BASIC RETIREMENT PLAN FOR PHYSICAL PLANT AND SECRETARIAL/CLERICAL STAFF MEMBERS WHO ARE REPRESENTED BY A UNION

Plan Document

Eligibility and Plan Contributions

Wesleyan makes basic retirement plan contributions on behalf of eligible staff members who have completed two years of qualifying service. These contributions equal a percentage of base salary as follows:
 

Age	Contributions
Up to 40	5.0%
40 – 49	7.5%
50 – 59	10.0%
60+	12.5%

 

A year of qualifying service is any consecutive twelve-month period during which an eligible staff member has an appointment to work half time or more, or works 910 hours or more, for Wesleyan.  Some periods during which a staff member does not perform any work for Wesleyan may also count as vesting service (e.g., paid vacation, paid holidays, paid sick leave, and jury duty) up to a maximum of 501 hours for any single continuous period during which the staff member performs no work for the University.

Vesting

Contributions and the earnings on them “vest” (are owned by the participant) immediately.

Investment Choices

Participants determine where their plan contributions and the earnings on them are invested from among available investment options. As of March 31, 2008, those options are:

• A TIAA account featuring guaranteed principal, plus earnings, and a TIAA Real Estate Account;
• Eight CREF accounts:  Bond Market, Equity Index, Global Equities, Growth Account, Inflation-Linked Bond, Money Market, Social Choice, and Stock Account; and
• TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Funds
• TIAA-CREF International Equity Fund
• TIAA-CREF Large-Cap Value Fund
• TIAA-CREF Mid-Cap Growth Fund
• TIAA-CREF Mid-Cap Value fund
• TIAA-CREF Small-Cap Equity Fund
• TIAA-CREF S&P 500 Index Fund
• All Fidelity funds- http://www.fidelity.com

A participant may choose to invest in one or more investment options and may change options--with some restrictions—by calling 1-800-842-2252 for TIAA/CREF or 1-800-343-0860 for Fidelity.

Retirement Date and Retirement Income Options

The "normal" retirement date used by Wesleyan to project a participant’s retirement income under the basic retirement plan is the first day of the month following his or her 65th birthday.  A participant may, however, retire and begin to receive retirement income before or after the normal retirement date.  A participant is not eligible to receive retirement income from the basic retirement plan while actively employed by Wesleyan.

Retirement income options are those offered by the investment vehicle and are described in booklets available in Human Resources. Any lump sum distribution option permitted by the investment vehicle, however, is subject to the following limitation.

• A participant may make lump sum withdrawals equal to a maximum of 25% of his or her retirement plan accumulations and only if the participant’s employment has terminated.
• A participant may receive all or part of his or her basic retirement plan accumulations as a lump sum, provided the participant is at least age 59 1/2 and the participant's Wesleyan employment has ended.

Internal Revenue Code requires retired participants to begin receiving a specified amount of retirement income from the Plan no later than April 1 following the calendar year in which the participant reaches age 70 ½.

Lump sum withdrawals before the termination of employment on or after age 55 or before age 59 ½ may be subject to a tax penalty.

Death Benefits

Benefits may be payable to a participant’s spouse or designated beneficiary when the participant dies.  (Special laws protect the rights of a participant’s spouse.  See “Spousal Rights” section below.)  The form and amount of these benefits depend on whether the participant has begun to receive an annuity from the basic retirement plan and what form of annuity was elected.  These benefits are described in booklets available in Human Resources.

Spousal Rights

A married participant must obtain advanced written consent from his or her spouse prior to certain transactions, including lump sum withdrawals.  Also, subject to limited exceptions, a participant must choose an income distribution option that provides a survivor’s annuity to his or her spouse, unless the spouse waives this right in writing.

Under federal law, if a participant is married at the time of death, the participant’s surviving spouse is automatically deemed to be his or her beneficiary for fifty percent of the accumulation (subject to certain limited exceptions), unless prior to the participant’s death the spouse consented in writing to the designation of another beneficiary in the manner required by the law.  The beneficiary for the other fifty percent is deemed to be the participant’s estate.

Booklets containing detailed information about the TIAA/CREF and Fidelity investment and distribution options and more complete information about the basic retirement plan are available in Human Resources. In addition, retirement planning seminars are conducted from time to time by TIAA/CREF, Fidelity or others at which information about investments, distributions and retirement income options is provided.