Five things you should do
Log in to My USS and take five minutes to:
1. Keep your forms up to date
You should complete some forms right away, as it’s good to keep things in order, as your circumstances may change over time.
There’s the Expression of Wish form, which lets us know who you’d like to receive your benefits when you die.
There’s also the Registration for potential dependants form, if you’re not married or in a civil partnership, or you’re no longer living with your spouse/civil partner, it’s important you keep this up to date. This tells us who you’d like to receive the equivalent of a spouse’s pension when you die.
We recommend you update these forms at least every three years so we know they’re correct, even if your wishes have not changed.
Find out more about what happens to your pension when you die.
2. Check out what you’ve built up and what notifications you have
When you log in to My USS, you’ll see your summary of your benefits and savings, as well as any notifications we’ve sent you.
3. Check what you could get in the future with the Benefit Calculator
The Benefit Calculator projects the value of your benefits to the point at which you plan to take them, helping you understand whether you’re on track for what you want in the future from what you have built up in USS. You can also use it to see the impact of saving extra in the defined contribution part of USS, the Investment Builder, and to calculate the impact of dialling up or down your pension/tax-free cash and other combinations and ways you might choose to access your pension. Making changes early can have an impact on what you get in the future.
4. Refresh yourself on the basics of USS
If you’d like to brush up on how USS works and what you get as a member, there’s a free webinar covering USS pensions basics on 25 June.
If you’re unable to attend any of the webinars on the day, you can watch a recording at a time that suits you.
5. Review your Target Retirement Age (TRA)
While you are in My USS, it’s worth checking you are happy with your TRA, which is the age you plan to start taking your savings in the Investment Builder. So, it’s important that this is aligned with your retirement plans.