Lifetime Allowance (LTA)
This limit is to the maximum amount of retirement benefits you can build up at retirement. Again it is expressed as a capital value, for the tax years up to April 2012 it is £1.8 million reducing from April 2012 to £1.5 million.
To exceed the £1.5 million limit you would need to have 40 years’ service in USS and be earning around £130,000 a year.
For more information, please see the Limits to tax relief and tax-free benefits' factsheet.
Maximum tax-free cash
As well as the limit above there is a limit on the amount of tax-free cash you can receive which is 25% of the value of your total benefits at retirement (or 25% of the LTA if this is lower - £450,000 currently).
If you have any questions reagrding this subject, especially perhaps specific to your own circumstances, please see our Tax Relief FAQs section for more information.