Plan now. Retire later.

Pre-Tax Contributions

Employee Contributions

Kalamazoo College offers one 403(b) retirement plan through TIAA.

Any benefits-eligible employee of the College can participate in the tax deferred Group Supplemental Retirement Annuity (GSRA) portion of the plan. There are no service requirements. You may enroll and begin pre-tax contributions through payroll deduction at any time.

To begin participation, you must enroll online with TIAA and provide a Salary Reduction Agreement to Human Resources.

Employer Contributions

After a two-year* waiting period, the College will contribute 5% of a person’s base salary regardless of their participation. Effective 8/1/2024, Kalamazoo College will also match employee contributions, dollar-for-dollar according to the following tiered schedule:

Kalamazoo College intends to phase in the full complement of employer contributions as soon as feasible, which will take a few years. Contributions into the defined contribution plan are always yours to keep. Please Note: Employer matching contributions do not apply to any Roth contributions the employee may make but are based on the pre-tax contributions only.

*The two-year waiting period can be satisfied at Kalamazoo College or at another higher education institution after successfully completing additional verification steps. Your previous employer must complete the Verification of Service Credit form.

Roth Contributions

Roth contribution option in the Defined Contribution and Tax-Deferred Annuity Retirement Plans 403(b) began on January 3, 2022.

With the Roth option, taxes are paid at the time of contribution, so you have the potential to withdraw them and the amount that is earned on these contributions on a tax-free basis. Withdrawals of earnings after age 59½ are tax free if the distribution is taken no earlier than five years after the Roth contributions were first made.

Additionally, you will have the opportunity to convert some (or all) of your pretax retirement plan savings (contributions and earnings) to Roth with the Roth in-plan conversion feature.

How it works

Roth in-plan conversions may be limited to one per calendar year and cannot be reversed after the change is made. The amount converted is treated as taxable income in the year of conversion; no taxes are withheld from your account as part of the conversion.

Before electing a Roth in-plan conversion, you should consult your personal tax advisor to ensure this strategy is consistent with your overall personal financial goals. For more information about the Roth inplan conversion feature, please contact TIAA.

Additional Roth information can be found on at TIAA.

Program Fees and General Administrative Services

When making decisions about your retirement account, it’s important to know there are fees associated with many plan services and investments. Some fees are paid by your employer; others are paid by you based on the investments and services you choose. An upcoming change will impact the administration costs assessed to your plan.

Your plan assesses an annual administrative fee to cover services such as recordkeeping, legal, accounting, investment advisory, and other plan and participant services.

As of December 2, 2021, your current annual plan servicing fee of 0.141% ($1.41 per $1,000 invested) is being reduced to 0.105% ($1.05 per $1,000 invested), and will be divided into quarterly payments and deducted from your account on a quarterly basis. This fee is deducted proportionally from each investment in your account on the last business day of each quarter and identified as “TIAA Plan Servicing Fee” on your quarterly statements. Additionally, if you are invested in any of the investment options that provide revenue sharing, you will see a “Plan Servicing Credit”.

Additionally, your plan will continue to assess an annual fee of 0.043% ($0.43 per $1,000 invested), for plan administration services, which will be divided into quarterly payments. This fee is deducted proportionally from each investment in your account on the last business day of each quarter and identified as a “Non-TIAA Plan Servicing Fee” on your quarterly statements. This fee remains the same.

Manage your Account

Not sure where to begin? We can help you take the next step in your financial plan.

• Online: Visit TIAA.org/kalamazoo and Log in. If you’re new to TIAA, select Log in, then Register for Online Access. Follow the on-screen directions to access your account.
• Phone: Call TIAA at 800-842-2252, weekdays, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (ET).
• To schedule a virtual one-on-one session with TIAA, call 800-732-8353, weekdays, 8 a.m. to 8p.m. (ET).
• You can also schedule a meeting online at TIAA.org/schedulenow.