Retirement Plan Enrollment Information for New Employees
benefits-eligible faculty and staff (non-union positions)
Basic Retirement Plan
You will find detailed information on the Basic Retirement Plan in the Benefits Summary located at https://www.skidmore.edu/benefits/summary/retirement.php. The information below is intended to guide your enrollment process. In addition, you are encouraged to join a Benefits Orientation session hosted by Human Resources.
You will note that there is a one-year waiting period to receive the College’s basic retirement plan contribution equal to 10% of base annual salary/wage, or 11% if age 50 or older. However, you may be eligible to have the waiting period waived if you meet the criteria for a waiver. A Verification of Basic Retirement Form is available here. Please have a designated predecessor employer verify your participation by completing and emailing this form to benefitsHR@skidmore.edu .
In addition to the above, for employees hired September 4, 2008, or after, who are not eligible for the College’s post-retirement health care plan, the College will contribute a Basic Retirement Plan contribution equal to 1% of the employee’s base wages or salary during the plan year, effective with the date of hire.
Faculty and staff may establish their Skidmore-related account(s) for one or both retirement vendors using the following information:
- Visit TIAA at https://www.tiaa.org/public/tcm/skidmore to learn more and establish your account.
- A Vanguard enrollment form to establish an account is available here. Once completed, this may be delivered to Human Resources in the Barrett Center or sent via email to benefitsHR@skidmore.edu.
- NOTE: Once your TIAA and/or Vanguard account(s) are created, you MUST select in Oracle which of these vendors you have chosen.
Supplemental Retirement Account (SRA)
All employees can contribute a portion of salary/wages into the SRA retirement plan through TIAA-CREF or Vanguard Mutual Funds via salary/wage deduction. There are pre-tax contributions and Roth (post-tax) options available.
Please be aware that IRS regulations determine the amount you may defer under this and other plans in any tax year.For 2023, the limit under all plans of this type is generally $22,500, although larger limits may apply if you are age 50 or older. Each participant only gets one limit for contributions to all 403(b) plans, so if you are also a participant in a 403(b) plan of another employer, your combined contributions to that plan and to the Skidmore College 403(b) Plan in 2023 are generally limited to $22,500. If you do participate in more than one 403(b) plan, you are responsible for tracking and reporting the amount of all of your contributions to the plans so that the total amount of all your contributions to all plans in which you participate do not exceed the limit.
Employees have the option of electing a flat dollar amount or a percentage of total salary/wage. If a percentage of total salary/wage is chosen, the contribution will automatically increase when the employee’s salary/wage increases. Under IRS guidelines, the maximum contribution is based on a calendar year. NOTE: If you elect the flat dollar amount option you will want to review this at the beginning of each calendar year and make any adjustments in Oracle.
For further details, or if you have questions, please contact the Human Resources Office at (518) 580-5800 or stop by the office located in Barrett Center.