Current value of USS income builder scheme

owl456

I’m trying to gather together all the paperwork related to multiple pension schemes from multiple jobs I’ve had over the years. One that is really confusing me is the several years I spent working for a university in the USS scheme, a job which I left in April 2018.

My understanding is that the USS scheme is split into two parts, the Investment Builder (defined contribution) and the Income Builder (defined benefit). The Income Builder was a final salary scheme up until March 2016.

For the Investment Builder, I’ve got an annual statement from March 2019 (a year after I left the job). I haven’t yet received one from March 2020 (should I?), but I can log into the MyUSS website where it shows me the current valuation of this, which looks reasonable given the numbers in the 2019 statement. All looks good with regards the Investment Builder part of the scheme.

But I seem to have no record at all of the Income Builder part, which is worrying me. I have annual statements for the old final salary scheme up to when it closed in March 2016, but nothing for the Income Builder since then, and it doesn’t show up at all when I log in to MyUSS. I was definitely contributing towards the Income Builder: I can see the 8%/18% employee/employer contributions in my old payslips from April 2016 through to when I left the job in April 2018.

Is this normal? Should I still be getting annual statements that include the Income Builder now that I’ve left the scheme? Should I have been getting annual statements between 2016 and 2018 whilst I was still a member of the scheme? Should I have got a one-off statement when I left the job in April 2018? Should I be able to see the current value online in MyUSS? Is there some other way I can see an estimate for what the Income Builder is now worth?

AnotherJoe

IME you dont get yearly updates on what you would be paid from a DB pension, but that just may be mine. But any amount they said you got would be subject to the vagaries of inflation whuich is why they do do that (AFAIK)

You should though contact them to ensure you are in the scheme and they have your address.

Note that you said " can I can see an estimate for what the Income Builder is now worth?" do you mean what it would be worth, per month/year when you retire?

Because it wont be a lump sum unless they choose to offer to buy you out. Which is something else entirely.

ussdave

On my USS portal I can see my current revalued benefits for my old FS USS scheme.  It is listed within the income builder section, below my CARE income builder figures.  This is shown as two figures: the standard lump sum and the yearly income.

It may be different for deferred members but I would be a bit worried about it not showing and I would chase USS to rectify the issue.  Probably won't take much beyond nagging them every couple of months - just don't expect a fast turnaround.  A coworker of mine had an issue with missing years which took about 12 months to sort, simply due to how slow USS is to process things.

NedS

I am a deferred member of the USS DB scheme since leaving in 2004 and I do not receive an annual statement by post. You should have received a statement of benefits when you left the scheme and became a deferred member. You can access your account on their website and view your DB pension which will rise in line with inflation each year as per the scheme's guidelines. Alternatively, you can probably do a reasonable job of calculating your DB pension yourself, adjusting in line with inflation each year according to scheme rules.

The only thin I receive by post each year is the leaflet telling me about the woeful state of the schemes finances.

Johnnyboy11

I logged into the USS scheme today as a deferred member (or rather my wife is) and could only see the Investment Builder (DC) part, which is broadly the same in value as it was at the end of last year. As per the above post, the Income Builder (DB) part can be estimated by adjusting the value given in the Statement of Benefits you would have received when you left work.

The USS pension scheme has been messed around with so much over the past 10 years or so and further major changes are in the pipeline, all to the detriment of the member. We really didn't understand how the scheme worked when my wife left, but a huge hike in contributions was planned, and that was one of the deciding factors to leave.

owl456

Thanks for the replies. I definitely don't have a statement from 2018 when I left the scheme. I know I can work it out from my salary and inflation figures but at this stage I was more concerned that there seemed to be no paperwork at all confirming I was paying in to the Income Builder (final salary replacement) part of the scheme.

But I have now noticed in the My Documents setion of MyUSS that there is an electronic annual statement from 2017 (which I don't have on paper) that confirms I do have the first year of benefits under the Income Builder. So I'm not as worried as I was when I had no record at all of being in the Income Builder, but it's probably still worth chasing them up to get that final statement for when I left the scheme in 2018.

Summary of what I have, in case it's useful for anybody else trying to piece together paperwork:

• Paper statement for 2015, covering the Final Salary scheme. No electronic statement.
  
• Paper and electronic statements for 2016, when the Final Salary scheme ended.
  
• An electronic statement for 2017, which covers the old Final Salary (DB), new Income Builder (DB) and Investment Builder (DC). No paper statement.
  
• Nothing for 2018, the year I left.
  
• A paper statement for 2019, covering the Investment Builder only, not the DB schemes. No electronic statement. I was a deferred member by this time.

It seems entirely random whether things are sent in paper or electronic form!