Benefits Forms: Retirement Savings Plan Forms

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Retirement Savings Plan Home

Tips for New Hires Enrolling in the Retirement Savings Plan

How to Enroll in the Retirement Savings Plan

Important Note: You must complete a 12-month waiting period to become eligible to receive the 10% U-M contribution to the Retirement Savings Plan.

As a new hire or newly eligible faculty or staff member:
You enroll using Wolverine Access at the same time you make elections for your other benefits, such as health and dental coverage as a new hire or newly eligible faculty or staff member.  You may enroll in the Retirement Savings Plan at any time later if you choose not to enroll at your date of hire.  Your U.S. Social Security number must be on file with the university in order to enroll in the plan.  Contributions will generally begin with your next paycheck after your enrollment has been processed.

If you do not enroll upon hire or becoming newly eligible:
Complete and submit the Salary or Annuity Option Plan Agreement to the Benefits Office. Use this form to authorize the payroll contribution, your choice of investment company (TIAA-CREF and/or Fidelity), and to indicate if you wish to make an additional, non-matching contribution to the plan.

Fax: 734-936-8835 (retirement savings plan enrollment forms only)

University of Michigan
Benefits Office -- Retirement Area
Wolverine Tower -- Low Rise G405 (Ground Floor)
3003 S. State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1278

In order to have your request processed in time for a given paycheck, the Benefits Office must receive your paperwork by specific dates. See Retirement Savings Plan Deadlines for more information.

Retirement Saving Plan Forms

Use Self Service > Benefits to Enroll or Make Changes

You may use Self Service > Benefits to enroll in an SRA and/or 457(b) for the first time, change your contribution amount, or change your choice of investment carrier, limited to one election per month. 

  1. Go to the Wolverine Access Gateway at http://wolverineaccess.umich.edu
  2. Select the Faculty & Staff tab
  3. Select Emplyee Self-Service
  4. Enter your uniqname and password
  5. Select Benefits
  6. Select Initiate SRA/457(b) Election
  7. Review the effective date and confirm you wish to proceed. 
  8. You must Submit and Finalize your elections in order to complete the enrollment process.
  9. Select your investment funds and designate your beneficiary directly with TIAA-CREF and Fidelity Investments. 
You will receive a follow-up confirmation of your enrollment by email after you have submitted and finalized your elections.  You are encouraged to print this confirmation for your records.  If you do not receive the confirmation email, you have not completed the enrollment process. 

What forms do I complete to open my account with TIAA-CREF and/or Fidelity?

There are no paper forms to complete to open your account with TIAA-CREF and/or Fidelity.

How is my account established?

The Benefits Office will send an enrollment notice to your chosen investment company to create your account once your properly completed and signed Salary or Annuity Option Plan Agreement has been received. Notifications are sent to Fidelity on a weekly basis. Notifications to TIAA-CREF are sent with your first contribution; this is the first business day of the month after your first deduction.

What should I do next?

  1. Designate Your Beneficiary
    The investment company you selected will send you a welcome packet with information on how to how to designate your beneficiary. See Beneficiary for more information on making beneficiary designations.

  2. Choose Your Investment Funds
    The investment fund will be an age-appropriate Lifecycle Index Fund if you select TIAA-CREF or a Freedom Index Fund if you select Fidelity. You may change this by contacting TIAA-CREF or Fidelity Investments directly at any time once your account has been created.  For example, this can be done once you receive your welcome packet from the investment carrier.  If you do not have a U.S. street mailing address or if you have a non-U.S. mailing address, the default investment designation for TIAA-CREF will be CREF Money Market. You may not select a TIAA-CREF mutual fund without a U.S. street mailing address.

What are the Lifecycle Index or Freedom Index Funds?
A TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Fund or Fidelity Freedom Index Fund is a mutual fund that is a diversified portfolio of other mutual funds offered by that company.  This includes domestic and international stock funds, bond funds, and money market funds.

Each Lifecycle Index or Freedom Index Fund automatically selects the allocation of stock, bond, and money market funds that are appropriate for a target retirement date of approximately age 65.

The Lifecycle Index and Freedom Index Funds gradually adjusts over time to become more conservative by decreasing the underlying equity holdings and increasing the fixed income holdings as the fund’s target retirement date nears. The gradual shift into fixed income from equities provides the potential for growth while reduces volatility as the retirement date approaches.

TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index and Fidelity Freedom Index Funds are actively managed, however, the underlying mutual funds within each portfolio are index mutual funds.  An index fund is a passive investment strategy that aims to replicate the movements of a specific benchmark that are held constant, regardless of market conditions.  Using underlying index funds are a lower cost option to meet your retirement savings goals.

Your date of birth will be included in the enrollment notice sent to your chosen investment company.  This will determine the specific Lifecycle Index or Freedom Index Fund into which you will be enrolled.

Lifecycle Index and Freedom Index Funds provide a simple solution if you lack the time, confidence, or investment knowledge to create and manage a well-diversified portfolio.  Each fund is professionally managed and provides you with a simple, single investment fund.

What are my other investment choices?
Both TIAA-CREF and Fidelity offer a wide selection of stock, bond, money market, and real estate funds.  If you do not want your investment fund to be a Lifecycle Index or Freedom Index Fund, contact TIAA-CREF or Fidelity to designate a different fund.

TIAA-CREF: 800-842-2776

Fidelity Investments: 800-343-0860

You may also create your account online at www.tiaa-cref.org/enroll by entering in all caps UMBASIC to enroll in the Basic Plan, UMSRA to enroll in the SRA, and BASICSRA to enroll in both.

Fund Information

Please read the appropriate prospectuses carefully before making your retirement savings plan investment choices. Prospectuses are available from the TIAA-CREF and Fidelity websites through the links below.