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Secure Your Future
Auburn University offers multiple retirement plans to eligible employees. Learn more about the plans and programs that are available.
Benefits of Participating
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An employee can increase their retirement income through regular, planned investing.
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Participating with before-tax contributions, an employee can lower his/her federal and state taxable wages. (This does not apply to Social Security or Medicare taxable wages).
Review these options, and then either enroll online via AU Access, contact the PWS Call Center at 833-203-4283 or schedule an online meeting with a benefits enroller. We also encourage you to review your beneficiaries.
Key Topics
Mandatory Retirement
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All eligible employees in at least a 50% time capacity are required to join the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA).
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This program provides specific benefits in accordance with the plan or option the member designates when they apply for retirement. All contributions are tax deferred for federal income tax purposes until retirement or withdrawal from the plan.
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Participants are classified as either Tier 1 or Tier 2 members.
Tier 1
Tier 1 participants became members prior to Jan. 1, 2013.
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They have a payroll deduction equaling 7.5% of earnable compensation.
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They are eligible for retirement benefits at age 60 with at least 10 years of service.
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If they have 25 years of service, they can retire at any age and apply for full retirement benefits from RSA.
Tier 2
Tier 2 participants became members on or after Jan. 1, 2013.
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They have a payroll deduction equaling 6.2% of earnable compensation.
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They are eligible for retirement benefits at age 62 with at least 10 years of service.
Voluntary Retirement
Eligible employees may also participate in the voluntary retirement plans offered by Auburn.
403(b) Voluntary Retirement Savings Plan (VRSP)/Roth Option
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As of 2024, an employee can defer up to $23,000 per year to a 403(b) plan.
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Auburn will match employee contributions dollar for dollar up to 5% of compensation with an annual cap of $1,650.
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As of 2024, if an employee is over age 50 or turns age 50 during the calendar year, they may defer an additional amount up to $7,500.
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Participating vendors include AIG (VALIC), Fidelity, Lincoln Financial and TIAA.
457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan (VRSP)/Roth Option
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In addition to contributions made to the 403(b) Plan, as of 2024 an employee can defer up to $23,000 per year to a 457(b) plan.
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If an employee is over age 50 or turns age 50 during the calendar year, they may defer an additional amount up to $7,500.
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Participating vendors include AIG (VALIC), Fidelity and TIAA.
Roth Options
Roth options are available for the 403(b) and 457(b) plans. This is an additional way to save in the plan where an employee contributes after-tax dollars from their paycheck. Unlike a traditional pre-tax 403(b) or 457(b), when an employee contributes to a Roth, at retirement they can then withdraw tax-free dollars from their account.
RSA-1
The RSA-1 Deferred Compensation Plan is now offering a Roth account option, sponsored by the Retirement Systems of Alabama, to eligible Auburn employees.
The RSA-1 Roth account is a voluntary after-tax contribution option. Participants can elect to make designated Roth contributions from their paycheck using funds that have already been taxed. Thus, participants will not have to pay any taxes on the money they withdraw in retirement. Qualified distributions of contributions and their earnings, if any, come out tax-free. Additional information can be found on the RSA-1 website. (Look toward the bottom of the page.)
IMPORTANT: If you choose to enroll in the plan, you will need to complete Auburn’s 457(b) election form and submit it to Payroll.
Review Your Beneficiaries
When did you last review your life insurance and retirement plan beneficiary elections? By periodically reviewing your beneficiary designations, you can rest assured that your assets will be distributed according to your wishes.
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When you enroll for benefits, you can review and update your beneficiary designations for Auburn University’s employer provided Term Life, (if applicable), optional Voluntary Term Life and/or Voluntary AD&D (if enrolled).
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To update the designations for your retirement plans, please contact the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) for your mandatory retirement account, and your respective vendor(s) if you have a 403(b) or 457(b) account.
