UW Retirement Plan
Table of Contents
With the UW Retirement Plan (UWRP), each dollar you contribute is fully matched by the UW, and you get to choose your funds with the help of Fidelity Investments, the nation’s largest investment management firm and provider of workplace retirement plans.
As a 403(b) defined contribution plan, you make tax-deferred contributions that lower your taxes today and allow your investments to grow tax free until retirement. All the money in your account, including matching funds, is immediately vested, which means it’s yours to keep wherever your career takes you.
Eligibility
If you meet the eligibility criteria, you must participate in a retirement plan as a condition of employment. Faculty, professional staff, librarians, and academic staff who are working at least 50 percent of full time in an eligible appointment for at least 6 months are eligible to participate in UWRP.
UWRP isn’t the only retirement plan option for eligible employees. Instead, you can choose to participate in either the TRS 3 retirement plan (if you’re faculty) or the PERS 3 retirement plan (for all other employment types). This choice must be made within 30 days or you will be defaulted into UWRP.
Classified staff generally aren’t eligible for UWRP. One exception is newly hired staff who participated in a plan similar to UWRP at another Washington university or college.
Contact UW Benefits if you’re unsure about your eligibility for UWRP.
Enroll
Participating in UWRP is a two-step process:
Step 1 (within 30 days): If you are eligible to participate in the UWRP as a new hire, retirement elections are made in Workday.
For step-by-step instructions on making retirement plan elections, reference this Benefits Enrollment – Retirement – Faculty and Professional Staff user guide. If you are eligible to change retirement elections because of a change in employment, UW Benefits will contact you directly.
Newly eligible employees have 30 days to complete this step in Workday.
Step 2: To make your investment election and beneficiary designations to your UWRP account, you need to enroll through Fidelity Investments. Once you enroll, both your contributions and UW’s matching contributions will begin.
After 30 days
In the event you did not elect a retirement plan within 30 days of becoming eligible, you will default into UWRP. At this point, your contributions won’t start automatically. To start your contributions you need to enroll through Fidelity Investments, where you can make your investment elections and designate a beneficiary or beneficiaries. If you have taken no action, after 2 years your UWRP contributions and UW match will begin automatically and be deposited into the default retirement fund.
Contributions
Every dollar you contribute to UWRP is fully matched by UW. This doubles the amount you save for retirement through UWRP.
Your contribution rate is a percentage of your gross salary, as shown in the table below. While you can’t change your contribution rate, it does increase as you get older. Expect to see the adjustment to your contribution rate on the pay period following your birthday. For example, someone who is turning 50 on June 14 would see their contribution rate change on their July 10 paycheck. You won’t see the matching contribution on your paycheck, but you can find it by accessing your UWRP account online.
| Your age | Your contribution | UW match | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 35 | 5% | 5% | 10% |
| 35+ | 7.5% | 7.5% | 15% |
| 50+1 | 10% | 10% | 20% |
1- When you reach age 50 your contributions automatically increase to 10%. You have the option to decrease your UWRP contributions to 7.5%. To make this change login to your Fidelity account or contact Fidelity at (800) 343-0860.
Investment options
What’s your approach to investing for retirement? Whether you’re a hands-on investor or you prefer a simpler target-date fund, with UWRP you’ll find funds that match your investing style and goals. Better yet, you don’t have to be an expert to figure out which option is best for you.
Get started by reviewing the UWRP plan details and investment options then get in-person guidance by meeting with a Fidelity representative.
IRS contribution limits
A big part of successfully saving for retirement is knowing how your retirement plan affects your taxes. Each year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sets contribution limits for 403(b) retirement plans. While these limits are generous, make sure your retirement contributions don’t exceed them.
If you have both a UW VIP (Pre-tax and Roth) account and a UWRP account, which are both 403(b) plans, make sure the combined total of all contributions to both accounts don’t exceed the IRS “annual limits.” Please review UW Benefits webpage Managing your annual contributions and IRS limits to better understand how these limits impact you.
Loans
You can’t take out a loan from your UWRP funds or otherwise access your funds while you’re working at UW. You can only access your funds when you’re leaving your job at UW or retiring from UW.
You can, however, take out a loan from your contributions to the UW Voluntary Investment Plan, if you participate in it.
Leaving UW before retirement
When your employment at UW ends, you keep all the funds in your retirement plan including the matching funds that UW contributed.
You have the option to either keep your funds in your UWRP account or transfer your funds to another eligible retirement plan through a direct rollover. Contact Fidelity Investments if you want to transfer your UWRP funds.
You also have the option to withdraw your funds completely. However, in addition to decreasing your retirement savings, the Internal Revenue Service requires you to pay income tax on that money plus an additional 10 percent early distribution tax.
Retiring from active UWRP participation
Please see UWRP: Preparing to retire for information about retiring from active UWRP plan participation.
Fund review committee
The UWRP Fund Review Committee is a standing committee defined in the plan document and authorized by the UW Board of Regents. The Committee has a fiduciary role in regard to UW retirement plans and is charged with operating exclusively in the best interests of the participants. Learn more about the Fund Review Committee responsibilities and membership.