The New School offers two retirement plans, the Tax Deferred Annuity Plan and the Part-time Faculty Retirement Plan, both administered by TIAA-CREF. Once a retirement account is established for you, you can access your account online at www.tiaa-cref.org. Call the TIAA-CREF Telephone Counseling Center, 800.842.2252, for assistance.
Tax-Deferred Annuity (TDA) Plan: Employee Contribution
You are eligible to make voluntary contributions to the New School's Tax Deferred Annuity (TDA) plan beginning the first of the month following your hire date. New TDA enrollments and changes to existing enrollments can be made at any time by completing the TDA Salary Reduction Agreement Form found in the Benefits Forms and Documents section of this site and submitting it to the Office of Human Resources/Benefits. Forms may also be scanned and emailed to benefitshelp@newschool.edu. Your election will take effect on the first of the month following receipt of your completed form(s).
There are a variety of investment choices offered by TIAA-CREF. If you do not make an investment choice, your contributions will be automatically invested in a qualified default investment alternative which is a TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Fund based on your expected year of retirement, assuming age 65. You can change your investment choices at any time. Please contact the Benefits Staff or call TIAA-CREF at 800.842.2252 for additional information.
You can choose to contribute either a percentage of your base annual salary or a flat dollar amount per pay check. The minimum contribution is $25 per paycheck; the maximum annual contribution as set by the IRS for 2012 is $17,000 (this will increase to $17,500 in 2013). Employees age 50 and older (or who will attain age 50 by December 31) are eligible to contribute an additional $5,500 (as set by the IRS) to the TDA plan. If you are making contributions to more than one retirement plan, it is your responsibility to make sure that your total contributions to all plans do not exceed the annual basic contribution maximum amount or the Age 50+ Catch-Up contribution amount (if applicable).
All contributions to the TDA are made on a pre-tax basis which lowers your taxable income. You are immediately 100 per cent vested upon enrollment and have an unforfeitable right to all your contributions and earnings. Your account grows on a tax-deferred basis until a distribution is made to you.
Newly-hired part-time faculty members please note: Unless you decline to participate, you will be enrolled automatically in the TDA plan on the date indicated on a notification letter sent to your home address with contributions of 3 percent of your pay deducted on a pre-tax basis and invested in a TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Fund based on your expected year of retirement, assuming age 65. If you wish to waive participation you must return to The Office of Human Resources/Benefits the Declination Form enclosed with the letter. If you have been automatically enrolled and a Declination Form is subsequently received, participation will end on the first of the month following receipt. If you decline participation you are eligible to begin contributing to the TDA plan at a later date by completing and submitting the Salary Reduction Agreement Form to the Office of Human Resources/Benefits.
The New School Retirement Plan for Part-Time Faculty: University Contribution
You must work at The New School a minimum of two consecutive academic years to be eligible for the university's retirement plan for part-time faculty.
Once you become eligible, the university will automatically contribute 10 percent of your base annual salary to a TIAA-CREF account set up for you. You can direct the investment of the university contributions by choosing from the investment choices offered by TIAA-CREF. You are immediately 100 percent vested upon enrollment in the plan and have a nonforfeitable right to the university's contributions and all earnings. Your account will grow on a tax-deferred basis until a distribution is made to you. If you do not indicate your own preferred investment allocations, your contributions will be invested automatically in a qualified default investment alternative which is a TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Fund based on your expected year of retirement, assuming age 65 until you make a subsequent change.