What's a hybrid pension?
If you have both Retirement Income Builder benefits and Investment Builder savings, you have a hybrid pension. This means you have both a defined benefit pension, which guarantees you an income at retirement, and a defined contribution pension, which gives you a flexible savings pot that you can use in a variety of ways. So, you’ll get the best of both worlds.
There are a few things you need do to manage your hybrid pension and make the most of your savings for the future.
The three must-dos:
Log in to My USS to see what you've built up
It’s important to keep on top of your Retirement Income Builder benefits and Investment Builder savings, so you know how much you’ve saved and whether you’ll have enough to meet your needs.
Check your email address is correct while you’re in My USS, so we can keep in touch. We recommend you use a personal email so we can help you keep on top of your pension if you change jobs or retire.
Choose how you want to invest your Investment Builder savings
You don’t need to make investment choices for your Retirement Income Builder benefits, as our team of experts manage all the investments in this part of USS.
There are two investment routes to choose from for the Investment Builder, both give you the choice to invest ethically:
- You can let our team of experts manage your investments with the Do It For Me Option (you’ll be in this option if you don’t make a choice)
- You can make your own investment choices with the Let Me Do It Option
Read more about the two investment routes and how to make your choices.
Consider when you plan to take your Investment Builder savings and set your Target Retirement Age (TRA)
You only need to do this for your Investment Builder savings. It doesn’t apply to your Retirement Income Builder benefits, which become payable in full at the Normal Pension Age.
- If you’re in the Do It For Me Option, your TRA lets us know when to move your Investment Builder savings into lower risk funds, so we can make sure you’re invested in the right place at the right time. It’s our way of helping your savings pot become more stable as you approach your TRA.
- If you’re not sure when you want to take these savings yet, that’s fine. You can update it any time in My USS, so just set it to an age you think is right at the moment.
A few other things you should do to make sure your savings are on track:
Estimate your future income
Look at what your Retirement Income Builder benefits and Investment Builder savings could be in the future and consider whether it’s enough.
Use the Benefit Calculator to estimate what your future income and savings could be when you come to take them, and get an idea of how much you might need for retirement.
If you don’t feel quite on track, or have a little money spare each month, you could consider saving more towards your future by making additional contributions. Watch our video on how to make additional contributions in My USS.
Consider consolidating your pensions to make it easier for future you
You could transfer other pension savings into the Investment Builder to get them all in one place and manage them together through My USS.
You may want to seek guidance on whether this is the right option for you. Visit our guidance and financial advice page for a range of resources to support your planning and information on how to access an independent financial adviser.
Get to grips with how you might want to use your benefits and savings
Consider whether you want to take them together or independently to achieve your future goals.
Visit taking your benefits and savings to understand how you can take them independently from each other or together. You don’t need to wait until you take your Retirement Income Builder benefits to access your Investment Builder pot, which means you have a little more flexibility with the Investment Builder. You can take your Investment Builder savings earlier or later than your retirement income and in a way that suits you.
Your options at different ages and stages will show you what you can do with your benefits and savings at different ages and how you might be able to take them early.
There are plenty of ways to make sure your benefits and savings work for you. If you need further support in deciding what’s best, take a look at our guidance and financial advice page, where you’ll find a range of resources to support your planning and how to access an independent financial adviser.
Visit how your pension works for more on how both parts of USS work side by side.