Operational updates
For action
Retirement notice period
We will always do our best to settle retirements by the members date of retirement, however to assist our teams as we approach our Summer peak we would be grateful if you would please adhere to the following the timescales:
Three months from retirement
Please request quotations no less than three months from the date of retirement. We will process the quotation, typically within three days of receipt, to give the member enough time to consider their options and notify USS.
We can accept requests for retirement quotes up to 12 months from date of retirement. However, members who are investigating their options and not planning to retire are requested to use the USS Benefit Illustrator.
Eight weeks from retirement
Where possible please submit retirement forms (including those for flexible retirement) eight weeks in advance to guarantee retirement settlements are completed by the member’s date of retirement.
These notice periods relate to normal retirements, please give us as much notice as possible if you are likely to require us to produce quotations on a bulk basis, for example as part of a redundancy or voluntary severance exercise.
For more information about the retirements process, please refer to the administration guides on the employer portal.
If you have any further queries please contact James Hynes, Retirements Team Manager.
Payments to USS – avoiding beneficiary name errors
Banks transferring payments will now attempt to match the beneficiary name which can result in error flags when you make payments to USS. Should you experience difficulties the beneficiary name for payments to Univs Superann Scheme Ltd Trust Fund A/C is ‘UNIVERSITIES SUPERANNUATION SC’.
For information
Changes to State Pension Age
From 6 October the increase in state pension age (SPA) means that the USS normal pension age (NPA) will increase, from 65 to 66.
Factors for late retirements and conversion of lump sum to pension will also be changing from October.
This week we will update our systems so that members who request quotes, with a retirement date from October 2020 , will receive quotes that will reflect the new NPA and conversion factors. Their letters will include a note explaining the changes.
The calculation of benefits using the new NPA and factors is explained in more detail in these slides.
If you have any queries please contact us at RetirementTeam@uss.co.uk. Please give us as much notice as possible if you are likely to require us to produce quotations on a bulk basis, for example as part of a severance exercise.
Historic contribution rates…and more
You can now find out about the history of USS with the new A brief history of USS pack from the Employer resource hub. The pack includes information on the evolution of the scheme and historical contribution rates.