Retirement Savings

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. Kalamazoo College will also match $1:$1 on the first 5% that a person contributes. So, if a person contributes 5%, the College will contribute 10%. That money is always yours to keep.

*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.

Effective on or about 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.


TIAA Salary Reduction

  • By this agreement made between the person named above (employee) and Kalamazoo College, the parties agree as follows.
  • MM slash DD slash YYYY
    Effective with respect to amounts earned on or after (date), the employee’s includible salary will be reduced each pay period by the amount indicated below. Such reductions will be allocated to employee’s TIAA accounts as designated by employee.
  • Enter the TOTAL percentage to be deducted. The amount of this election will be paid as a contribution to employee’s Defined Contribution (DC) contract to a max election of 5% (with 2 years of service credit). Anything not eligible for the DC plan will be paid as a contribution to the employee’s Group Supplemental Retirement Annuity(GSRA) contract .
  • Enter the TOTAL percentage to be deducted. The amount of this election will be paid as a contribution to employee’s Roth retirement contract.

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.

When do you want to retire?

Planning is key. Kalamazoo College offers a few options to assist you with planning for retirement.

TIAA Mobile

Download the TIAA mobile app from the App Store or Google Play.

  • Check your TIAA account balances and details
  • View pending transactions and required actions
  • Upload files for TIAA
  • Transfer money between retirement plan investments
  • Monitor your personal rate of return for your retirement investments
  • Learn how much you can borrow from your retirement savings
  • View, download and email quarterly retirement statements and tax statements
  • Update personal information and communication preferences
  • Communicate with TIAA in the Message Center
  • See your balances without logging in using Peek View

Individual Counseling Sessions

Experts through TIAA are available to assist you, at no charge to you, through a few different avenues.

In-person/virtual sessions may be scheduled on the TIAA site.

On-demand sessions may be initiated by logging in to your TIAA account.

TIAA representatives are available every weekday from 8:00 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (ET) at 1.800.842.2252.

Seminars

Personal Finance 101: Recorded on November 17, 2022 for Kalamazoo College faculty and staff, this one-hour session provides practical tips for personal finance management at every stage of one’s career.

TIAA offers a variety of topics to help you meet your financial goals.

Emeriti Contributions

When eligible, Kalamazoo College contributes $33.00 per month to your Emeriti Retirement Health Account, which you can use towards healthcare costs up on your eligible retirement from K. AND… you can also contribute after-tax dollars to your Emeriti Health Account through payroll deduction.

Definition of Retirement at Kalamazoo College

Retirement eligibility is defined by the College as minimum age 55 years with at least ten years of continuous service, or for late hires, minimum age 65 years with at least five years of continuous service. Benefit eligible employees who participate in the Emeriti Retirement Health Plan and who terminate employment after attaining retirement eligibility as defined under the Plan are eligible for certain health benefits in retirement.