Implementing cost sharing
For action
Cost sharing changes to USS will be implemented from 1 April 2019.
The employer element of the match will reduce to 0%. To help members and employers prepare, a new option has been added to My USS to let members elect now to stop paying their match contribution from 31 March 2019.
We emailed pensions, contributions and official contacts about this on 4 December 2018. We sent members an email on 11 December 2018. There’s further, important, information about the reporting below that you will need.
What does this mean for employers?
There is a new report called the March Cancellation report available from the employer portal. It returns members who have visited My USS and chosen to stop paying their match from 31 March 2019.
Please run this report regularly so you know which members will be stopping their match contributions in March 2019.
PLEASE NOTE – If, as part of the same election, a member makes a change to other additional contributions at the same time as they cancel the match, the March cancellation report will include details of ALL of their elections (i.e. not just the match cancellation). For example, if they have elected to cancel the match as at 31 March 2019 and to start paying additional contributions with effect from the next available payroll, both elections will appear on the March cancellation report. This only occurs if both changes are made as part of the same election on My USS. If changes are made under separate elections, they will appear on separate reports.
You will need to have a plan in place to cancel the match contribution for all members who want to stop paying from 31 March 2019. The March 2019 payroll should be the last match contribution for members who make this choice.
The March cancellation report is available from the Run a report section of the employer portal, simply enter the date range you require. The report will be available a few minutes later from the Download a file (STU) page. The format is exactly the same as the existing Additional contributions report.
You should continue to run the Additional contribution report every month to make any updates for members who are changing their additional contributions, or who want to start or stop paying the match before 31 March 2019.