Querying USS retirement quotations?

Blaubeere

Do any of the USSers on the forum have experience of how best to query information from USS and actually have them engage with the query.

Back in Feb 2025, when my institution opened a VSS, I asked for a retirement quotation for end of July 2025, which I did not take up. Now in January 2026, I asked for a quotation for exactly a year later, end of July 2026.

The 2026 quotation came back suggesting an increase of £113, and I am struggling to see how this can be:

i) a year's regular contributions up to the salary threshold would be £953, and with ERFs applied as per the USS site in accordance with my age, I ought to be getting £660 more.

ii) Ongoing added-year AVCs would also make for more, even with ERFs (the site is less clear on how these are calculated)

iii) my understanding is that the Oct 2024 ERFs apply equally to both quotations, thus a year closer to age 65/66 reduced factors should translate into some increase

iv) the increase for the following April is not applied in either quotation and for a standard pension of the size of mine, the 1.7 per cent for April 2025 (for all except the current year of accrual) should give several hundred pounds, not just £113.

Also I am little unclear as to why the 2025 quotation was plausibly in line with the Benefit Calculator, while the 2025 quotation is thousands of pounds short. I know the Calculator is a broad tool, but this seems extreme to me.

Have I misunderstood something obvious?

I tried to call USS but felt that I was getting no engagement with the substance of my concern (just fobbed off with generalisations about ERFs); I tried to write but without response.

My feeling is that a competent pensions administrator should either be able to see straight away that the quotations do not line up or explain to me if I have got something wrong.

I was going to write again, but am at a loss about what to do next.

Any advice appreciated.

Nick_Dr1

Does it have anything to do with the rule 10 issue? I've tried to understand its impact and I have failed, so it may have nothing to do with your case!

See here:

Can USS DB pension benefits decrease by paying more? | AgeWage: Making your money work as hard as you do

Blaubeere

This is interesting, I have not come across it before and I will look into it.

This seems to affect revaluation, and my immediate sense is that it is not in the first instance related to the concerns I have.

The increase between two quotations for retirement dates a year apart is only £113 and my sense is that both quotations cannot be correct if the ERFs have not changed since October 2024 and that this reflects miscalculation somewhere:

e.g. I) regular contributions at the salary threshold should according to the 1/75 accrual formula give an extra £650ish even with ERFs of 0.7 applied;

Ii) then there are my added year AVCs which according to my annual statement have added £600-800 annually in recent years; after ERFs this too should still make for a few hundred pounds increase;

Iii) then the ERFs: I don't have precise information on the proportions of my pension to which the different NPAs apply (60, 65,66), but one only has to play around with the USS published ERFs from Oct 24 to realise that reduced ERFs would translate into a significant increase, again several hundred pounds if not more

Iv) only then are we talking about revaluation and the April 2025 increase which does not show in the new quotation.

The wider issue is that I fear USS is neither listening nor explaining. I felt really robbed off when I called them and there's no reply to a written request for clarification. I was thinking of writing once more, then calling. But I am not sure what to do if USS don't listen or engage short or trying a complaint about the handling of my concerns

guymo

Does the quote only pertain to the DB (income builder) part? Could some of the discrepancy be explained by a different projection in the value o the DC (investment builder) element of the scheme?

Regardless of what the actual explanation turns out to be it's still disappointing that you can't get a decent reply from USS.

ussdave

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81881172#Comment_81881172

I don't really have any relevant experience to advise but based on what you've said I would be raising a complaint. It may get extra/more competent eyes on it and it also will set the clock ticking for being able to take a complaint further if it comes down to it.

Blaubeere

Thanks for the advice, this has been resolved for now. In the end I did call again with a view to threatening to make a complaint.

As luck would have it I did get someone competent on the line who saw straight away what the problem was. Whoever did the new quotation had not checked the box saying that my NPA was 60 so I was ERFed on the pre-2011 part of my pension all the way to age 65.

It's a bit concerning that this can happen and that you can end up on the phone talking to advisors who can't see it when in fact it is blatantly obvious that something is wrong. But anyway I can move forward again now