Ready to see how much retirement income you are on target to receive from your UC retirement benefits? Your personalized Retirement Review has been updated for 2023.
A SNAPSHOT OF HOW YOU’RE DOINGTOWARDS YOUR GOAL
Your Retirement Review is a personalized statement that provides a snapshot of the retirement income you are on track to receive from your UC retirement benefits. It contains two key metrics:
- An estimate of your potential monthly income in retirement, plus
- A readiness score that lets you quickly see how you are doing towards your retirement income goal.
About your estimated potential monthly retirement income:
The Retirement Review estimates your potential monthly retirement income based on your current benefits, balances, and savings amounts, plus a few assumptions about how your benefits may grow over time. It takes into account your:
- UCRP pension plan benefit, if you were hired prior to July 1, 2016.
- Pension Choice or Savings Choice benefits, if you were hired on or after July 1, 2016.
- Balances and voluntary contribution ratesin the UC 403(b), 457(b), and/or DC Plan.
- Capital Accumulation Payments (CAP) balances.
Your retirement readiness score, explained.
Simply put, your readiness score is the percentage of your current income that you’re on track to have at retirement, assuming you work for UC for the rest of your career and retire from UC at age 65.
For example, if you currently earn $60,000 annually and your Retirement Review estimates your monthly retirement income at $3,000 ($36,000 per year), your readiness score is 60%.
The retirement readiness score is automatically calculated for most members. You will need to enter your annual pay to see your readiness score if you:
- Were hired after July 1, 2016, and elected Savings Choice as your primary retirement benefit.
- Are a former UC employee with an account balance of $2,000 or more in the UC 403(b), 457(b), or DC Plan.
HOW YOUR RETIREMENT INCOME IS CALCULATED
The Retirement Review’s calculations assume that you work for UC for the rest of your career and retire from UC at age 65 (or, if you are currently age 62 or older, within the next few years). Calculations differ based on the benefit plan:
- Pension. UC estimates the amount you are on track to have at retirement*from your pension benefit—the UC Retirement Plan (UCRP) or Pension Choice. The calculations use your annual pay and years of service as of the end of the previous quarter.
- Savings. The Retirement Review reflects your balances in the UC 403(b), 457(b), or DC Plan, plus any CAP balance you may have. It includes your Savings Choice benefits as well as any rollovers, money from any Safe Harbor contributions, and supplemental contributions you may receive if you earn more than the PEPRA cap on your pension benefit. The Retirement Review assumes that your balance stays in the plan and earns a hypothetical annual rate of return until you retire. If you and/or UC are actively contributing to the 403(b), 457(b), or DC Plan, the Retirement Review assumes these contributions will continue and will earn a hypothetical annual rate of return until you retire.*
WHAT TO CONSIDER ASYOU EXPLORE YOUR RETIREMENT REVIEW
When you estimate the level of income you’ll have in retirement, one of the most important factors to consider is the length of time you expect to work for UC.
Here are three things to know:
- First, remember that your Retirement Review assumes you’ll work for UC right up until you retire at 65.
- However, the average UC retiree has roughly 20 years of service. For most employees, that equates to a UCRP pension benefit at age 60 of 50% of their highest average eligible pay. If you were hired on July 1, 2013, or later, that equates to 50% at age 65.
- Plus, if you’re like many people, you’ll work for several employers during your career. That means you might not stay at UC long enough to build your UCRP pension benefit to a level that can meet your needs.
What does this mean for you?
You may need to save some of your own money to maintain the standard of living you’re used to. And that’s where UC’s supplemental retirement benefits—the UC 403(b), 457(b), and DC Plan—come in. Together, UC's primary and supplemental retirement benefitshelp give you the best chance for financial security when you retire.
SEE WHAT COULD HAPPEN IF YOU SAVE MORE OR RETIRE LATER
UC's Retirement Review makes it easy to create a personalized plan for your future. It includes a modeling tool that lets you explore different assumptions, such as the amount you save in the UC 403(b), 457(b), or DC Plans, or the age at which you retire.
- You can use the modeling tool to add in other sources of retirement income, including an IRA and Social Security.
- Have an old 403(b) or 401(k) account? Enter it in the modeler too. And remember that you can roll it over into one of your UC retirement accounts.
- You can even add in your spouse or partner’s retirement assets to get a more holistic view of your retirement income.
WHERE TO FIND YOUR RETIREMENT REVIEW
Here's where you can seeyour 2023 Retirement Review. Sign in using the same ID and password you use to access your UC 403(b), 457(b), and DC Plan accounts on netbenefits.com.Please note that you may need to clear your browser cache and delete stored cookies to enable this feature.
LEARN MORE
Watch this short video to learn how you can make the most of your Retirement Review.
