University of Alaska Pension Plan
The University of Alaska provides a supplemental 401(a) "pension plan" to eligible employees. This account is for university contributions only. No employee contributions are allowed. If eligible, this account supplements your Public Employee's Retirement System (PERS), Teacher's Retirement System (TRS), or the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP).
Please review the options below to determine your eligibility for the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appPension Plan. Your official retirement selections - including eligibility in the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appPension Plan - will be sent to you after you attend a Benefits Overview with the a member of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appBenefits team. For questions, please email ua-benefits@alaska.edu.
| Date of original hire into a benefits-eligible position at the university | Original retirement plan selected (PERS, TRS, ORP) | Eligible for °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appPension Plan? |
|---|---|---|
| June 30, 2006 and earlier | PERS, TRS, ORP | Eligible |
| July 1, 2006 - June 30, 2015 | PERS or TRS | Not eligible |
| July 1, 2006 - June 30, 2015 | ORP | Eligible |
| July 1, 2015 and later | PERS, TRS, ORP | Eligible |
New benefit-eligible employees will be provided with their retirement election paperwork within their first 30 days of hire. Participation in a retirement plan is mandatory for all benefit-eligible positions.
Your retirement election is irrevocable. This means that your retirement selection cannot be changed as long as you are in a benefit-eligible position with the university - even if you separate from the university and return after a break in service.
If you are transferring positions within °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appyou may be given additional retirement choices depending on your initial retirement election/position. Your official retirement selections will be sent to you after you attend a Benefits Overview with the a member of the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appBenefits team. For questions, please email ua-benefits@alaska.edu.
If you have a choice between more than one retirement plan, you must make the election within 30 days of hire. If no election is made you will automatically default into PERS or TRS depending on the nature of your position. If you are eligible for the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appPension Plan, you will default into Fidelity as the fund sponsor.
To manage your °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appPension Plan, you will need to contact your fund sponsor directly or login to your online account. The following fund sponsors manage the university's Pension Plan.
You may change fund sponsors at any time using the Fund Sponsor Enrollment Form. Once submitted, the change will affect where new contributions are deposited and will not automatically transfer account balances. You may keep the accounts separate or consolidate accounts. To combine funds, you will need to contact the previous fund sponsor and request a rollover form to transfer the balance from the previous fund sponsor to the new fund sponsor.
You may only change your fund sponsor for the Pension Plan. You may not change your retirement plan (PERS, TRS, or ORP).
| Fidelity Contact Information | Lincoln Financial Contact Information | TIAA Contact Information | Corebridge (VALIC/AIG) Contact Information |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1-800-343-0860
|
1-800-348-1212 Local Anchorage number: 907-561-3187 Local Fairbanks number: 907-452-6393 |
1-800-842-2776 |
1-800-448-2542 Local Anchorage number: 907-250-4770 |
The University of Alaska provides a supplemental 401(a) "pension plan" to eligible employees. This account is for university contributions only. No employee contributions are allowed. If eligible, this account supplements your Public Employee's Retirement System (PERS), Teacher's Retirement System (TRS), or the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP).
The University of Alaska contributes 7.65% of an eligible employee's salary up to a $52,000 base wage. This means that the maximum calendar year contribution an employee will see in the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appPension Plan from the university is $3,978.
Employer contributions to the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appPension Plan follow the vesting schedule shown below.
| Date of original hire into a benefits-eligible position at the university | Employer Vesting Percent |
|---|---|
| June 30, 2006 and earlier | Immediate vesting |
| July 1, 2006 and later |
Three years of service are required to be vested in employer contributions to the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appPension Plan. If a non-vested employee leaves the university and returns to a benefit eligible position with one year of separation, vesting will continue where the employee left off. If a non-vested employee leaves the university and does not return within one year of separation, the three year vesting schedule will start over. |
It is the employee's responsibility to maintain accurate beneficiary records with their managing fund sponsor. Contact your managing fund sponsor or login to your account to update/review your beneficiary designations.
As you are preparing for retirement, please review our offboarding webpage which provides detailed information on separating from the university. The following applies to all ORP Tiers.
Per IRS guidelines, withdraws from the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appPension Plan can begin with the member is age 59.5. Withdraws prior to age 59.5 may face additional tax penalties for early withdraw.
Withdraws can only be made from a °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appPension Plan account after you have fully separated from service for 45 days.
No in-service distributions are allowed.
Discuss your financial assets and retirement plan with a financial planner. Financial planners can help you map out and prepare for your retirement.
The °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appBenefits team is not able to provide financial planning advice.
- The °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appPension Plan has a few different options available for retirement withdraws. Please contact your financial planner prior to your ORP retirement to discuss your options.
- To initiate your desired retirement, contact your fund sponsor directly for the paperwork required for the action you are wishing to take.
- Complete and submit the fund sponsor's paperwork to °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appbenefits via fax at 907-450-8201 or via secured email at ua-benefits@alaska.edu. Remember - these documents have sensitive personal information included. Be sure to send all documents password protected or securely via fax to ensure your personally identifiable information is protected.
- °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appBenefits will complete the employer portion of the fund sponsors form and return it to the fund sponsor directly.
If you are separating from the university but are not retiring, there are a few different considerations for your °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appPension Plan account. The university also has an offboarding webpage which provides detailed information on separating from the university.
- You may take no action and leave all funds in your °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¿ª½±appPension Plan account.
- You may rollover your vested funds into another qualified tax-free retirement account such as an IRA, or you can rollover your vested funds into a new employer's eligible retirement account.
- You must be separated for 45 days before any action can be taken on your account(s).
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