March 29, 2024

Tax Deferred 457 and 403(b) Plans Notice for All Employees

For more information, you may contact your Benefits Administrator, Denise Frye at Dfrye2@umw.edu.

Note:  Our TIAA CREF Representative will be on campus January 14 and 15.    Our  Fidelity Representative will be here on  February 5.   All employees (participants and non-participants) may schedule an individual general retirement planning session with a Representative.  Please see our What’s New tab to schedule your appointment and be informed of upcoming visits.     

Availability Notice To All Employees:

All University of Mary Washington employees including wage and adjunct faculty are eligible to enroll in the 457 Deferred Compensation Plan and/or the 403(b) Tax Deferred Savings Plan. All contributions are pre-tax deductions.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has set the annual deferral contribution limit for employees who participate in the 457 and/or 403(b) to $18,000 for calendar year 2015. The catch-up contribution limit for those age 50 and over is an additional $6,000 for a total contribution of $24,000.00.The  Cash Match program remains the same –  the cash match continues to be 50% of your contribution to one (1) of the Plans, not to exceed $20 per pay date.  If you are a Hybrid Retirement Plan member, you must first maximize your voluntary contributions of 4% to the Hybrid 457 Deferred Compensation Plan before receiving the cash match on the 457 Deferred Compensation or 403(b) Tax Deferred Savings Plan. Wage employees and adjunct faculty  are not eligible to receive the cash match.

All employees are eligible to enroll however, full time salaried faculty employees electing to participate in Optional Retirement Plan are enrolled automatically in the 457 Deferred Compensation Plan for a pre-tax deductionof $20.00 after their 90th day and a $10.00 contribution to the cash match plan unless they have an existing 457 account or opted out of participation in the plan.   There are no automatic enrollments for the 403(b) Tax Deferred Savings Plan.

To enroll or change your current pay period deductions:

457 Deferred Compensation plan:

403(b) Tax Deferred Savings Plan:

  • Select and contact a vendor from the attached approved provider list. 403(b) Provider’s List
  • Complete the Salary Reduction Agreement form (SRA).  SRA Form  For initial enrollment, the SRA should be completed by you and the Financial Advisor/Agent of the selected Provider and returned to Office of Human Resources for processing.
  • To receive the Cash Match on the 403(b) account (full time benefit eligible employees), complete the Cash Match Agreement Form and forward to the Office of Human Resources for processing.  Cash Match Form 

Beneficiaries:

Are your beneficiaries up to date?  Your beneficiary form should be updated after each personal milestone such as a change in marital status, the birth or adoption of a child or as your life events change.

To update/change your beneficiary for your life insurance benefit and VRS Retirement, submit a new Designation of Beneficiary (VRS-2 ) to Office of Human Resources for processing. If you don’t know who you have previously designated, you may also submit a new VRS-2  to reflect your designation(s).

To update/change your beneficiary for the 457 deferred compensation plan, complete the 457(b)/401(a) beneficiary form and mail to ICMA-RC.  You may also log in to your account and complete this request online to ensure an immediate update to your beneficiary information.

To update your beneficiary with the Optional Retirement Plan or 403(b), please contact the Vendor directly.

To update your beneficiary with the Hybrid Retirement Plan, defined contribution component, complete the Hybrid Deferred Compensation/Employer Match form and mail to ICMA-RC.   You may also log in to your account and complete this online to ensure an immediate update to your beneficiary information.  If no designations are on file, benefit payments  will be made by  the order established by law.  Please be aware that these designations only apply to the defined contribution component of the Hybrid Retirement Plan and do not impact the designations you may make for the defined benefit component.  To designate beneficiaries for the Hybrid, defined benefit component, you may complete and submit a Designation of Beneficiary (VRS-2 ) to Office of Human Resources for processing.

Thank you