Retirement Plan Options
All Professional Personnel shall participate in either the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) or the Colorado Mesa University Defined Contribution Plan (DCP) as established by the Trustees. Eligibility to participate in PERA or the DCP shall be determined in accordance with title 24, articles 51 and 54.5 of the Colorado Revised Statues.
PERA (Public Employees Retirement Association) is a defined benefit retirement plan which is available to Professional Personnel only if you have had a least one year of PERA-eligible employment upon date of hire.
DCP (Defined Contribution Plan) is for Professional Personnel who are not eligible to enroll into PERA or if eligible, make an irrevocable choice to enroll in the DCP with TIAA. CMU has moved to TIAA as the sole recordkeeper for our defined contribution pension plan 401(a) and supplemental retirement plan 403(b). Along with the transition, CMU introduced a new core investment menu, which is listed here. New employees can get more information at www.tiaa.org/mesa.
TIAA COVID-19 Information
TIAA Financial Essentials Webinars (Live & On-Demand)
TIAA Guiding you Through Turbulent Times (web page)
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Insight Financial Solutions is available for both on-campus and off-campus meetings, please contact: Kevin Price at 970-201-6533 / kevin.price@lpl.com or Jason Stanfield at 970-986-8053 / jason.stanfield@lpl.com to schedule an appointment.
You may visit with TIAA's National Contact Center, Monday through Saturday at 800.842.2252. or schedule an in-person meeting by calling 800-732-8353.
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Please review & complete your TIAA Beneficiary Designation here. After you log in to your account go to Actions, select Add/Edit Beneficiaries. From there you can designate beneficiaries and select how much each should receive. For assistance please call 800-842-2252 or visit www.tiaa.org.
TIAA Brokerage Reference Guide
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IMPORTANT NOTICE
Colorado Mesa University is required by law to provide this Statement Concerning Your Employment in a Job Not Covered by Social Security (SSA 1945): employees of CMU do not participate in the Social Security program and a pension from this job could affect future Social Security benefits to which you may be entitled.
Because your earning from this job are not covered under Social Security, you are required to participate in one of the following retirement programs:
- Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA)
- The Defined Contribution Plan (DCP) with TIAA
Helpful Links
Insight Financial
Worksite Financial Solutions webpage
Quarterly Newsletters
TIAA Educational Webinars
TIAA
National Contact Center (Monday - Saturday) 800.842.2252
Schedule an in-person meeting by calling 800.732.8353
Online www.tiaa.org/mesa
TIAA Brokerage Reference Guide
Insight Financial Solutions
Insight Financial Solutions, will continue to be on-campus the first Monday of each month. This is an opportunity to ask questions and better understand how this change will affect you. Meetings are limited to 25 minutes and will be held in the HR Conference Room (LHH 237). Please register for a time slot here.
If you would like to schedule an off-campus meeting with Insight, please contact:
Kevin Price at 970-201-6533 / kevin.price@lpl.com
Jason Stanfield at 970-986-8053 / jason.stanfield@lpl.com
The Defined Contribution Plan provides a retirement plan to Colorado Mesa University employees who may not be eligible to enroll into PERA or for employees who wish to make an irrevocable choice to enroll into the DCP. When enrolled in the DCP, the employee's retirement benefit is based on the total amount of the contributions made to his/her account and the return on investments of those contributions.
Employees enrolled in the DCP are required to contribute 8 percent of your covered earnings to your DCP account on a tax-deferred basis. Tax-deferred means they are not considered taxable income for federal and state income tax purposes. Colorado Mesa University currently contributes an amount equal to 11.4 percent of your covered earnings to your DCP Account
Employees enrolled in the DCP have the opportunity to invest in funds offered by TIAA.
TIAA
1.800.842.2252
Take time to plan, save and invest for your retirement. The 403(b) Supplemental Retirement Plan allows you the opportunity to build an investment program and expand the opportunities available to you upon retirement. This plan is a voluntary plan because you choose to contribute to your savings for your retirement in addition to the 401(a) mandatory retirement plan. Contributions made to the supplemental retirement plan are made pre-tax, so contributions are deducted from your salary before taxes are taken out. Another advantage to the supplemental retirement plan is that your contributions, interest and earnings grow tax deferred until you withdraw them, which is typically at retirement.
Click here for instructions on starting or changing your 403(b) contribution.
TIAA
1.800.842.2252
The Colorado Public Employer's Retirement Association (PERA) provides retirement and other benefits to employee of the State of Colorado. Established in 1931 PERA serves as a substitute for Social Security for many members. Eligible employees of Colorado Mesa University who are enrolled in PERA are enrolled in the Defined Benefit Plan, which assures employees of a specific monthly payment at their retirement without regard to the return on the plan's investments.
PERA is not an option for those employees hired after May 1, 1994, except for an eligible employee who is in an active or inactive member of PERA with at least one year of service credit and who elects within thirty (30) calendar days of appointment to remain in PERA.
As a PERA member, you contribute 10 percent of your monthly salary to your PERA member contribution account. Colorado Mesa University contributes 10.20 percent. Your PERA contributions are tax -deferred, which means they are not considered taxable income for federal and state income tax purposes.
PERA Customer Service
1.800.759.7372
PERA Forms and Brochures
State employees do not contribute to Social Security; therefore, State employees of higher education will be members of PERA's (Public Employees Retirement Associate) defined benefit plan. Established by state law to provide its members with a qualified retirement plan that is a substitute for Social Security. All classified employees and non-benefits eligible faculty and administrators (i.e., those who work less than half-time) are required to contribute 8 percent of their monthly salary to their member contribution account. The current employer contribution is 10.20%.
PERAPlus 457 Plan and PERAPlus 401(k) Plan
Available to all employees. Information and enrollment packets are available in the Human Resources office or from PERA.
Most employees know that it is a good idea to take time to plan, save and invest for a financially secure future. The Voluntary Supplemental Retirement Plans allow you the opportunity to build an investment program and expand the opportunities available to you upon retirement.
Plans available to CMU employees include:
PERA 401(k) Plan:
Available to any PERA member. Information and enrollment packets are available in the Human Resources office or from PERA.
PERA 457 Plan:
This program is administered by Colorado PERA and offers pre-tax mutual fund and investments. Information is available in the Human Resources Office or from PERA.
Contact Information: 1- 800-759-7372 www.copera.org
Recordkeeper Updates & Retirement Vendor Transition
3/6/19: Open Forum Meeting Materials, Retirement Open Forum presentation can be found here.
IMPORTANT! Please review & complete your TIAA Beneficiary Designation here. After you log in to your account go to Actions, select Add/Edit Beneficiaries. From there you can designate beneficiaries and select how much each should receive. For assistance please call 800-842-2252.
Additional information for current TIAA participants - Fidelity participants - MetLife participants - VALIC participants
Please review the Blackout Notice, which explains a period of time, also known as a "blackout period," when access to current group contracts at Fidelity or VALIC will be unavailable. The beginning of the blackout period is determined by Fidelity and VALIC. The blackout period is expected to end by March 29, 2019. This is a necessary part of retirement plan transitions such as ours, and it is done to ensure an accurate transfer from Fidelity and VALIC to TIAA
All new payroll contributions deducted from your March 15, 2019, paycheck will be made to your new TIAA account. There will be no blackout period at TIAA or MetLife, or for individual contracts at Fidelity or VALIC.
02/11/2019: To help you better understand the changes the following materials are below. Both will be mailed to your home mid to late-February.
Transition Guide: The brochure will walk you through the changes, including how they impact your retirement plan account and what you may need to do next. Please review this carefully and contact TIAA with any questions you may have.
Blackout Notice: During the transition, there will be a brief period of time where you will not be able to access any group contract(s) you may have at Fidelity or VALIC. Please read this required notice for more information.
11/2/18: Retirement Transition Update
10/8/18: CMU Board of Trustees approved the Retirement Committee recommendations to name TIAA as CMU's sole recordkeeper for the 401(a) and 403(b) plans and adopt the new Core investment line-up, with an optional self-brokerage window. Please see October 5th email for more information.
9/17/18: Retirement Plan Changes, September 2018 Update
9/4/18: At the October 2018 Board of Trustee's Meeting, the Committee intends to recommend to the Board the following actions:
- Select TIAA as CMU's single retirement plan recordkeeper for the 401(a) and 403(b) plans
- Approve new Core Investment line-up
- Offer a self-directed brokerage window to allow participants to invest some of their plans funds in socks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. that are not in the Core line-up
- A process for ongoing monitoring of the plan performance and termination of investments, if needed
- See September 4th email for complete details.
8/2/18: Four firms were recently interviewed by the CMU Retirement Committee to act as the Recordkeeper for the new retirement plan under development (Empower, Fidelity, TIAA & VALIC). Following initial evaluation, the Committee will be continuing discussions with TIAA and Fidelity. Please see August 1st email for additional details.
CMU Retirement Plan Committee Members:
- Meghan Bissonnette, Asst. Professor Art/Gallery Director
- Kristen Hague, Professor of English, President Elect, Faculty Senate
- Jared Workman, Associate Professor of Physics
- Tom Benton, Acting Director of Maverick Innovation Center
- Jeffrey Doyle, CMU Foundation CFO
- Jill Knuckles, Director of HR
- Laura Glatt, VP for Finance & Administration
- Committee Roster & Contact Information
Retirement Committee Meeting Minutes
Emails from Laura Glatt, Vice President for Finance & Administration/CFO
Monday, February 11, 2019 Communication
Monday, January 21, 2019 Communication
Monday, December 17, 2018 Communication
Monday, November 26, 2018 Communication
Friday, November 2, 2018 Communication
Friday, October 5, 2018 Communication
Tuesday, September 4, 2018 Communication
Wednesday, August 1, 2018 Communication
Monday, July 9, 2018 Communication
Wednesday, June 6, 2018 Communication
Wednesday, April 4, 2018 Communication
Click here for the full Retirement transition FAQ page.
Fidelity
401(a) Plan #64076
403(b) Plan #73732
Employee Account Services #1-800-343-0860
AIG Retirement Services (formerly VALIC)
Group Name: Mesa State College
Group #10013
Employee Retirement Services #1-800-448-2542