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Pensions & Benefits - Pensions

USS Scheme Guide

Pensions - USS Page

For information on the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) which is available to staff of grade 7 and above please see the information below.  Alternatively contact Elaine Millard, Pensions & Employee Benefits Manager or Peter Brookes, Pensions & Employee Benefits Administrator for more details. 

IMPORTANT NOTE – ABOUT YOUR MEMBERSHIP OF THE UNIVERSITIES SUPERANNUATION SCHEME (USS)

Your contract of employment will state if your university employment is subject to membership of USS.  If your contract is pensionable you are automatically a member of the scheme until you opt out (except if you are ineligible for membership – see below).  Please also note that the university is operating USS as a “salary sacrifice” arrangement, the implications of which are explained in USS’S Salary SacrificeFactsheet.

Opting out of Membership

If you wish to opt out of membership of USS you can do so. The appropriate form can be obtained from the USS website at: www.uss.co.uk. You cannot complete or submit the form ahead of your date of joining the Scheme. 

Ineligible for Membership

If you have a pensionable contract of employment you will not be entered into the scheme if you are ineligible for membership.  These are the only reasons for not being eligible for USS membership:

  • You are aged 75 or over at the commencement of your relevant Aston University pensionable employment. 

  • You carry out the majority of your duties for the University in a European Union country other than the United Kingdom.

  • You are already in receipt of a pension from USS.  (See “auto-enrolment” for a change effective from 1 August 2013.)

AUTO-ENROLMENT

With effect from 1 August 2013 the University will be subject to the Government’s auto-enrolment regulations which is a requirement for employers to automatically enrol eligible jobholders into a pension scheme.

To enable the University to comply with the new regulations, USS has amended its Rules which currently exclude those already in receipt of a pension from rejoining USS.

With effect from 1 August 2013, USS re-employed pensioners will be entered into USS, if they meet the criteria for being an eligible jobholder. Further details can be found on USS’s website at:  http://www.uss.co.uk/SchemeGuide/Auto-enrolment/Pages/default.aspx

More detailed information about USS can be found at http://www.uss.co.uk

If you join USS, a copy of the appropriate 'Guide for Members' will be sent to you with your membership certificate.

 

PAYING ADDITIONAL VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS (AVCs)

Should you wish to pay AVCs to increase your benefits, USS offers the following arrangements:

The webpages include detailed information and modelling tools, illustrating the costs and benefits of the arrangements.