Administration

New IRS limits for Penn State's supplemental retirement programs in 2020

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State offers two supplemental retirement programs: a 403(b) Tax Deferred Annuity and a 457(b) Defined Contribution plan. Both plans are administered by TIAA. Penn State Human Resources (HR) encourages employees to review their supplemental retirement contribution amounts to ensure they are taking advantage of the maximum contribution limits for 2020 permitted by the IRS ($19,500; or, $26,000 if age 50 or older).

Employees should also be aware there will be a new order of payroll processing for supplemental retirement contributions beginning with the Jan. 31, 2020, biweekly and monthly pay dates. Previously in Workday, if the net pay was lower than the requested contribution amount, no supplemental retirement contributions were taken. The new processing order will allow partial deductions. This means that after applicable deductions are taken (e.g., taxes, benefits premiums, etc.), any remaining net pay will be available to fulfill as much of the elected supplemental retirement contribution amount as possible. This could result in a zero ($0) pay.

For example, if your net pay is $1,000 before a supplemental retirement contribution is taken and you elected a flat dollar contribution of $1,500, your pay will be zero, and $1,000 will be contributed to your supplemental retirement plan account.

There are two ways to make changes to and/or review your contributions:

1. WorkLion

  1. Log in to WorkLion.
  2. Click Workday.
  3. Select Benefits.
  4. Select TIAA Supplemental Retirement Enrollment (Under External Links).
  5. Go to Actions.
  6. Select Change Contribution Amounts.
  7. Click on Manage My Contributions to update the amount or percentage of your salary.

Note: You may select a future effective date when managing your contributions.

2. TIAA website

You can manage your contributions through TIAA’s website by logging in with your TIAA user ID and password.

TIAA financial counselors that are dedicated to Penn State employees are available to meet and discuss your retirement plan and complete your financial picture. This service is available as part of your retirement program at no additional cost to you.

To schedule your appointment, call TIAA at 800-732-8353 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays or visit TIAA.org/schedulenow-pennstate.  

Although you can change your supplemental retirement contributions at any time, any changes you make for your Jan. 31 pay must occur on or before Tuesday, Jan. 21 (monthly) or Wednesday, Jan. 22 (biweekly). 

Last Updated January 6, 2020