Your questions answered on the one-off uplift

If you have any period of active membership between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2024, and you do not retire before 1 April 2024, you’ll receive a one-off pension uplift of £215, plus an associated £645 retirement lump sum (subject to certain criteria, see Who won’t get the uplift? below). You do not have to have been a member for the whole of this period, and it applies if you are part time, in variable time employment, left USS after 1 April 2022 and prior to 1 April 2024 (but have not transferred out or taken a refund of contributions) or flexibly retired (but remained active) prior to 1 April 2024. This uplift will automatically be added to your Retirement Income Builder benefits which you’ll see in your summary on My USS.

If you’ve left USS but are eligible for the uplift, you will receive the one-off pension uplift of £215 but because we store and use the value of your benefits at the date you left USS as the starting point for our calculations, you would see a smaller uplift added to your benefits in My USS. Next time your benefits are revalued (for example when you request a retirement quote) the uplift will be increased to the equivalent of £215 as at 1 April 2024.

The uplift won’t be shown in your My USS benefits until early June.

If you did not pay in to the scheme at any point during the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2024, then you will not receive the uplift. This includes if you were in a period of suspended membership where contributions were not maintained for the whole of this period. You will also not receive the uplift if you have enhanced opt out status as at 31 March 2024, have transferred out, taken a refund, opt out or withdraw from the scheme within three months of joining and take a refund.

If implemented, the one-off uplift will be applied with effect from 1 April 2024.

The uplift is treated in the same way as benefits you have built up when it comes to accessing your benefits at full or flexible retirement. 

Yes. USS standard pension increase applies. USS standard increases are linked to the increase in official pensions, subject to certain caps. Before and after you retire, on 1 April each year, your Retirement Income Builder benefits (defined benefit) are increased broadly in line with official pensions, including the uplift, subject to certain caps. The annual increase for benefits built up from 1 October 2011 (including the uplift) is capped at 10% (the first 5% matches the increase in official pensions, with half of any increase above 5% matched to a maximum of 10%).

No. Only contributions paid by you are eligible for a refund if you leave within two years.

If eligible, you’ll get the additional amount of £215 pension per annum, plus a £645 retirement lump sum.

If you paid in to USS at any point during the period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2024 and you are eligible, you’ll get the one-off uplift of £215 pension per annum, plus a £645 retirement lump sum.

Yes, you’ll receive £215 of pension per annum, increased annually in line with increases for official pensions, which broadly go up in line with inflation (currently CPI), subject to certain caps (see question above on pension increases). 

If you are eligible for the uplift, you’ll receive it once. 

This change isn’t one that requires employers to consult on. 

No. However, if you do not want to receive the uplift, you may wish to consider taking enhanced opt out prior to 1 March 2024. See our tax pages for details. 

Your Investment Builder (defined contribution) savings are not affected by the uplift.

No. Transfers of defined contribution savings into the Retirement Income Builder (defined benefit) part of the scheme are not available. See ‘Using your Investment Builder pot’, for details of your options for your DC pot. 

No. If you are eligible and were in active membership for any period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2024 and retired before 1 April 2024, you’ll receive a pension uplift of £241 per year but you won’t receive the lump sum part of the uplift. 

Yes. If you are eligible and were a member for any period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2024 and retired before 1 April 2024. You’ll get a pension uplift of £241 per year.

Yes. If a eligible member had any period of active membership from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2024 and passed away before 1 April 2024, the spouse, civil partner, eligible child and dependant of that member who is in receipt of a dependant’s pension will receive a pension uplift of £108 per year. 

No. The uplift only applies if a member was in active membership for any period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2024.

Yes. If you are eligible and you were in active membership for any period from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2024 and retired before 1 April 2024 due to ill health, you’ll get a pension uplift of £241 per year.

If you have EOO status as at 31 March 2024, you won’t receive the uplift if it is implemented. If you revoke your EOO status so that you are in active membership on that date, you will receive the uplift. However, please note that you won’t be able to take EOO again in the future and the uplift, plus any benefits you build up will count towards your tax allowances, including the Annual and Lifetime allowances. 

If you had any period of active membership from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2024, took flexible retirement before 1 April 2024, and do not fully retire before 1 April 2024, you’ll receive a pension uplift of £215, plus £645 lump sum. This applies if you remain in active membership beyond 31 March 2024, and if you left active membership but did not fully retire before 1 April 2024.

If you had any period of active membership from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2024, took flexible retirement before 1 April 2024, and fully retire before 1 April 2024, then you’ll receive a pension uplift of £241 per annum.  

You don’t need to join for a minimum period, if you re-join, have any period of active membership and are eligible, you’ll benefit from the uplift. However, if you opt out or withdraw from the scheme within three months and take a refund you won’t receive the uplift.

If you join on 1 January 2024, subject to a consultation with UUK, the statutory employer consultation, the completion of the valuation documents and the operational readiness of the Trustee, your contribution rate would be 6.1%.

Read more on the benefits of joining USS.

Get in touch with the pensions contact at your employer.