How the process works for members paying in to USS
You may want to build in some thinking time before you discuss retirement with your employer. This will allow you to consider your options, take financial advice (if needed), and lay the foundations for your future.
There are two parts to your pension. Visit how your pension works for more information on how the Retirement Income Builder, the defined benefit (DB) part, works alongside the Investment Builder, the defined contribution (DC) part.
This timeline isn’t an indication of when you should start planning – that’s entirely up to you.
If you have savings in the Investment Builder on top of your Retirement Income Builder benefits, you don’t have to take everything at the same time. Your Investment Builder savings can stay invested when you retire if, for example, you don’t need them until a later date. Read more about your options with the Investment Builder.
This timeline is for members paying in to USS. If you’re no longer paying in to your USS pension, visit a timeline to retirement for leavers.
We’ll use the term retirement date throughout this timeline, this refers to the date that you want to or will be due to take your USS benefits.
12 months before your retirement date
Use our Benefit Calculator in My USS to provide an estimate of the Retirement Income Builder benefits you’ll receive, and any Investment Builder savings you could flexibly access, in retirement. You should think about taking financial advice if you’re unsure what’s right for you. There are some circumstances where financial advice may be required.
You should request a retirement quote directly from us or through your employer up to 12 months before your retirement date to understand what your benefits might be. This can also help you plan.
Three to six months before
To kick-off the process, contact your employer – you’ll need to agree your retirement date with them. They’ll then notify us of your retirement date on your behalf.
If you’re flexibly retiring, it’s important to speak to your employer sooner rather than later, as they must notify us at least two months before your retirement date.
Once we receive the notification of retirement from your employer, we’ll send your retirement quote back to them – your employer will then share this with you.
Your retirement quote will outline your benefits and any savings, as well as your options for taking them. You can then use the Use your retirement quote option in the Benefit Calculator to explore your options.
There’ll be a Notification of member’s retirement form with your quote that you’ll need to complete yourself, once you know how you want to take your benefits and any savings you might have.
At least two months before
Once you’ve considered your options and you know how you want to take your benefits, return your completed Notification of member’s retirement form either to your employer or via make an enquiry in My USS at least two months before your retirement date to ensure your benefits are paid on time.
The earlier you return it the better. It’s especially important if you’re taking any Investment Builder savings too, as we’ll need to disinvest your savings and will need a little more time to process this.
Payment of your benefits may be delayed if you return it any later, however we do endeavour to pay members on time.
Once we receive your form
We’ll review this to make sure we have all the information we need. We’ll be in touch directly if we have any queries. If we have all the information we need, you’ll receive a confirmation email within a few days of us receiving your form.
If you’re taking Investment Builder savings too, we’ll start disinvesting your savings in the penultimate month before you’re retiring (or later if your form wasn’t returned on time). We need a little more time to process these, so we want to make sure they’re ready so that your benefits can be paid to you on time. Once this is complete, we’ll process your benefits in the Retirement Income Builder too.
Once your benefits have been processed
You’ll receive a letter confirming your benefits within the two weeks leading up to your retirement date or within a few days of us processing your benefits, if the form wasn’t returned on time.
The first working day after your retirement date
You’ll typically receive your one-off, tax-free (up to certain limits) lump sum straight into your nominated bank account, if you’ve chosen this option. This could be later if you or your employer have raised any queries about the information submitted or if your form wasn’t returned on time.
After your retirement date
You’ll receive your first pension payment on the 21st day of the month following the month that you retire (or later if your form wasn’t returned on time), and each month after that. If this falls on a weekend or bank holiday, it’ll be paid on the working day before.
You’ll receive a letter from us each year outlining your pension increase. You can also view your payslips and P60s in My USS to keep track of your income, these will be in the My documents section of My USS. We’ll email you to let you know when they’re available. Make sure we have your personal email address so we can keep in touch throughout your retirement.
Keep your email address updated in My USS. We need a personal one so we can contact you.
Visit our retirement hub to stay up to date as you receive your benefits and continue life in retirement.
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We're here to help
You can contact us online with any questions you have throughout the process, or once you're retired.