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Universities and Colleges Retirement Savings Scheme

Eligibility: All colleagues.

UCRSS is a defined contribution scheme (DC) which is administered by Aviva. A defined contribution pension is the most common type of pension. On retirement, the amount your defined contribution pension is worth depends on how much money you've contributed and the performance of your investments. A defined contribution pension works like a tax-friendly savings account.

A defined contribution plan is a type of retirement plan in which the employer, employee or both make contributions on a regular basis. Individual accounts are set up for participants and benefits are based on the amounts credited to these accounts plus any investment earnings on the money in the account.

Aviva Support for Members

Contribution Rates

Member Contribution Rate Employer Contribution Rate
 0%  7%
 1% 8%
2% 9%
3% 10%
4% 11%
5%+ 12%

Latest News and Features

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UUK Future Jobs event at Northumbria University
Professor Greta Defeyter OBE and Andrew Forsey OBE pictured outside 10 Downing Street.
Illustration of the ecosystem in Antarctica around 90 million years ago. Research shows that wildfires regularly occurred near the South Pole at that time. Credit: James McKay (University of Leeds).
Dr Lea Ferellec, a Research Fellow based in Northumbria's School of Engineering, Physics and Mathematics
Professor Elliott Johnson and Professor Nicola Wake
Radar measurements of coastal ice all around Antarctica will be taken from the air in an effort to get more accurate calculations and reduce uncertainty about future global sea levels. Photo by Dr Kenichi Matsuoka
Pictured left to right is Dr Antonio Portas, Jonathan Sanderson, Professor Carol Davenport and Mel Horan from NUSTEM at Northumbria University.
Young learners are pictured at Northumbria University’s London Campus taking part in the Digital and Cyber Essentials course – the first in an annual programme offered through a new initiative with the Mayor's Fund for London (MFL).
More events

Upcoming events

NU-NHSA Launch Event
Vortex Wakes of Airplanes, Helicopters, and Wind Turbines: Structure and Stability
Specialist Teaching Assistant Degree Apprenticeship - Online Information Session
Aged Veterans Research Conference 2026

Page last updated 04/08/26

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