Pension Awareness: are your beneficiaries up to date?

For Pension Awareness week (9-13 September), we are asking colleagues to check their scheme details are up to date, including making sure they have nominated who they want to receive their pension payouts should they die.

Although it is not an easy thing to think about, ensuring these details are up to date means your loved ones do not miss out on important financial support at a difficult time.

All pension schemes offered by the University allow members to add beneficiaries who will receive their benefits if they die prematurely, by completing an ‘Expression of Wish’ form.

Beneficiaries can be partners, family members or other loved ones of your choosing.

URPS (Grades 2-5)

If you are an active University of Reading Pension Scheme (URPS) member, a lump sum of six times salary is payable should you die, as well as the funds that have accumulated in your Retirement Account.

Further details are in the URPS Membership booklet located in the ‘Scheme Information’ section at on our URPS pension webpage.

The Expression of Wish form can be found under the ‘Forms’ section on the same page.

Members can also access their account online via the ‘Things to do now’ section on the right hand side of the page, where you will also find information about the URPS app.

USS (Grades 6 and above)

If you are an active Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) member, a lump sum of three times salary is payable upon your death, as well as a pension for your spouse/dependant, and a pension for any eligible children.

USS has lots of details around death benefits, and adding beneficiaries and dependants, on its website.

There are also links to the Expression of Wish forms on the ‘My USS’ pages, under ‘My Details’. Members need to register their online account to access these pages.

UREPF members

Colleagues who joined the University in Grades 1-5 before 2011 may be members of the University of Reading Employees’ Pension Fund (UREPF).

If you are an active member of this scheme, the lump sum is three times salary, a return of contributions, a pension for your spouse/dependant, and a pension for any eligible children. Further guidance is on our UREPF webpage.

Forms for nominating beneficiaries are located in the ‘Nomination Forms’ section and in the ‘Things to do now’ section.

Signing up for online access can be done by contacting Barnett Waddingham (the scheme administrators).

Pension Awareness

The Pension Awareness campaign, led by financial wellbeing communications company Pension Geeks, is running all this week and aims to increase understanding of pension schemes and preparing for retirement.

The University is running its own in-person information sessions in the coming weeks to support the campaign: one for colleagues in Grades 2-5 to learn about the URPS pension scheme they are eligible for, and another which will share tips on planning for retirement for all colleagues.