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USS is fifty years young. Learn more about our history on our dedicated page.

Retirement hub

There are some things to be aware of as you receive your benefits and continue life in retirement.

  • Help us keep in touch
    about your pension

     

  • Feel part of the community
    of USS members

  • Help take care of your loved ones
    once you’re gone

Retirement – the start of a new life phase

Depending on your circumstances and lifestyle choices, there may be things you should think about to keep on top of your finances and future plans.

Understanding your USS membership, and the benefits you may be eligible for in retirement, could help along the way.

Visit My USS – your pension at your fingertips

It takes minutes to register with your member number, or you can log in to your existing My USS account and:

  • View your payslips and P60s to keep track of your income
  • Update your address, personal details and beneficiaries
  • View and manage any Investment Builder savings

Watch our short video for an overview of My USS and what it can do for you.

Register or log in

Keep pension tax in mind

Your contributions will not have been taxed while you were paying in, but your pension is when you receive it – like with a regular income.

It’s important to understand how your guaranteed income from your benefits in the Retirement Income Builder – the defined benefit (DB) part of USS – will be taxed during retirement.

If you have savings in the Investment Builder – the defined contribution (DC) part – you’ll need to understand how options to flexibly access them are affected by tax.

Depending on your circumstances, there may be other tax limits for you to keep in mind.

Pension tax information

Living overseas in retirement

If you’re living or planning to live in a different part of the world, rest assured you’ll still receive your USS pension. You could be returning to another country or moving to pastures new.

See our working or retiring overseas page for more information.

Make sure your contact details are correct

Now that you’ve retired, it’s important to keep your details up to date. You can do this in My USS.

We recommend you provide a personal email address so we can always keep in touch.

Continue planning for the future

It’s important to think about what will happen to your pension once you’re gone. Your loved ones may be eligible to receive some of the benefits you’ve built up.

During your first five years of retirement, keep your Expression of Wish form up to date in My USS. This tells us who you’d want to receive a lump sum that may be payable when you die.

You should continue updating your Expression of Wish form after your first five years if you have savings remaining in the Investment Builder. This will tell us who you’d want those savings to be paid to.

If you’re not married or in a civil partnership, tell us who you’d want to be considered to receive the equivalent of a spouse’s pension when you die. To do this, keep the Registration of potential dependant form updated in My USS throughout your retirement.

More information about benefits for loved ones

Manage any Investment Builder savings left with us

If you’ve taken your Retirement Income Builder (DB) benefits but left your Investment Builder (DC) savings invested, you can still make decisions. Log in to My USS to check your DC savings are invested in the right place for you and keep your Target Retirement Age (TRA) up to date.

Your TRA is the age you plan to access your savings. If you’ve chosen the Do It For Me option, it enables us to automatically move your investments to lower risk funds as you get closer to taking them.

If you’ve chosen the Let Me Do It option, which means you’re responsible for managing your own investments, it lets us know when to contact you about your next steps.

When you’re ready to access your savings, you’re not limited to taking your money in just one way. You can mix and match your options depending on your future plans. Read all about your options on our using your Investment Builder pot page.

Stay connected with USS

Keep an eye on our member news for the latest scheme updates and useful articles.

You can also talk to peers about how they’re managing their pension and tell us what you think about USS by joining Member Voice. Through this online community for USS members, you could also take part in research such as surveys, discussions and previewing new things we plan to do.

Our stay connected in retirement page can also help you make the most of your time in retirement, with tips for finding new activities and opportunities.

Useful for you

Any questions?

You can visit our help & support page featuring FAQs which may help to answer your questions.

If you’ve flexibly retired and you’re still working reduced hours while receiving a proportion of your pension, visit our you’re flexibly retired page. You'll find more information about your options and next steps.

If you have any questions about your pension in payment, call our Pensions Payroll Team on 0151 556 0747 or email payroll@uss.co.uk.

If you have any questions about your tax code, contact HMRC directly on 0300 200 3300. Quote your National Insurance number and our PAYE reference 428/U168.

If you have any questions about your Investment Builder savings or My USS, contact our Member Service Team on 0333 300 1043. Lines are open 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday.