Transfer my pension

If you have pension savings elsewhere that you haven’t started taking yet and your previous scheme is registered with HMRC, you could transfer them to the Investment Builder.

The pension savings you transfer will go into your Investment Builder pot. Visit transferring in to USS for more information.

To start the process just log in to My USS and complete the Transfer in request form.

Take a look at our transfer in timeline for more on what happens when, and what you need to do.

You just need to complete and return the Transfer out option form. Once we receive the form, we’ll aim to send you all the information you need within three weeks.

Remember that what you can transfer out depends on whether you’re still paying in to USS, you’ve already stopped, or you’re retired.

Visit transferring to another scheme for more information.

Transfers in to USS from a Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (ROPS) may be possible. You should check with your previous overseas pension scheme whether a transfer value can be paid to a UK scheme.

You can check whether your previous pension scheme is a ROPS using the Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes notification list.

For information on transfers in visit transferring in to USS.

For any transfers in to USS made before 1 October 2016, these will be included in the total value of your Retirement Income Builder benefits shown in your Annual Member Statement and in My USS.

For any transfers made after 30 September 2016, these will have gone in to the Investment Builder, the defined contribution (DC) part of USS. Any transfers made in the last 12 months to the end of March will be shown in your Annual Member Statement. The rest will be included in the total value of your Investment Builder pot. A breakdown on your transfers can be found in My USS.

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.

We don’t charge to transfer other pension savings in to USS. But there are investment management fees that you should be aware of for pension savings transferred in to your Investment Builder pot.

Read A guide to investing in the Investment Builder for more information on the fees and transaction costs.

We don’t charge you to transfer your benefits and savings out of USS. But other schemes may have charges, admin costs or investment fees, so it’s important to do your research and compare these charges so you’re in the know.

You can find out more about our investment fees for the Investment Builder in our investment guide.

If you’re transferring safeguarded benefits (like defined benefits) from another scheme to the Investment Builder (check with your current scheme if you’re unsure), and all those benefits are valued at more than £30,000, the law requires you to obtain appropriate independent advice. Even if you’re not transferring quite that much, or are transferring defined contribution savings, you may just want some advice to support you in deciding what option is best for you.

For more on financial advice, visit guidance and financial advice.

You can find any lost pension savings with the Governments Pension Tracing Service.