The scheme was originally set up for academic staff and was designed to accommodate their career patterns. Many members of the scheme move around the university system, perhaps with breaks in their membership.
It’s important to remember that in most cases you can remain in membership of the scheme when you move within the higher education sector, with over 390 employers in the higher education sector participating in USS.
However, if you leave and have a gap in your employment of 30 months or more you will usually rejoin the Career Revalued Benefits section of USS, not the Final Salary section. There is an exception to this but only if your employer agreed when you left that when you are re-employed you retain eligibility for the final salary section. But this exception can only extend to 5 years after you left and your employer must have advised USS at the time you left of their intention.
Assuming you rejoin within 30 months we simply update your location on our administration system. You should tell the pensions contact at your current institution about your new job so that they can make the necessary arrangements.
To check whether your new employer participates in the scheme, click here.
Even if there’s a break in your membership (assuming this is less than 30 months) any earlier periods of service can be added to your new membership; that’s particularly important to remember if you are ever considering a transfer of your benefits to another scheme – think about whether you will ever rejoin USS and therefore be able to link earlier periods of membership.
Promotion
Receiving a promotion normally has no affect on your pension.
However, if your employer provides different pension arrangements for academic or comparable staff and support staff and you are promoted to a grade eligible for USS, then you will have to leave your existing scheme but will be able to join USS if you wish. You may be aware that there are two sections of USS. Until 1 October 2013, if you are promoted and therefore must join USS you will join the final salary section of the scheme.
You will then need to decide whether or not to transfer your benefits from the support staff scheme into USS. This can be a difficult decision and partly rests on your employer’s treatment of these types of transfer. Please check with your employer exactly how this transfer is calculated and ask them to provide you with a quotation of what this might buy you in USS.
Generally the transfer will be calculated on a commercial basis; the transfer value from your old scheme will buy service in USS at the going rate.
Alternatively, some employers operate schemes that are part of the public sector transfer club; transfers under the club arrangement receive beneficial treatment. Pension schemes participating in the transfer club can be traced from this link Public Sector Transfer schemes.
Once you’ve obtained a transfer quotation take a look at our Transfer Factsheet and the Pensions TV programme on Transfers-in, which will help you decide if a transfer is right for you.
Going on secondment overseas
In order for you to continue contributing to USS during a period of secondment to an overseas employer an agreement can be made between member and USS employer to maintain normal USS contributions or between member and overseas employer to reimburse the institution for the full cost of the employers contributions. Alternatively, the period of absence will be treated as suspended membership. Periods of agreed secondment do not count towards the 30 month rule for determining the section of USS that you will rejoin when you return.
You can join an overseas pension scheme while you are seconded overseas but you may not be entitled to tax relief on your contributions.
If you do pay into an overseas scheme you may be able to transfer those benefits to USS if you return. Please look at the Transfer out page for more information.
If the secondment is for a period of more than two years, you may be able to transfer the benefits you have built up in USS to an overseas pension scheme. These types of transfer have to be approved by the Inland Revenue.
Leaving the scheme
If your new job doesn’t qualify you for USS look at our section on Leaving the scheme.