Planning for retirement

The Retirement Income Builder is the defined benefit (DB) part of USS. This will give you a pension – a guaranteed income for life – plus a one-off, tax-free (up to a limit) cash lump sum at retirement. All members join this part automatically.

The Investment Builder is the defined contribution (DC) part that allows you to save a bit extra.

If you’re not quite sure what part of USS you’re in, visit how your pension works.

You have options around when you retire and take your Retirement Income Builder benefits and any Investment Builder savings – you don’t have to do the two together.

Visit your options at different ages and stages to see what your options are, and more on flexible retirement too.

If you have Investment Builder savings

You don’t have to retire to start taking these – you can take them any time from age 55 (rising to 57 in 2028), independently from taking your benefits from the Retirement Income Builder.

Your Target Retirement Age lets us know when you want to take your Investment Builder savings. It’s important to keep this up to date in My USS so we know when to move your investments to lower risks funds or when to contact you about your Investment Builder savings.

Watch our Target Retirement Age video and find out why it’s important to keep this up to date.

Read A guide to investing in the Investment Builder for more information on how we move your investments if we’re managing them for you.

Retirement is a big lifestyle change. You might stop working completely or you might slowly transition into retirement but continue to work a little. Either way, it’s important to think about what you want to do to help you understand how much money you’ll need to achieve the future lifestyle you want.

It’ll be different for everyone – you may want to continue to work part-time, take up voluntary work or you may decide it’s time to simply relax or travel.

Regular holidays abroad and plenty of hobbies may mean you’ll need a little more. But if you’re happy with less holidays and less spending then you might not need as much.

According to Which?*, average retired couples spend around £25,000 a year. This covers all the basics, such as bills and food, as well as some luxuries like holidays to Europe, hobbies and eating out. This increases to £40,000 a year if you want things like long-haul trips and a new car.

Useful resources:

• Visit Which? for more detail on how much you may need to retire and play around with their handy tools*.
• The Money Advice Service’s budget planner can help you plan what you’ll need.
• Read our article: What type of retirement do you want?

You’ll spend your money and time in different ways as you move through retirement. Some costs might go up, such as holidays and hobbies, but others might go down like commuting to work and mortgage repayments.

There are a number of benefits from the government that could save you money too. Things like a winter fuel payment, saving on travel costs plus free prescriptions and eye tests could all bring some of your spending down.

Have a think about how your spending habits might change and where you might save money to work out how much you’ll need.

Useful resources:

• Visit Age UK for the benefits you might have access to when you retire to understand where you might save.
• Take a look at the Money Advice Service’s guide on saving money on household bills.
• Use the Money Advice Service’s budget planner to help you plan your spending.

You can view the value of your benefits and savings in My USS or your latest Annual Member Statement.

To estimate what you could get at retirement, you can use our Benefit Calculator in My USS.

Your retirement income doesn’t all have to come from your workplace pension, you might be eligible for a State Pension from the government too. Find out how much State Pension you could get and when you’ll get it on the Government’s website.

You may have other sources of income such as savings with other pension providers, property or investments. Think about what you might get from these other sources and pull together a full picture of what you’ll get at retirement. Remember that any income may be subject to tax.

Find any lost pension savings with the Government's Pension Tracing Service.

You have options when it comes to taking your Retirement Income Builder benefits and any Investment Builder savings.

Take a look at your options at different ages and stages for more information.

If you have a retirement quote from us, see how taking more or less tax-free cash might affect you by using our Benefit Calculator in My USS.

Once you’ve got an idea of how much you’ll spend in retirement, where you might save and what your total income will be, you’ll start to see if you’ll have enough for the future lifestyle you want.

If you’re not quite on track you might want to consider saving a little more. One option might be making additional contributions to the Investment Builder in My USS.

You can use our Benefit Calculator in My USS to estimate how much any additional contributions to the Investment Builder could provide as a savings pot when you come to take them.

As long as you’re paying in to USS, you get life cover to help take care of your loved ones once you’re gone. They may be able to get a lump sum of three times your salary – and a pension too.

Tell us who you want to receive your benefits and savings – log in to My USS to complete an Expression of Wish form online or download an Expression of Wish form to print and return to us.

Any income from your pension benefits and savings is taxable. Just like a regular income, the rate at which it’s taxable depends on the amount of income you receive from your pension and other sources too.

Consider your options and personal circumstances carefully when deciding how to take your money.

Visit the Money Advice Service’s website for a guide to tax in retirement.