How does

INTRODUCING PENSIONSPLUS (CONT)

5 Does PensionsPlus affect my pension benefits on leaving the pension scheme or in retirement? PensionsPlus does not affect your pension benefits on leaving the pension scheme or in retirement.

The calculation of your pension benefit will be based upon your ‘Reference Salary’, which is your basic gross salary figure before the salary exchange takes place.

6 Does PensionsPlus affect my state pension

The state pension is based on the number of years for which you have paid sufficient National Insurance Contributions 1 rather than the amount of National Insurance Contributions that you have paid. The University has put in place a process to ensure that the reduction in your salary which is associated with PensionsPlus does not impact on the amount of state pension that you will receive in retirement.

7 Can everyone participate in PensionsPlus? Not everyone can participate in PensionsPlus.

All salaried staff will be automatically opted in to PensionsPlus on commencement of employment (provided they join either SAUL or USS) unless they choose to opt out. A minority of staff will not be opted in as they will not benefit, but can apply to join at a later date if their particular circumstances change. These staff include: • Graduate Teaching Assistants as their earnings, which include a fixed earnings stipend, fall below the threshold at which National Insurance deductions are made; • External Examiners as their

payments do not attract National Insurance deductions; • Most timesheet paid staff due to fluctuating earnings and also because membership of PensionsPlus will restrict their ability to obtain a refund of pensions contributions which is often important to staff with varying working patterns and lengths of contract ( see Q16).

Staff can consult their Conditions of Service to establish whether they will be opted in to PensionsPlus on joining the University as a member of SAUL or USS.

All staff may choose to opt in or out of to PensionsPlus to suit their personal circumstances ( see Q32 and Q33 ). exchange nature of PensionsPlus (ie exchanging employee pension for a greater contribution from the employer) does not alter the tax position.

9 How much will my takehome pay increase by? The amount that your take-home pay will increase by depends on your annual salary and whether you are a member of the SAUL or USS pension schemes. Please see the table opposite for examples of the annual increase you will see in your take-home pay if you remain in PensionsPlus. A more detailed calculator can be found on the Pensions Plus webpages.

10 Does the University also make savings? Yes, the University also makes savings.

This is because PensionsPlus works by reducing the amount of your earnings when calculating National Insurance Contributions. As these contributions are payable by both you and the University, there will also be an employer saving.

8 Does PensionsPlus change the amount of tax I pay? PensionsPlus does not change the amount of tax you pay.

At present both pension contributions made by the University and those made by you are not subject to tax, therefore, the salary

1 As defined by the Lower Earnings Limit or ‘LEL’. Please visit the GOV.UK website for current rates. The LEL is the amount of earnings that allow an employee to qualify for certain state benefits such as the basic State Pension.