University of Bristol Group Pension Plan (UBGPP)
Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Read the Statement from UBGPP Governance Group on COVID-19 pandemic (PDF, 37kB).
Please visit Legal & General's Coronavirus hub for information about coronavirus and your pension.
UBGPP contacts
Legal & General will be your main contact, as they administer the UBGPP scheme.
Scheme helpline: 0345 070 8686
To manage your account, log into Legal & General portal and select 'Manage your account'. You will need to use the enrolment code on your joining letter to log in if it is your first visit.
Contact the University Pensions team if you need further assistance.
Contribution rates in UBGPP for former UBPAS members
Find out what the transitional arrangements for former UBPAS members are.
National Composites Centre (NCC)
Access information about UBGPP on the NCC website.
Contribution rate changes
Change your UBGPP contributions using the UBGPP - Change of contribution form (PDF, 81kB) form. Sign, scan and email to the Pensions team. Alternatively, post to Pensions at Augustine's Courtyard, Orchard Lane, Bristol, BS1 5DS.
Key benefits and contribution rates
UBGPP offers 6 times basic salary payable in the event of member's death in service.
Higher employee contributions are rewarded with higher contributions from the University.
| Employee contribution % | Employer contribution % | Total contribution % |
| 4.0 | 5.0 | 9.0 |
| 5.0 | 6.5 | 11.5 *default rate* |
| 6.0 | 8.0 | 14.0 |
| 7.0 | 9.5 | 16.5 |
| 9.6 | 12.5 | 22.1 |
Joining the pension
Eligible staff are automatically enrolled at the minimum 4% employee contribution.
Legal & General administer the scheme and they send a joining letter and membership certificate within 6 weeks of your start date. If you don't receive your joining letter, please contact Legal & General.
The letter details how to register online for the Legal & General pension portal in which you can:
- update any changes in your personal details (e.g. home address). All correspondence will be made via this address, so it is very important that you keep this updated.
- amend the fund that your pension is invested in
- amend your target retirement date
- use tools and calculators to make pension estimations
- nominate your beneficiary in the event of your death
Opting out
The letter you receive from Legal and General includes instructions on how to opt out.
In order to receive a refund of your contributions, you must opt out by the date given in your joining letter.
After this date, you can still choose to opt out, but you will not receive a refund for any previous contributions.
Change your pension contributions
Download a contribution adjustment form and send to Pensions if you want to amend your contribution rates. Your contribution must remain at least 4%.
For the change to be effective in the next payday, the form must be received by the Pension deadline.
Nominate your beneficiary
If you die before you take your retirement benefits a lump sum will be payable. Legal & General will use their discretion as to who to pay the benefits to, but will take your wishes into account.
To let Legal & General know who you would like to receive these benefits, simply complete the beneficiary nomination form.
Annual statements
The pension statements will be issued to home addresses around 20th April 2020.
Absences and your pension
Unpaid leave
Contact Pensions if you wish to maintain your pension contribution during your unpaid leave.
Maternity
Pension contributions
Your pension will be deducted based on your occupational pay. For example, if your earnings in the first 8 weeks are full pay, your pension contribution will be based on the full pay. When you are on half pay, the pension contribution will be based on your half occupational pay.
Contact Pensions if you wish to maintain your pension contribution during the period of unpaid maternity leave.
Salary sacrifice
For salary sacrifice, the amount exchanged will be based on the occupational maternity pay actually received, so during periods of half-pay the amount exchanged will be based on the half-pay received. The University will pay normal and additional employers’ contributions as if you were on full pay for the period.
Get a retirement quote
Contact Legal and General to get a retirement quote.
Leaving the University
When you leave the University, contributions will stop, but you can choose to leave the pension invested within the scheme or transfer to a new pension provider.
You can still access your pension details via the Legal & General pension portal. This will include details of how to transfer and manage your funds.
If you are an overseas national and intend to leave the UK at the end of your University employment, the pension arrangements are exactly the same and at the end of your university employment, the pension can be transferred out to any UK recognised overseas pension scheme.
Please check and ensure that Legal & General have your current contact address and details.
Taking retirement
Contact Legal and General when your retirement has been confirmed in writing by HR.
Try and give 2 months notice to Legal & General to help ensure that your pension payments start on time.
The University will stop further contributions once your retirement has been processed by HR.
Drawdown charges
Following a review of our current ‘at retirement’ charges, we are pleased to confirm that the £250 charge we make when members set up regular income payments via ‘flexi-access drawdown’ (FAD) will be removed. In addition the £20 that we charge for more than one ad-hoc withdrawal made in a 12 month period will also be removed.
This change means there are now no fixed monetary charges for members wishing to withdraw money once in FAD, across any workplace product.
The charges that are being removed have been in place since Pension Freedoms were introduced in April 2015 and reflected the additional operational effort required to administer drawdown.