For most of your working life, you’ve heard about the importance of saving and investing for retirement. And as important as that is, equally critical is steady income and a spending plan for all your years in retirement.

Here are four steps to help you keep the income from your retirement savings flowing through all the years of your life.

1. ALIGN YOUR INCOME AND EXPENSES

Visit netbenefits.com to:

Create a retirement plan using Fidelity's Planning and Guidance Center.

A good plan helps organize your finances, guide your decisions, prepare you for the unexpected. It also serves as a monthly budgeting tool that can be adjusted at any time. The planning tools in NetBenefits^® make it easier to plan for the retirement you envision. From anywhere in NetBenefits^®, just click the Planning link (login required).

Set up recurring, automatic withdrawals.

If you’re currently taking distributions from your retirement savings accounts, automatic withdrawals let you schedule regular payments from your retirement savings plan straight to your bank account. If you have left or retired from UC, you can now use an online automatic withdrawals tool that gives you more flexibility over how much you take from your accounts, and when. 

2. RE-EVALUATE YOUR INVESTMENTS

Consider the UC Pathway Funds to simplify investing.

The UC Pathway Funds let you choose one fund based on the date you think you will retire, or the year you plan to start taking money from your account. The Pathway Funds invest in a diversified mix of underlying stock and bond funds that gradually grows more conservative as each fund nears its target date and moves beyond. The Pathway Income Fund is designed for retirees and aims to preserve savings while seeking growth for a long retirement. 

Make sure your current investments are right for your age, goals, life expectancy and risk tolerance.

Consider reviewing your investments to make sure they continue to match your needs. As retirement moves closer, you may want to hold a larger portion of your savings in bonds and short-term investments. If you are nearing retirement, take into account the effect inflation will have on net investment returns.

3. INCORPORATE INCOME SECURITY

Assess the amount of guaranteed income you expect.

Determine the level of guaranteed income you expect from sources like Social Security and your UCRP pension. Then use your UC Retirement Review to determine if your guaranteed income will meet your spending needs in your later years of retirement. Your Retirement Review is a personalized statement that provides a snapshot of the retirement income you are on track to receive from all your UC retirement benefits, plus a readiness score that lets you quickly see how you are doing towards your retirement income goal.

Explore the Deferred Lifetime Income option available through the UC Pathway Funds.

UC offers Deferred Lifetime Income through the UC Pathway Funds—the target-date fund series available in the UC Retirement Savings Program. Deferred Lifetime Income is designed to let you convert a portion of your UC 403(b), 457(b) or DC Plan balance into fixed monthly payments beginning at age 78, when you may need it most. You can purchase Deferred Lifetime Income for yourself, or for yourself and a spouse. Plus, you can choose a beneficiary to receive any money you used to purchase Deferred Lifetime Income (the premium) that has not already been paid to you. This year's purchase window is open from September 1–26, 2023.

4. STREAMLINE AND KEEP THINGS SIMPLE

Make managing your assets easier by consolidating your UC Retirement Savings Program accounts.

If you have accounts in more than one of the UC Retirement Savings Program plans (the UC 403(b), 457(b) and DC Plan), consider consolidating them into a single plan.* Consolidating your accounts helps you manage and monitor the assets more easily. Plus, you only have to keep track of one set of beneficiaries, investments and minimum required distributions. Call a UC-dedicated Fidelity Workplace Financial Consultant at 1-800-558-9182 to explore this idea in detail.

Consider rolling over retirement savings from other employers into your UC 403(b), 457(b) and DC Plan.

If you have a retirement account still sitting in a previous employer’s plan, consider rolling the balance to your UC Retirement Savings Plan (UCRSP) accounts. Consolidating your retirement accounts helps you manage and monitor the assets more easily, and you may benefit from UC’s lower fee structure. 

WANT ONE-ON-ONE HELP?

Meet with a Fidelity Workplace Financial Consultant by phone or in person for help with many of life’s money matters. When you retire from UC, Fidelity Workplace Financial Consultants work with RASC Counselors to help you understand your total retirement income and make decisions about your savings benefits. It’s a valuable service available to UC Retirement Savings Plan participants at no additional cost.

• By phone: Call 1-800-558-9182. No appointment needed.
• In person: Schedule a time to talk with your UC location's dedicated Fidelity Workplace Financial Consultant.