Howard University Savings Plan

Vesting means the right to retain the University (Basic and Matching) contributions to your Plan account, and any investment earnings on these contributions. You are always 100% vested in the value of the University’s contributions as well as your own contributions to your account.

As an employee of the University, you are eligible to join the Savings Plan and to make salary deferral contributions to the Plan as soon as administratively practicable following your date of hire.  If you choose to make contributions to the Plan, you must agree to contribute at a rate more than $200 per calendar year.

•   All non-benefit eligible employees may contribute employee contributions to the 403(b) Plan.
•   Non-benefit eligible employees are not eligible to receive employer matching contributions.

Please click on the link to enroll in the Howard University Savings Plan to prepare for retirement: www.tiaa.org/howard.

You now have access to investment choices, tools and services to help you save for your financial future. Simply log in to your account with TIAA at TIAA.org/Howard where you will have access to:      

·         Set-up or change your contribution amount

·         Set-up or change your beneficiary information

·         Monitor your balances

·         Set-up or change investments to your current balance or future contributions

·         Submit loan, hardship & cash-withdrawal requests

·         Use the online Retirement Advisor tool. Visit TIAA.org/retirementadvisor and log in to your account.

Get Help with Personalized Advice

You also have access to personalized advice from a TIAA financial consultant at no additional cost to you. Please call 800-732-8353, weekdays 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (ET) or visit TIAA.org/schedulenow to schedule a one-on-one consultation to get answers to your questions and develop a retirement action plan tailored to your financial situation. In addition, you may call TIAA’s customer service department at 800-842-2252 for immediate assistance. Consultants are available weekdays, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (ET).   

We are committed to providing the support you need on your path to and through retirement. Please contact the Retirement Department directly via email at RetirementHU@Howard.edu for additional information regarding your retirement benefits and eligibility for the Howard University Savings Plan.

TIAA is the single record keeper for the Howard University Savings Plan. You may contact TIAA’s customer service department at 800-842-2252 for immediate assistance. Consultants are available weekdays, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (ET).   

• If you were a Plan participant prior to October 29, 2019, you could have also selected VALIC or Voya as your investment Company.  If that was the case, and you still have an funds that remained with VALIC and Voya during the transition to TIAA as a single record keeper, you can contact them directly to make any changes to your investments at any time:
  • VALIC: Call 1-800-448-2542 or visit  www.valic.com
  • VOYA: Call 1-800-584-6001 or visit  www.voya.com
• If you were a Plan participant prior to July 1, 2011, you could have also selected Lincoln Financial Group (“LINCOLN”) as your investment Company.  If that was the case, and you still have an account with LINCOLN, you can contact LINCOLN directly to make any changes to your investments at any time:
• LINCOLN: Call 1-800-454-6265 or visit www.lfg.com

As part of your enrollment process, you will be asked to designate a beneficiary who will receive your benefits under the Plan upon your death. If you are married, your spouse will automatically be named as your beneficiary unless your spouse consents, in writing witnessed by a Plan representative or notary public, to your designation of another beneficiary. 

Upon your death, your benefits under the Plan will be distributed in accordance with your most recently filed beneficiary designation form, as long as any required spousal consent to such designation has been provided.  If you do not have a valid beneficiary designation on file, upon your death, you will be deemed to have designated a beneficiary or beneficiaries in the following order of precedence: (1) your spouse; (2) your surviving children in equal shares; and (3) your estate.  You can change your beneficiary designation at any time, with your spouse’s consent if applicable, as described above.

Remember to review your beneficiary designation regularly and make any changes necessary especially after you get married or divorced or have another major life event.

If you are an eligible employee, the University will automatically contribute 6% of your regular-base compensation to your account, each pay period, commencing with your date of hire (“Basic University Contributions”).  You do not have to contribute to the Plan to receive the Basic University Contribution.

As an eligible employee, when you make contributions to the Plan, you will receive matching contributions from the University equal to 50% of your before-tax contributions or Roth after-tax contribution, up to 4% of your eligible compensation (the “University Matching Contributions”).  Therefore, if you contribute 4% of your eligible compensation, you will receive a 2% match from the University.  The University Matching Contributions are made on a payroll basis, and you have to be an eligible employee at the time of your elective contribution to be eligible for the University match.

When you contribute to the Savings Plan on a before-tax basis, contributions are deducted from your paycheck before federal and (depending on where you live) state and local income taxes are subtracted. You lower your taxable income, which means that you pay less in current income taxes. You don’t pay taxes on your before-tax contributions or any investment earnings on those contributions until you receive a distribution from the Savings Plan. However, you are still required to pay Social Security taxes on any before-tax contributions you make to the Savings Plan.

The key difference between before-tax contributions and Roth after-tax contributions is the timing of taxation. Roth after-tax contributions are made after your Social Security taxes, and any federal, state, and local income taxes are calculated and withheld. If your Roth after-tax contributions are distributed as a “qualified distribution,” the accumulated earnings will not be taxable. To be a “qualified distribution", the distribution must be made after you (1) either attain age 59½, become disabled, or die; and (2) complete five (5) years of participation in the Roth after-tax contribution account. The five (5)-year period required for a “qualified distribution” is the period of five (5) consecutive calendar years that begins with the first calendar year in which you make a Roth after-tax contribution. This period continues to run even if you do not make any further Roth after-tax contributions.

The key difference between before-tax contributions and Roth after-tax contributions is the timing of taxation.  Roth after-tax contributions are made after your Social Security taxes, and any federal, state and local income taxes are calculated and withheld.  If your Roth after-tax contributions are distributed as a “qualified distribution,” the accumulated earnings will not be taxable.  To be a “qualified distribution,” the distribution must be made after you (1) either attain age 59½, become disabled or die; and (2) complete five (5) years of participation in the Roth after-tax contribution account.  The five (5)-year period required for a “qualified distribution” is the period of five (5) consecutive calendar years that begins with the first calendar year in which you make a Roth after-tax contribution.  This period continues to run even if you do not make any further Roth after-tax contributions.

You can borrow money using your Plan account as collateral for any reason, and pay the account back with interest by check or electronic transfer. Initiating a loan is permitted only while you are actively employed by the University. As part of the application and approval process, you will receive a loan disclosure statement showing any loan initiation fees, the interest rate, and repayment information that will be applicable to your loan. There are two (2) types of loans available: general purpose loans and principal residence loans. You will be required to submit purchase documentation in the case of a principal residence loan. You cannot have more than two (2) general purpose loans and one principal residence loan outstanding at any point in time.

While you are employed, you may apply for certain withdrawals or loans. If your employment ends, you will be entitled to receive a distribution of your account balance, and you will need to make some decisions about what to do with that distribution if you want to continue deferring taxes.

Contact your investment company(ies) directly to request an in-service withdrawal or loan from your account.

There are three (3) types of withdrawals that you can make from the Savings Plan while you are employed by the University:

• Hardship withdrawals from your Supplemental Employee Contributions account;
• Age 59½ withdrawals from your account; and
• Qualified military reservist distributions.

You have up to five (5) years to repay a general purpose loan, and up to ten (10) years for a primary residence loan.  Your first payment is due the first day of the third month after your loan is issued.