Enhancements to the IC 403(b) Retirement Plan To Begin Later This Month

By Katie Sack, November 5, 2021

On Wednesday, November 3, members of the NFP Team provided a presentation entitled, Ithaca College – 403(b) Retirement Plan Update.  The following is a summary of what was presented.

IC 403(b) Retirement Plan Upcoming Enhancements

As was previously announced, Ithaca College is enhancing its IC 403(b) Retirement Plan after thoughtful review by the College’s Investment and Administrative Plan Oversight committees. These enhancements are being made to modernize the plan for administrative efficiency, to reduce overall costs, and to assist our valued participants in creating positive outcomes for their retirement.

The following enhancements to the plan design for the IC 403(b) Retirement Plan are rolling out during the month of November 2021:

  • Reduction in plan’s administrative fee requirement. The amount TIAA charges to provide services to the plan and participants is being reduced by approximately 20%.
  • Modernization of Plan’s fee structure resulting in full administrative fee transparency for all participants.
  • Transition to lower cost Target Income Model Portfolios. 
  • Transition from Vanguard Index Funds to State Street (SSGA) Index Fund to take advantage of lower costs.
  • Transition to lower cost institutional share classes for current investment menu options.
  • 403(b) Account Merger: Contributions will no longer be split between accounts - all new contributions will be deposited into one account.
  • Automatic increase of employee contributions is set to occur the first payroll of each new calendar year starting in January 2022, unless the employee opts out.  Any future increases to the employer match would occur in July. Please note that changes to the current 5% match have not yet been confirmed.

NOTE:  For additional details please see: 2021 Changes to the Ithaca College 403(b) Retirement Plan FAQ.

Also, TIAA will remain as the Plan’s Recordkeeper – there is no change to IC’s partnership with TIAA.  NFP is our partner in all benefit/vendor relationships and provides an additional level of advice, guidance and support to both the college and individual plan participants.

We encourage employees to review their current investment strategy prior to November 12, 2021, to determine if they want to take advantage of the transition to the Target Income Model Portfolios (which requires no action and will start automatically) or make their own elections. It is important to note that all future contributions and existing assets, where applicable, will transition to the Target Income Model Portfolios. For employees who do not want to automatically start to use the new Target Income Model Portfolios and wish to opt out/unsubscribe you may at any time as outlined below:

    • Log into your TIAA Account at:  www.tiaa.com/ithaca
    • Choose Personalize next to your retirement plan account
    • Scroll down and select “Stop Using”
    • Choose your own investments from the plan line up

If you do not opt out prior to November 12, 2021, you will automatically be transitioned to the Target Income Model Portfolios.  However, you can make changes or revert back to prior elections at any time by following the same steps noted above.

Resources to assist you in answering your questions:

NFP and TIAA are available to answer any questions you have regarding your 403(b) Plan:

Education Events to attend:

Informational Links: