to your spouse, registered civil partner or dependant (dependant s pension at the discre on of the trustee) that is equal to 50% of the value of your deferred pension at the date of your death. Addi onal pensions may be payable to any eligible children at the date of your death, up to a maximum of 75% of the value of your deferred pension at the date of death for two or more children (half this amount for one child). Please see the Bereavement benefits factsheet at

4 4 Transfer value At any me except within the 12 months up to the scheme s normal pension age, you are en tled to apply for the transfer of your USS benefits to any other pension arrangement whose administrator or managers are permi ed by law, and willing, to accept the appropriate transfer payment. The transfer payment is worked out by conver ng the value of your USS pension to a current cash equivalent using age and sex-related factors. The calcula on accounts for fluctua ons in the stock market but includes no allowance for discre onary benefits. Any AVCs paid into the Money Purchase AVC fund would also be transferred at their value at the me of transfer. Please consider the choices outlined in the Rejoining USS sec on below before deciding to transfer your deferred benefits out of USS. Please see the Leaving the scheme booklet at Rejoining USS If you rejoin a USS ins tu on in future and become a member of USS again at a later date, your new period of membership will simply add to the benefits you had built up from your earlier period of membership, providing you have not transferred it to another pension arrangement or received a refund of contribu ons. You cannot rejoin the scheme whilst in a period of absence due to illness, and you may not be eligible for re rement on the grounds of incapacity within five years of rejoining for a condi on that is known at the me of your rejoining. If you chose to withdraw from USS or chose not to join the scheme when you first had the opportunity then subsequently wish to join or rejoin a er six months or more have elapsed, you would be able to do so, but restric ons would apply to any possible re rement on the grounds of incapacity following rejoining the scheme. Addi onal Voluntary Contribu ons You may have paid AVCs to the Added Years (former final salary) or Revalued Benefits (former CRB) or the MPAVC arrangement. When you leave, your AVC payments must also stop. If you choose to receive a refund of contribu ons, you will also receive a refund of your AVC contribu ons, less tax at 20% (or more in excep onal cases). In any other case, your posi on is as follows: Revalued Benefits AVCs You will receive credit for a pro-rata amount of addi onal pension. For example, if you have made half of the total required added pension contribu ons, you will be credited with half the total poten al added pension that you would have bought at the end of your arrangement. Added Years AVCs Like the revalued benefits AVC you will receive a pro-rata amount of pension up to the date you leave the scheme. Money Purchase AVCs Your fund will con nue to be invested, un l you transfer your benefits or they are brought into payment USS Investment Builder funds Any funds you have built up under the USS Investment Builder will con nue to be invested, un l you transfer your benefits or you are eligible to receive them when you re re.

5 5 Payment of your USS deferred pension benefits Normal re rement The trustee will contact you near to your normal pension age to advise you of the value of your unreduced re rement benefits. The trustee will calculate your pension and lump sum op ons at normal re rement age. Your pension and lump sum will be your pension and lump sum as calculated at the date you le, plus yearly pension increases since leaving USS un l your re rement date. Incapacity Subject to medical evidence, you may receive early payment (at any age) of your benefits without reduc on, if you are suffering from an illness or incapacity which would have led to your re rement on the grounds of sickness or incapacity had you remained in USS. Early re rement You may elect to re re at any point from age 55, but your benefits will be reduced for each year of re rement before the normal pension age of the scheme. This is currently age 65, but will increase in line with future increases to state pension age. Op ng-out within three months of joining (retrospec ve withdrawal) Within the first three months of star ng USS contribu ons, you can choose not to con nue in the scheme, whether or not you are remaining in the employment of a USS ins tu on. You should no fy your employer as soon as possible if you wish to opt out of USS. In this case, your employer will refund your USS contribu ons (not your employer s) through your pay. Your employer will need to make adjustments to your na onal insurance contribu ons and tax as you will have paid less na onal insurance and tax whilst a member of USS. When will I be advised of my op ons? USS will advise you of your op ons within two months of receiving the leaver no fica on from your employer. This publica on is for general guidance only. It is not a legal document and does not explain all situa ons or eventuali es. USS is governed by a trust deed and rules and if there is any difference between this publica on and the trust deed and rules the la er prevail. Every effort has been made to present accurate informa on at the date of publica on and members are advised to check with their employer contact for latest informa on regarding the scheme, and any changes that may have occurred to its rules and benefits.