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Human Resources: Benefits

Retirement Plans

UAMS Offers Eligible Employees a Valuable Opportunity to Build Future Financial Security

A retirement benefit designed to meet the diverse and changing needs of our faculty and staff. The UAMS 403(b)/457(b) plan is a defined contribution plan and does not pay a specific benefit when you retire. Rather the pay-out is based on contributions made during your working years and the earnings on those contributions that have accumulated.

Eligibility

Under the UAMS Retirement Program, all regular benefits eligible employees MUST participate. The University match only applies to regular benefits-eligible staff and faculty. Employees not eligible for the match include

  • Employees working less than half time (<50%)
  • Temporary or PRN employees
  • Student workers / Interns
  • Medical Residents/Housestaff
  • — these employees can make contributions on an unmatched basis as Tax Deferred Annuities

Employee Participation

  • You must contribute 4% of your regular salary, pre-tax, to the 403(b).
  • Starting July 2021, your required contribution will increase to 5% of your regular salary.

There are two types of contributions you can make to your 403(b):

  • Pre-tax: Contributions made from your salary before state and federal taxes are taken out.
  • After-tax Roth: Contributions made from your salary after state and federal taxes are taken out.

Participation begins on the first day of employment. This action is initiated by signing and completing the Retirement Contribution Agreement assigned as a task during the on-boarding process.

NOTE: When enrolling for the first time, you must complete an application with TIAA or Fidelity.

Employer Match

  • The University will contribute 5% of your regular salary automatically to the 403(b), within IRS limits.
  • If you elect to contribute more than 5% of your regular salary (pre-tax or Roth after-tax), the University will match your contribution, dollar-for-dollar, up to 10% of your first $290,000 regular salary in 2021 (and within IRS limits).

Vesting

You are immediately vested in YOUR employee contributions. This means once you leave employment, you can access this anytime. If you are vested when you leave University employment and then return as an employee at the same or another University of Arkansas campus, you will still be vested. Once you are vested in the University retirement plan, you are always vested.

You become 100% vested in the University’s contributions when:

  • You have worked two consecutive years in a benefits eligible position, OR
  • Die, OR
  • Reach age 65

If you are not vested when you leave employment with the University and return to the University after 30 or more days, your vesting period starts over under the two year vesting rule mentioned above.

Making Changes

You may make changes anytime to your retirement election by completing a Retirement Contribution Form and submitting it to Human Resources.  Changes to your retirement election will  be effective in the current or next pay cycle, as long as they are submitted by the applicable payroll processing date.

  • Start, stop, increase or decrease your voluntary 403(b) contribution
  • Choose between pre-tax and/or after-tax (Roth) contributions
  • Switch between TIAA and Fidelity

Loans & Withdrawals

At retirement or separation of service from the University, you can withdraw or rollover this money in lump sum amounts or over time, subject to plan limitations. Before you have retired, you may begin to withdraw this money at age 59½.

Loans should be requested directly to the provider. Refer to the “What Happens to my benefits after leaving UAMS” document for instructions on how to make your withdrawal or rollover request with the providers.

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