Get retirement ready by doing these simple tasks
As you have both your Retirement Income Builder (the defined benefit part of USS) and savings in the Investment Builder (the defined contribution part of USS). Here’s a few things worth keeping an eye on.
They’re all quick and simple to do – and can be accomplished with ease by logging in to My USS.
1. Keep your life cover forms up to date (at least every three years)
Even though you’ve left you still get life cover from USS, and it’s important to keep your forms up to date.
A spouse, civil partner or other nominated person could get a lump sum of three times the pension you’d built up. A spouse or civil partner could also be eligible for a pension equal to around half the amount you would have received on retirement. In addition, any children you have would potentially (depending on their age) also be eligible for children’s pension.
For any lump sum payable, you should keep your Expression of Wish form up to date.
If you do not have a spouse or civil partner but would like someone to receive a dependant’s pension, you should complete a Registration of potential dependant form.
Dependants means anyone, at the time of a USS member’s death, is either financially or dependent on them because of a physical or mental disability.
You can update your forms in the My details section when logging in to your My USS account, and read our factsheet to find out more about life cover at USS.
2. Find out what benefits you'll receive
From age 55 you can take your benefits and savings in My USS, so it’s definitely worth checking on what you’ve got and what your options are.
You can view the value of your benefits and savings in My USS or on your leaver statement. To explore your options, use the Benefit Calculator in My USS.
Simply log on to your My USS account and click on Calculators and tools on the left-hand side and then the Benefit Calculator.
Here, you can work out what you could get when you retire from your pension and see how making changes – such as taking a bigger lump sum or retiring at a different date – will affect your pension income.
You can also look at your Investment Builder savings and model different ways of taking them, from converting them to income in retirement such as buying an annuity or using Flexi Access Drawdown or taking cash lump sums.
3. Remind yourself of the retirement process at USS
Your retirement process will begin approximately one year before your retirement date. At this point in time, you can request a retirement quote directly from us. This will help you to better understand exactly what your benefits may be.
After you’ve familiarised yourself with your retirement benefits, you’ll need to complete a Notification of member’s retirement form. Ensure you return this form at least two months before your retirement, so your pension benefits are paid on time.
When you’re finally able to make decisions about taking your benefits, there’s a host of support and information available to help you, from our webinars and retirement checklist to our guidance and financial advice page.
4. Make sure your TRA is up to date
As you have Investment Builder savings in your USS pension, it’s important to set a Target Retirement Age (TRA) if we are managing your investments for you (Do It For Me).
Your TRA is important because it tells us when to move any investments you have in the Investment Builder to more cautious funds as you get closer to taking them.
You can update your TRA in the Investment Builder section of My USS.
Published: 28 October 2026