Help us keep in touchabout your pension
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Help us keep in touch
about your pension -
Feel part of the community
of USS members -
Help take care of your loved ones
once you’re gone
Retirement – the start of a new life phase
Depending on your circumstances and lifestyle choices, there may be things you should think about to keep on top of your finances and future plans.
Understanding your USS membership, and the benefits you may be eligible for in retirement, could help along the way.
Visit My USS - Your pension at your fingertips
It takes minutes to register with your member number, or you can log in to your existing My USS account and:
- View your payslips and P60s to keep track of your income
- Update your address, personal details and beneficiaries
- View and manage any Investment Builder savings
Watch our short video for an overview of My USS and what it can do for you.
Keep pension tax in mind
Your contributions won’t have been taxed while you were paying in, but your pension is when you receive it – like with a regular income.
It’s important to be aware of how your guaranteed income from your Retirement Income Builder savings – the defined benefit (DB) part of USS – will be taxed during retirement.
If you contributed to the Investment Builder – the defined contribution (DC) part – you’ll also need to understand how the options to flexibly access your savings pot are affected by tax.
Depending on your circumstances, there may be other tax limits for you to keep in mind.
Living overseas in retirement
If you're living or planning to live in a different part of the world – be it a return to another country or a move to pastures new – rest assured you’ll still receive your USS pension.
See our working or retiring overseas page for more information.
Make sure your contact details are correct
Now that you’ve retired, it’s important to keep your details up to date. You can do this in My USS.
We recommend you provide a personal email address so we can always keep in touch.
Continue planning for the future
It’s important to think about what will happen to your pension once you’re gone, as your loved ones may be eligible to receive some of the benefits you’ve built up.
During your first five years of retirement, keep your Expression of Wish form up to date in My USS. This tells us who you’d want to receive a lump sum that may be payable when you die.
You should continue updating your Expression of Wish form after your first five years if you have savings remaining in the Investment Builder. This will tell us who you’d want those funds to be paid to.
If you’re not married and don’t have a civil partner, let us know if there’s someone you’d want to be considered to receive the equivalent of a spouse’s pension when you die. To do this, keep the Registration of potential dependant form updated in My USS throughout your retirement.
Manage any Investment Builder savings left with us
If you’ve taken your Retirement Income Builder benefits but left your Investment Builder savings invested, log in to My USS to check they’re invested in the right place for you and make sure you keep your Target Retirement Age (TRA) up to date.
Your TRA is the age you plan to access your savings, and if you’ve chosen the Do It For Me option it enables us to automatically move your investments to lower risk funds as you get closer to taking them. If you’ve chosen the Let Me Do It option, which means you’re responsible for managing your own investments, it lets us know when to contact you about your next steps.
When you’re ready to access your savings, you’re not limited to taking your money in just one way. You can mix and match your options depending on your future plans. Read all about your options on our using your Investment Builder pot page.
Stay connected with USS
Keep an eye on our member news for the latest scheme updates and useful articles.
You can also talk to peers about how they’re managing their pension and tell us what you think about USS by joining Member Voice. Through this online community for USS members, you could also take part in research such as surveys, discussions and previewing new things we plan to do.
Our Stay connected in retirement page can also help you make the most of your time in retirement, with tips for finding new activities and opportunities.
Useful for you
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18 October 2024
Don’t fall for a pension scam
Pension scams are on the rise, and anyone can be a target. Being aware of the warning signs can help you stay one step ahead of fraudsters.
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30 July 2024
Power of attorney and your USS pension
A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a way of giving someone you know the ability to make decisions on your behalf if you become unable to do this yourself.
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Member video
What are UFPLS?
You could take all or part of your DC savings as cash payments, also known as UFPLS, when you reach the minimum pension age. Watch the video to find out more.
Any questions?
You can visit our Help & support page featuring FAQs which may help to answer your questions.
If you’ve taken flexible retirement and you’re still working and contributing to USS while receiving a proportion of your pension, visit our you’re flexibly retired page for more information about your options and next steps.
If you have any questions about your pension in payment, call our Pensions Payroll Team on 0151 556 0747 or email payroll@uss.co.uk.
If you have any questions about your tax code, contact HMRC directly on 0300 200 3300, quoting your National Insurance number and our PAYE reference 428/U168.
If you have any questions about your Investment Builder savings or My USS, contact our Member Service Team on 0333 300 1043. Lines are open 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday.