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