Key life events

If you’re still paying in to USS, speak to your employer. They’ll be able to provide you with a form to get things started.

If you’ve stopped paying in to USS, you can call our Member Service Team on 0333 300 1043, Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm.

All you have to do is log in to My USS to complete an Expression of Wish form or a Registration of potential dependant form to let us know who you’d like to receive your benefits if you die. It doesn’t always have to be a person, it could even be a charity or any other organisation capable of receiving the money.

We recommend that you update theses every three years so we know they’re up to date, even if your wishes haven’t changed.

You can contact our Bereavement Team on 0333 300 1043.

Please complete the Registration of potential dependant form in My USS. We recommend that you update this at least every three years so we know it’s up to date, even if your wishes haven’t changed.

For more information, take a look at what happens when you die.

Please complete the Expression of Wish form in My USS. We recommend that you update this at least every three years so we know it’s up to date, even if your wishes haven’t changed.

For more information, take a look at what happens when you die.

You can take a look at our getting divorced page for more information. For further help, call our Member Service Team on 0333 300 1043, Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm.

For information on maternity, paternity, shared parental leave or family leave, take a look at becoming a parent. For further questions, call our Member Service Team at 0333 300 1043.

We’ll base your contributions on your actual salary during the year – not the full-time equivalent. And if your salary in any given month is over the monthly equivalent of the salary threshold, you and your employer will automatically contribute to your Investment Builder pot for that month.

If you’re a variable-time worker, find more information on our changes to your job page.

Use the calculator tools in My USS to estimate how changes to your pension contributions will impact your retirement projection.

You get life cover whilst paying in to USS. This means if you die whilst paying in, your loved ones may be able to get a lump sum of three times your salary – and a pension too.

If you’ve stopped paying in to USS or are already retired, your loved ones may still be eligible to the benefits that you’ve built up.

Let us know about your dependents and nominate your beneficiaries in My USS.

Read more on what happens when you die.

Things change as you move through life, which could affect your pension or who you choose as your beneficiaries. Take a look at our life events pages to find out what will happen to your pension depending on what’s happening in your life.

You can keep your information up to date in My USS.

A dependant is someone who’s fully or partly financially dependent on you, or dependent on you because of any physical or mental disability when you die. For example, this could be a common-law partner you share a joint mortgage or bills with, provided they can demonstrate that they were either partly or wholly financially dependent on you when you died.