I'm on My Way - Mid-Career Retirement Planning

The following resources are tailored for mid-career faculty and staff. Whether you've planned since your first day on the job or haven't thought about it in 10 years, now is the time.

Pre-Retirement Planning Course and online presentation

Reading Materials
UC Retirement Handbook
"What To Do If You're Preparing for Retirement" overview

Financial Planning Resources
UCB Financial Wellness Workshops 
Fidelity Workshops
Fidelity One-on-One Counseling
UC Retirement Review for those who may "Need to get on track"

Online Tools
UC Retirement Estimator/URAYS/myUCretirement.com
My Social Security
Fidelity financial planning tools

Health and Wellness
Set up your exercise routine now
UC Berkeley Health*Matters
UC Living Well/Optum   

UC "Preparing for Retirement" online presentation

Pre-retirement Planning Seminars


These programs are free of charge to active faculty, academics and staff of UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.  Click here to find out more.

Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education 3-part series

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Online Tools

UC Retirement At Your Service (UCRAYS) 

UCRAYS, which is replaced At Your Service Online (AYSO) for retirement related services, is a secure website that offers greater access to UC retirement information and more ways to view and manage retirement information in a user-friendly format. Most importantly, it includes enhanced security features, ensuring UC is following best practices for keeping your retirement information secure.

What can active faculty and staff members do in UCRAYS right now?
In addition to increased security, UCRAYS offers faculty and staff the ability to:
• Send and receive secure messages, with attachments if needed, to the RASC
• View service credit and UCRP/CAP contribution balances
• View and update beneficiary designations
• Estimate retirement income
Features to be added later in 2020 will include:
• Personal Retirement Profile and retirement election process
• Service credit purchase estimates (although still available in AYSO until then)
For more information and instructions on how to register and log in to UCRAYS visit here.


Click for social security websiteSocial Security

Keep track of your earnings and verify them every year; Get an estimate of your future benefits if you are still working; Get a letter with proof of your benefits if you currently receive them and more. Learn more

The Retirement Decision, recent Social Security Bulletin on the "Behavioral and Psychological Aspects of the Retirement Decision."

Fidelity Calculators and Planning Tools

Fidelity offers a variety of online tools for active staff and faculty and retirees to help manage your assets, plan for retirement, and more! Some tools include: Take Home Pay Calculator, Retirement Quick Check, Plan Limit Calculators, Budgeting & Debt Management, and Retirement Income Planner. Access Fidelity Calculators and online tools 

Online Personal Retirement Review (myucretirement.com)
Get a personal statement designed to show you the monthly retirement income; includes a modeler that lets you explore different assumptions, such as the amount you save in the UC 403(b) or 457(b) Plan, or the age at which you retire. https://myucretirement.com/

Your UC Retirement Income Might Just Surprise You - review several examples of retirement income from UCRP


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Reading Materials

UC Retirement Handbook

You’ve had a long, successful career at UC and now you’re thinking of the next phase: retirement. The process is not difficult, but it’s important to plan ahead.

You can retire and receive UC benefits anytime after you become eligible—that is, when you have at least five years of UC Retirement Plan (UCRP) service credit and reach age 50 or 55, depending on your membership classification.

Retirement decisions are among the most important you’ll ever make. This comprehensive handbook will help you make the right choices for your future. Link to the UC Retirement Handbook. 

"What To Do If You're Preparing for Retirement" UC overview

One of the most important things you can do to prepare for retirement is to become familiar with the actual process for retiring from UC. Make sure to review this website that details the steps you'll take when it's time to make the leap! 

  • Decide your date
  • Know your benefits
  • Begin the application process
  • Review your finances
  • Start the election process
  • Stay involved

Learn more

What To Do if You're Enrolling in Medicare:

When you turn 65, whether you’re still working or already retired, you’ll become eligible to enroll in Medicare, the federal program to provide older people and those with disabilities or permanent kidney failure with secure access to medical care. The rules are different for employees and retirees; so to be sure you enroll properly, avoid Medicare premium penalties and understand how Medicare works with your UC-sponsored medical plan, follow these steps. Learn more

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Financial Planning Resources

Get to know your UC retirement benefits
https://www.myucretirement.com/
Access the "Retirement Review" at myUCretirement.com to estimate the retirement income you could have from your UC benefits, assuming you retire from UC at 65 (requires logging in with your Fidelity NetBenefits username and password).

UC Berkeley Financial Planning Resources 

Finanical Wellness Workshops: The Tang Center offers financial workshops, including "Working with a Financial Planner to Create Your Financial Plan and "Making the Most of Social Security."  Learn more 

Financial Fair:  The annual "Financial Fair for Personal Finance" is an opportunity for UC Berkeley faculty, staff, and retirees to attend workshops, learn about campus resources, and visit with campus financial vendors. Learn more

Contact:   

Fidelity Investments Financial Planning Resources

UC Financial Education Classes: UC offers a range of retirement planning and financial education classes to help you make the most of the UC Retirement Savings Program. View a list of classes. Learn more

Fidelity workshops on Social Security - This workshop will cover the basics and give you the tools to calculate your benefits, assessing your personal situation and claiming options, and considerations before you claim.  Click here to register

One-on-One Financial Planning Consultations: At UC, you can sit down one-on-one with a Fidelity Workplace Planning & Guidance Consultant to review your plan for retirement savings and your other finances. It’s a service of the UC Retirement Savings Program, and it’s available to you at no additional cost. To arrange an appointment online: http://getguidance.fidelity.com/universityofcalifornia or call: 1-866-682-7787. Learn more: https://www.myucretirement.com/.

Video learning series on "Finance as We Age" - Developed by Terrance Odean, Rudd Family Foundation Professor of Finance, Haas School of Business University of California, Berkeley; includes 9 free training modules, ranging from 5 -15 minutes in length. Includes topics on advance directives, wills, trusts, how much you need to retire, how much you can spend in retirement, deferred income annuities, social security, medicare and long term care. 

Access on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt461dTvJ65LYsibRbi_HTYli8TYVOhXY

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Health and Wellness

Health and Fitness in preparing for a healthy retirement- Now is the time to start an exercise routine that you can carry into your retirement. UCB Recreational Sports' WorkFit program offers a variety of classes in convenient locations at work. Certified fitness instructors will come to your site and lead regular fitness classes at a time convenient for your staff.  Link to RSF WorkFit website

Be Well at Work - Wellness Program (formerly known as 
Health*Matters): UC Berkeley's Wellness Program for Faculty & Staff: providing faculty and staff with tools and skills for leading healthy lifestyles and building a healthy workplace culture that makes the healthy choice the easy choice. Access the Be Well at Work Website; Phone: (510) 643-4646 


Living Well websiteUC Living Well: UC Living Well, the university’s wellness program, provides activities and resources to help faculty, staff and retirees reach their wellness goals.  Access the UC Living Well website; Phone: 1-855-688-9775.

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