It’s always a good idea to check in on your Investment Builder savings.
When you were paying in to USS, as well as building a guaranteed pension in the Retirement Income Builder (defined benefits), you built up a pot in the Investment Builder, the defined contribution part of USS.
It’s worth checking in on your Investment Builder savings, to see how much they’re worth and to make sure they still align with your plans.
Managing your DC savings
Check the current value of your Investment Builder savings by logging in to My USS.
You’ll also be able to see where your savings are invested and check they’re where you want them to be.
If you’ve chosen the Do It For Me option or have not chosen an investment strategy, we manage your savings for you, so it’s important you set a Target Retirement Age (TRA) in My USS. This lets us know when you’re planning to take your savings, so we know when to move your investments into lower risk funds as you get closer to taking them.
If you’ve chosen Let Me Do It, and decided to manage your own investments, it’s worth a quick check, to make sure you’re still happy with the choices you’ve made.
Thinking about your options
1. You can transfer these savings to another registered pension scheme.
2. You can leave them with USS to take as early as 55 (rising to 57 in 2028 for certain members). You’re not limited to taking your savings in just one way. You can mix and match your options depending on your plans.
You can:
- take cash payments from us (known as UFPLS)
- use your pot to provide a flexible retirement income, known as flexi-access drawdown
- use your pot to buy a guaranteed income for life, known as an annuity. The flexi-access drawdown and annuity options are not available directly through USS and you would need to transfer your DC pot to an alternative drawdown/annuity provider.
Take a look at using your Investment Builder pot for more on your Investment Builder options. You can also use the Benefit Calculator in My USS to model these different options and project what these savings will be worth in the future.
3. Finally, consider registering for an Understanding DC webinar to find out more about your Investment Builder options.