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Planning for the future

Hear from members who’ve done it

Retirement is getting closer. Do you know how much you’ll need when the time comes?

We’ve been talking to members who are retired or getting closer to retirement, to get their thoughts on what you might need when you retire and to hear what they think would help members like you, in planning for the future.

This links in with a national campaign called Pay Your Pension Some Attention, launched this autumn that focuses on getting "financially fit" for your future.

Have you thought how much you’ll need in retirement? Pensions UK estimates the average person will need £31,700 a year for a moderate retirement lifestyle.

Hear from Jon, who has retired early at age 62 and Harriet aged 55, who is in the midst of her retirement planning.

Listen to the podcast below, or read a summary of the podcast.

Podcast transcript

Please note, the contributors to the podcast are not pensions or financial experts and are speaking about their own personal experiences. Planning for your own retirement may mean you'll need to take tailored expert advice. Visit our guidance and financial advice page for more information on how to do so.

For more information on planning for retirement register for our latest webinar, which takes place on Wednesday 29 October.

A good place to start any retirement plan is logging in to My USS and using the Benefit Calculator to estimate what you might get when you retire.


Published: 21 October 2025