Happy New Year… and a healthy pension for 2026

Here’s a few practical tips

1. Look at your outgoings and income

It sounds obvious but how many of us truly look at our costs for the year ahead versus what our income is. Doing a quick forecast of all your income and all your costs for the year can be extremely helpful. As part of that it’s worth keeping on top of the income you’re getting from your USS pension which increases each year in line with pension increases. Make sure your personal email address is up to date, so we can send your P60s and ensure payslips are easy to hand when you need them.

Keep your information updated in My USS.

2. Work out what are essential and non-essential spends

Once you know what you’re spending, it’s worth looking at what’s an essential bill for example food, housing, bills, and which ones aren’t essential like gifts, dining out and holidays.

Cutting out some of those impulsive spending habits and identifying areas where you don’t really need to spend can help. Expensify or a spreadsheet can really monitor those costs.

3. Check you’re getting what you're entitled to

Once you reach State Pension Age you can get free travel or discounted travel, you might also be eligible for additional free health care, or even additional benefits. The government website has more information.

Once you’re 50 and particularly when you’re over 60 there’s also a range of discounts available to you, whether it’s things like the gym, shops, travel, cinema, to getting discounts on health services.

4. Reduce what you pay

Whether it’s using comparison sites for insurance or utilities, to Facebook Marketplace or Vinted for goods and clothes or using apps like Too Good To Go to reduce your food bills, there’s a whole host of online resources to help you cut the cost of what you pay.