Time has come?

Albermarle

Surely depends how long I live. Just been through a bereavement of a family member of my own age which has made me reasses

It is natural for the death of a family member of a similar age, to cause you to sit back and think about priorities.

However you should try not to let it cloud your judgement about financial/pension matters. A 58 year old man on average will live another 25 years , a woman a couple of years more.

That means 50% will live longer than that . If you have no serious health problems, have money, have not worked in a very physically strenuous job and are reasonably well educated you will maybe have a 60 or even 70% chance of living more than 25 years and a reasonably good chance of living into your Nineties . If your OH is similar I think there is a 25% chance that one of you will reach 95.

My OH has an Aunt and Uncle , who are currently moving home, and they are both in their late Nineties !

SouthCoastBoy

I think it is important to remember it's not just length of time in retirement, but also amount of time left to be able to do what you want. For me that is key I want to; travel, run, cycle  swim, golf etc. Years before 80 are my focus. If I live longer great but I will cut my cloth accordingly at that point.

HIA

As others have mentioned, the commutation rates for USS are poor so it's likely that your best option is to take the standard tax free lump sum of 3x your pension and the rest as normal.  Do you have any money in your Investment Builder?  If you do, there is an opportunity to take additional tax-free cash.

Thanks for all the advice.  I got a USS provisional benefits payable statement through which shows 6.5% growth on last year's statement which I couldn't beat anywhere else so I will leave it where it is until at least 60 and live of capital. I don't think I'll take the standard benefits when the time comes but the max tax free lump sum, £1172 a year less pension for nearly double the lump sum so it would take me 26 years to get the lump sum back which I know isn't exactly correct because the pension would increase slightly over time but still I'd rather have the choice of how to spend it while I'm still able.