Voluntary Tax Sheltered Retirement Plans are
available, through payroll deduction to those employees interested in
additional savings and investment plan opportunities. Governors State University offers several
vendor choices for 403 (b) plans, and/or a qualified 457 (b) tax deferred plan
sponsored through the State of Illinois.
As always, we encourage employees to consult confidentially with the
product vendors and a personal tax or investment advisor, prior to making
investment decisions.
The Internal Revenue Service issued Final 403(b)
Regulations that took effect January 1, 2009. To comply with these regulations,
the University updated the Plan to comply with final Income Tax Regulations
issued under section 403(b) of the Code.
403(b) Plan in Brief
As a participant in the Governors State
University 403(b) plan you may contribute pre-tax funds to the plan.
·Participation
in this plan is strictly voluntary and does not reduce any of your University
benefits based on full salary such as retirement, life insurance, disability or
survivor benefits.
·Allows
you the opportunity to accumulate additional retirement funds, as a supplement
to your State Universities Retirement System (SURS) pension.
·Provides
you to contribute a flat dollar amount, determined by you, which is deducted
from your paycheck. The amount of income that can be contributed is subject to
IRS limitations. (This is a combined limit of both traditional (pre-tax) and
Roth (post-tax) contributions.)
·You may
begin participating in the 403(b) plan at any time.
·A 403(b)
account is an individual account with no vesting schedule - you decide how much
to contribute and how to invest your contributions.
Eligibility
To be eligible to participate in the Governors
State University Supplemental 403(b) Retirement Plan, you must currently
receive compensation from the University. Contributions to your 403(b) account
will be deducted from your pay while the plan is effective. Each individual who
is a common law employee who receives Compensation reportable on a Form W-2 for
services provided to the University, except Student Teachers and Graduate
Assistants, will be eligible to participate in this Plan.
Why Participate in the
403(b) Plan?
During retirement employees can estimate to
receive approximately 40 – 50% of their average wage. If you know that you
can’t live off of half of your salary now, then you know it is important to
start saving something each paycheck for additional retirement savings above
the mandatory SURS amount.
Many retirement experts suggest that a
retirement income level of at least 70% of your final salary is a good target
for people starting to save for retirement. Many people who retire at age 65
could live 20 or more years in retirement. Proper planning for those years is
essential to ensuring that you have the income you need. Depending on your
personal goals, SURS alone may not meet your retirement objectives.
Investment Vendor Choices -
to open an account please contact the below vendors directly:
Fidelity Investments — www.fidelity.com/atwork
800.343.0860 hit “0” to open an account
The Legend Group, Inc. — Don Wade, 630.620.6100 ext. 5714
TIAA-CREF — Patrick Windle, 855.842.2089
Corebridge (formerly Valic/AIG) - Nick Boney,
219.299.5440 or www.corebridgefinancial.com
Forms:
403B Salary Reduction Form