Building a secure financial future with your 403(b) retirement plan

At Augustana College, we’re proud to support your long-term financial wellness through our 403(b) retirement plan with TIAA. Whether you’re just getting started or actively planning for the future, here’s what you should know about your benefits and upcoming updates.

Augustana’s contributions

After one year of service, Augustana contributes a 5% base contribution automatically to your retirement plan. Employees are also eligible immediately for a dollar-for-dollar match up to 2% on your own contributions. By contributing 2% or more, you receive the full 7% total contribution (5% base + 2% match) from Augustana!

Automatic escalation

As many of you know, our plan has an auto-escalation feature which increases your retirement contributions every Jan. 1 by 1% if you are currently contributing less than 10%.

This automatic escalation feature is designed to help you save more gradually over time. Employees may opt out of this feature by completing the Auto Escalation Opt-Out Form and returning it to the HR or Payroll office by Dec. 1. Keep in mind that you can also make changes at any time; increase, decrease, start or stop contributions by submitting a Retirement Plan Change Form to Payroll or HR.

Learn and grow with TIAA

TIAA offers a variety of educational sessions both virtual and in-person to help you make confident financial decisions. These sessions cover topics such as retirement readiness, investment basics, and budgeting for future goals.

In-person sessions will take place in the spring and tend to fill up very quickly. For that reason, we encourage you to sign up for a virtual session with TIAA that better fits your schedule and availability. Visit TIAA.org to schedule a virtual session.

To better support your financial learning, we’ve attached the following resources:

• Important Financial Terms to Know: A glossary of key retirement and investment terms
• The benefits of increasing your retirement contributions: This flyer shows how small increases can make a big difference over time.