Seven tips to keep your future plans on track in 2025
The start of a new year is a good time to look ahead and explore any steps that could help you achieve your aspirations.
Retirement is a way off and you may still be prioritising some other life goals. However, thinking about life after work and the decisions it brings can be easier when you have time to make any adjustments.
Here’s some tips to help with your future planning
1. Prioritise plans for the new year and beyond
As you look at what 2025 might hold – maybe holidays, home improvements or a bigger purchase on your to-do list – any plans will need to fit with your finances.
If steps on the property ladder, changes to your family life or career adjustments are on the horizon, find out more about how these life events could affect your USS pension.
2. Focus on the future you want
Retirement might still be a way off, but more focus on the lifestyle you’ll want can help you keep your planning on track.
Get an idea of how much you’ll need for your retirement income, based on the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association’s (PLSA) retirement living standards.
3. Check the health of your finances
If your new year’s resolutions include fine-tuning future plans, 2025 could be the ideal time for a Midlife MOT.
It can help you check the status of your work, health and finances, enabling you to set priorities as you look ahead.
The government’s Midlife MOT website is a hub of useful resources to help you ensure you’re moving in the right direction.
4. Get to grips with the options that lie ahead
There isn’t just one way to retire – once you reach the minimum pension age (55, rising to 57 in 2028 for some members) a range of options to access your USS benefits starts opening up.
Taking an early look into your retirement options at different ages and stages can give you the time to think about all the possibilities and make any necessary preparations.
5. Stay up to speed on other income sources
Your USS benefits that both you and your employer are contributing towards may not give the full picture of how your retirement income is taking shape.
You could be eligible to receive a State Pension to support you in retirement, however it might not be enough on its own. Find out more about what you could receive, and when, on the government’s website.
You may also have built up pension savings elsewhere, and you can search for any lost savings with the government’s Pension Tracing Service.
6. Ensure your hybrid pension works for you
Remember there are two parts to USS. There’s the Retirement Income Builder – the defined benefit (DB) part which gives you a guaranteed income for life and a one-off, tax-free cash lump sum (up to certain limits) when you retire. While you’re paying in, you automatically build DB benefits.
There’s also the Investment Builder – the defined contribution (DC) part. Members that earn above the salary threshold, automatically build a DC pot. You can also build up DC savings if you choose to make additional contributions at any point while you’re paying in, or if you transfer in from other pensions.
7. Use calculators and tools to help with planning
As you plan for your future, using our Benefit Calculator can provide you with a personalised projection of what you could get at retirement.
Log in to My USS and the calculator will already be populated with some information such as your salary. You can also look at how changes such as saving more or transferring in other pensions, or different retirement options, might impact your retirement income.
You could get tax relief on any contributions you pay in to USS. Using our Contributions & Tax Calculator in My USS can also show you how much any additional contributions might cost, and how much you could save in tax.
Published: 21 January 2025