As previously communicated to you, several updates have been made to your retirement plan and are just waiting for you to put them to work for you. Not the least of which is an increased College contribution to the Regular Annuity Account from 8.25% to 8.75%. The new rate will be effective beginning in June for employees paid over a 12-month period and August for those who are paid over a 9-month period.
Not only is the College’s contribution being increased, you now have new investment choices, new advice services, and a new dedicated website to make it even easier to manage your retirement savings investments. Here’s some more information to help you get started making your retirement savings work for you.
Choose Your Investment Style – New Funds
Hands-free – If you prefer to take a “hands-free” approach to managing your retirement portfolio, you may want to select a TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Fund closest to your estimated date of retirement, from 2010 through 2040 in five year increments. Each TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Fund starts with an asset allocation generally considered appropriate for investors at different stages of retirement planning and readjusts periodically to maintain an appropriate asset allocation for the remaining time horizon.
Hands-on - If you prefer to take a more active role in investing for your retirement, you now have 26 funds from which to choose to tailor your portfolio.
If you want to leave your investments as you currently have them, you don’t need to do anything right now. However, it’s always a good idea to periodically review your portfolio allocation to ensure it is still consistent with your financial goals.
Get Personalized Advice
Due to recent changes in law, TIAA-CREF is now allowed to provide participants with personalized advice and planning services. These services are free of charge and can be accessed in person, online, or by phone.
In person – call 607-272-2077 to make an appointment to meet with a TIAA-CREF representative when they are on campus next.
Online – visit www.tiaa-cref.org
By phone – call 1-800-842-2776
Visit tiaa-cref.org/ithaca
This is Ithaca College’s dedicated website. It is your customized online resource for tracking and managing your TIAA-CREF accounts. You can visit the site any time from anywhere for information about TIAA-CREF and your investment choices, as well as access to retirement planning tools and more. The site also links you to the TIAA-CREF website, where you can update your account, monitor account performance and sign up for e-delivery of account statements, transaction confirmations and other communications. You can rest assured that all your on-line transactions are handled in a secure environment.
We are pleased to bring these plan enhancements to you. Please call the Office of Human Resources at 274-3245 or TIAA-CREF at 1-800-842-2776 with any questions. .
