Leaving or already left

How much we refund you will depend on various things like how long you’ve been paying in and if you contributed via salary sacrifice. Even if you don’t get a refund, you can still take your pension at retirement or you may be able to transfer your pension elsewhere.

For more details on when a refund will and won’t be possible, take a look at getting a refund.

Once you leave USS you’ll stop building your pension with us. Watch our short video on What happens when you leave USS?, to find out what your options are and how to keep your details up to date if you leave.

You can find the value of your benefits at your date of leaving in My USS or on your leaver statement. You can also use the Benefit Calculator in My USS to estimate the value of your benefits when you retire.

• If you’ve stopped paying in but you’re still with a USS employer, please speak to them directly.
• If you’ve stopped paying in and left your USS employer, but you haven’t started taking your benefits yet, call our Member Service Team 0333 300 1043.
• If you’ve stopped paying in and want to transfer out, call our Member Service Team on 0333 300 1043.
• If you’ve stopped paying in and now want to start taking your benefits, call our Member Service Team on 0333 300 1043.

Yes – you can still do this in My USS. But you can’t make any more additional contributions.

It’s important to update your email address in My USS when you leave, so we can keep you up to date when it’s time to take your benefits and any savings you have. For any other updates, complete and return the Notification of change in details form.

Don’t miss out – you can choose to receive our handy member news and updates. These can help with financial wellbeing and general lifestyle plans, so you can make decisions now and in the future. You can do this in My USS by visiting the communication preferences page.

Log in to My USS to complete the Registration of potential dependant form online or download the Registration of potential dependant form to print and return to us. We recommend that you update this at least every three years so we know it’s up to date, even if your wishes haven’t changed.

For more information, take a look at what happens when you die.

Log in to My USS to complete the Expression of Wish form online or download the Expression of Wish form to print and return to us. We recommend that you update this at least every three years so we know it’s up to date, even if your wishes haven’t changed.

For more information, take a look at what happens when you die.

If you’re moving overseas, you can ask your new scheme whether you can transfer your USS pension over to them.

We won’t transfer to an overseas scheme unless it’s a Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (ROPS). So we’ll check this before completing the transfer. You can also check this for yourself using the Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes notification list.

If your new scheme doesn’t meet certain conditions, you may be charged an Overseas Transfer Charge (OTC). It’s a 25% tax charge taken from your transfer. The OTC is 25% of the transferred value. Even if you don’t need to pay this right away, you may need to pay it later if circumstances change within five years.

For more information on moving overseas, see our Working or retiring overseas factsheet.

This may be if you’ve left within two years of joining USS. Your Annual Member Statement assumes that you’ll be with us for at least two years and shows your benefits on your earnings to reflect this.