LATEST NEWS
Are you retired?
Are you about to retire?
Thinking about retiring next year?
Are you retired or are you retiring prior to 7-1-08?
If so, click the link below!
http://www.apscuf.com/news/RETIRED-prior-7.1.08.pdf
Planning on retiring on or after 7-1-08?
If so, click the link below!
http://www.apscuf.com/news/Retire-on-or-after-7.1.08.pdf
Planning on retiring on or after 7-1-09? If so, click the link below!
http://www.apscuf.com/news/Retire-on-or-after-7.1.09.pdf
News & Information
Q - I have submitted my letter of intent to retire as of June 29, 2007. I want to make sure that by using this date I am securing my retirement benefits under the current
contract. R - from SERS: Just for clarification purposes, the date of termination and the effective date of retirement are often confused. A member who terminates employment with a date of June 29, 2007 has an effective date of retirement of June 30, 2007. The APSCUF Retirement Committee provides retirement information, advocacy and research to faculty and their spouses. The committee educates faculty on getting answers to faculty retirement questions. Below, you will see a list of resources for active and retired APSCUF/APSCURF members.
Summary on Retirement Options for APSCUF
members
APSCUF faculty members have the option of participating
in the State Employees Retirement System (SERS),
the Public School Employees Retirement System
(PSERS) or the Teachers Insurance and Annuity
Association-College Retirement Equities Fund
(TIAA-CREF). SERS and PSERS are defined
benefit plans. TIAA-CREF is a defined contribution
plan. In 2003, three additional defined
contribution retirement plans became available. They
are ING, MetLife, and VALIC. The State System
of Higher Education (SSHE) categorizes TIAA-CREF,
ING, MetLife, and VALIC as parts of the Alternative
Retirement Plan (ARP).
Choosing a defined benefit plan:
In defined benefit plans like SERS and PSERS,
the retirement benefit is determined by a statutory
formula that includes an employee's final
average salary, years of service and a multiplier. According
to state law, new SERS members contribute 6.25%
of their gross salary and new PSERS members contribute
7.50% of their gross salary. The state
contributes a percentage of the employee's
gross salary. An actuary annually establishes
the employer contribution rate. Both SERS
and PSERS require five years of service to be
vested. Cost of living adjustments for
SERS and PSERS annuitants may be provided on
an ad-hoc basis by an act of the state legislature.
Choosing a defined contribution plan:
TIAA-CREF, ING, MetLife, and VALIC are defined
contribution plans, also referred to as alternate
retirement plans. In these plans, the retirement
benefit is determined by employee contributions,
employer contributions, and the interest and
earnings of the employee-selected investment
funds at the time of retirement. To state
it another way, stock and bond market performance
affect the value of the retirement benefit. Employees
contribute 5% of their gross salary. State
law requires the employer to contribute 9.29%
of the employee's gross salary. There is
immediate vesting with defined contribution plans.
If you participated in TIAA-CREF prior to coming
to the SSHE and were pleased with the performance,
you might want to continue with that provider.
Also, if you intend to leave the SSHE before
the five-year vesting period for the two state
systems, chances are you'll be able to continue
in the TIAA-CREF program at your next job in
higher education. Due to APSCUF's effort, the
TIAA-CREF members now have the same benefit that
SERS members acquired in December of 1982 (i.e.,
the tax sheltering of the individual's retirement
contribution for federal income tax purposes
only.)
The major advantage of the defined contribution
option is that it reduces your losses if you leave
the SSHE before the five year vesting period. Under
SERS and PSERS, if you leave before being vested,
you lose the employer contributions to the retirement
fund. You are eligible to receive the employee
contributions plus statutory interest. With
the defined contribution option, the employer contributions
have purchased shares in your name that are yours
forever, regardless of when you leave state employment.
Purchasing service
credit:
If you taught in another state before accepting
your post at the SSHE, both SERS and PSERS offer
an option that permits you to purchase your out-of-state
service time. This is only for public school or
public higher education service or service as a
state employee, not for private school or private
university service. Both the PSERS and SERS have
options that permit participants to purchase credits
for military time, a factor you might take into
consideration when making your decision.
PLEASE REMEMBER THAT YOU HAVE 30 DAYS
TO MAKE YOUR SELECTION OR YOU WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY
PLACED IN THE STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
For additional information, check out APSCUF's Pre-retirement
checklist
Retirement links from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education:
Comparison of SERS, PSERS and Alternative Retirement Options
Comparison
of the Alternative Retirement Plan (ARP) Options
Frequently Asked Questions about ARPs
Retirement websites:
SERS www.sers.state.pa.us
PSERS www.psers.state.pa.us
TIAA-CREF www.tiaa-cref.org
ING www.ingretirementplans.com/index.html
MetLife www.metlife.com
Valic www.valic.com
Retirement Options
Insurance Information for retirees
Outside Links
News
Research links & Reports
For more information about retirement, contact:
Laura Statler, APSCUF
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APSCUF, 319 North Front Street, PO Box 11995, Harrisburg, PA 17108-1995
Phone (toll-free): 800.932.0587 . Phone (local): 717.236.7486
General FAX: 717.236.1883 . Contract Department FAX: 717.236.1459 |
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