Protect the people you love: Steps to take today

Whether you’re early in your career or retired, keeping your documents, records and accounts up to date and organized is worth the effort. Organizing a file with your will, health care directives and other documents will not only give you peace of mind — it will also make life much easier for your loved ones.

As you get your vital records in order, include information and “to-dos” related to your UC benefits.

If you’re a member of the UC Retirement Plan (including Pension Choice), your survivors’ benefits will depend on the length and timing of your career with UC. The person or people you designate as your beneficiary or contingent annuitant may be eligible for monthly income (a percentage of your pension), medical and dental coverage, life insurance and the UC Retirement Plan basic death benefit ($7,500).

If you’re a participant in Savings Choice, your retirement savings and life insurance benefit will be left to the beneficiary or beneficiaries you designate.

When the time comes, staff at the Retirement Administration Service Center (RASC) will sort all of that out and support your survivor and beneficiaries throughout the process of claiming the benefits you’re providing for them.

In the meantime, RASC staff offer the following tips:

• Keep your beneficiary designations up to date. You may need to change your beneficiaries if you’ve welcomed or lost a family member or entered into a marriage or domestic partnership.
• Maintain a list of key contacts and important documents your loved ones may need when the time comes (e.g., Social Security information, insurance policies, bank accounts, and UC-related documents).
• If you’re retired, retrieve, review, and keep in your file your retirement confirmation statement. It may have been many years since you last looked at this document, which summarizes the options you selected at retirement, including your contingent annuitant (if you elected one).

Estate planning resources

If you haven’t started planning your estate, or legacy, now’s the time. UC’s legal insurance, offered through ARAG, includes coverage for estate planning documents, including wills, trusts, powers of attorney and healthcare directives. If you’re not enrolled, you can add coverage during UC’s fall Open Enrollment. Just remember that you’ll need coverage for you and your partner if you’re planning your estate together.

UC’s Confident Retiree: Legacy Planning, Peace of Mind for You and Your Loved Ones webinar series is a valuable resource designed to support UC retirees and their families in this process. You can find information about upcoming webinars, along with recordings and slide decks from past webinars, on myUCretirement.com’s Webinars Overview page.

Getting help

For more support with survivor benefits, beneficiary updates, estate planning and related questions, the following resources may be helpful:

Retirement Administration Service Center (RASC): 1-800-888-8267, Monday–Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (PT)  

Survivor and Beneficiary Support: 1-888-825-6833 (includes after-hours voicemail option) 

Guide to Survivor and Beneficiary Benefits – for Family Members and Beneficiaries of Active UC Employees

Guide to Survivor and Beneficiary Benefits – For Family Members and Beneficiaries of UC Retirees and Disabled Members Receiving UCRP Income