Retirement Savings Plan
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General Information and Forms NEWS FLASH: Exciting Enhancements to Your WSU Retirement Savings Plan Retirement Savings Plan Highlights and Comparison (PDF) Salary Reduction Agreement Form (PDF) Verification of Prior Service Notice Enrollment Packet (PDF) |
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Fund Information/Performance Data TIAA-CREF Retirement Investments Fidelity Investments Performance
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TIAA-CREF Individual Counseling To schedule a counseling session with a TIAA-CREF representative you can visit www.tiaa-cref.org/moc or call 1-800-842-2044 during normal business hours. Telephone counselors are available at |
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Fidelity Investments Individual Counseling To schedule a counseling session with a Fidelity Investments representative you can visit www.fidelity.com/atwork/reservations |
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Other Helpful Information Financial Education Seminars Available Online. Maximum Calculation Tools: Both TIAA-CREF(see Calculators and Planning Tools) and Fidelity Investments (see Tools & Calculators) have maximum calculation tools on their Web site. Savings Fitness: A Guide to Your Money and Your Financial Future
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- Teacher Insurance and Annuity Association - College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF) and
- Fidelity Investments
Your investments are managed by professional money managers. You will receive periodic statements so you can keep track of your investments. You don't owe income taxes on your contributions, or any earnings on these contributions, until you withdraw them from the plan.
What is a 403(b) retirement savings plan?
Under Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, employees of 501(c)(3) non-profit institutions (such as colleges and universities, hospitals, museums, research institutes, and foundations) and public schools can set aside money for retirement on a pre-tax basis through a plan offered by their employer. To encourage saving for retirement through these plans, the federal government created special tax advantages for 403(b) contributions.
Eligibility
Any regular WSU faculty or staff member, serving a half-time or more assignment is eligible to participate in the retirement program (graduate assistants, student assistants, technicians, part-time faculty and fellows are not eligible to participate in the retirement program). Eligible employees may join the retirement program upon their date of employment. If you do not wish to join immediately you may join at any later date provided you still meet all conditions for inclusion.
Participation will be effective the first available pay date following receipt of an application by the Office of Total Compensation and Wellness and the passage of sufficient time after receipt of the application to enable Total Compensation and Wellness to complete the administrative processing necessary to begin withholdings from your pay.
Please remember enrollment is never retroactive. Contributions are not made retroactively. You are responsible for contacting Total Compensation and Wellness if contributions are not withheld from your pay after an application is made.
University Contributions
Any eligible WSU faculty or staff member who:
* voluntarily makes a retirement plan contribution in the amount of at least 5 percent of their gross salary and,
* has attained age 26 or more and,
* has completed at least two years of eligible service,
is entitled to a University contribution equal to 10% of the employee’s gross salary. The University contribution is fully and immediately vested. The University contribution is subject to certain compensation limits of the Internal Revenue Code.
An eligible employee previously employed by another institution of higher education, or a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization which is affiliated with an institution of higher education, may be eligible for the University matching contributions immediately (see Verification of Prior Service Notice).
Tax-deferred Savings
You pay no current income taxes on contributions that you or the University makes or on any investment earnings, until you receive payment from your account.
Choosing Investments
The University itself is not in a position to offer you investment advice, and no person at the University or retained by the University, is authorized to give you such advice. The University does, however, offer several workshops and opportunities for individual counseling each year to educate employees about their options under the plan so they can make informed decisions about investments under the plan.
If you cannot decide: You should not delay signing up for the plan because of uncertainty about which investments to choose. If you need time to study the investment choices, you can always direct contributions to a money market fund and transfer them later, when you have had time to carefully consider your options. The University will not process retroactive contributions for those who enroll late.
Can I Borrow Against My Retirement Account?
The TIAA-CREF Retirement Annuity (RA) and the TIAA-CREF Group Supplemental Retirement Annuity (gSRA) accounts both have a loan feature. Click the following for more information: http://www.tiaa-cref.org/support/help/transactions/loans.html. You cannot borrrw against your Fidelity accumulation.
Maximum Deferral
| Tax Year | If you're under age 50 (basic salary deferral) | If you qualify for the full annual 15 Year Rule Catch-up | If you qualify for the Age 50+ Catch-up but not the 15 Year Rule Catch-up | If you qualify for the Age 50+ Catch-up AND the 15 Year Rule Catch-up |
| 2006 | $15,000 | $18,000 | $20,000 | $23,000 |
| 2007 | $15,500 | $18,500 | $20,500 | $23,500 |
| 2008 | $15,500 | $18,500 | $20,500 | $23,500 |
These are the basic steps used to determine your maximum contribution to the university retirement program. Employees with 15 or more years of service at Wayne State University should contact the Office of Total Compensation and Wellness, TIAA-CREF or Fidelity Investments for a maximum contribution calculation. Both TIAA-CREF(see Calculators and Planning Tools) and Fidelity Investments (see Tools & Calculators) have maximum calculation tools on their Web site.
Under the 15-Year Rule, an employee with at least 15 years of service with Wayne State University may be able to exceed the basic salary deferral.
The Catch-up provision allows employees age 50 and older to contribute an additional sum to their 403(b) plan.
Note: The limit above reflects the maximum tax-deferral amount that can be contributed. Any voluntary contributions made by an employee as part of a retirement plan count toward the maximum limit.