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Ill health retirement

Find out more about your options if you can’t work anymore

We may be able to help

Having to stop working completely because of an illness or an injury isn’t a nice thought. Unfortunately, it could happen – and we may be able to help.

If you’ve been paying in to USS for at least two years and have an illness or condition that stops you from working, or reduces your capacity to work, you could retire early with full USS benefits.

There are three different types of ill health retirement – what you’ll get will depend on how much you’re able to work. Find out about these types, when you’ll be eligible and what you’ll need to do in our ill health retirement factsheet for members paying in.

If you’re no longer paying in your benefits are a little different. You’ll get the benefits you’ve built up to when you left USS, without any enhancements to the Normal Pension Age (NPA). However, they won’t be reduced due to early payment. Take a look at our ill health retirement for leavers factsheet for more information.

If you're suffering from a serious ill health condition and have a limited life expectancy, we may be able to pay all your benefits as a lump sum to help support you and your family through this difficult period. Find out more in our serious ill health lump sum factsheet.

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