Benefits Plans - Retirement Savings Plans: Supplemental Retirement Accounts (SRAs)

SRA Eligibility

The following groups are eligible to enroll in an SRA:

All regular, active faculty or staff members (including Supplemental Instructional, House Officers, Research Fellows, and Graduate Students [GSIs, GSSAs, or GSRAs]) with a 1% or greater appointment of at least four months duration paid by the university.

Temporary staff are also eligible to contribute to an SRA. 

In addition, you must receive earned compensation reportable on an IRS Form W-2 and subject to federal, state, and FICA tax to be eligible.  Stipend and fellowship funding are not eligible to be contributed to an SRA.

The SRA Advantage

If you want to contribute more than the 5% under the Basic Retirement Plan, you can open an SRA. You can contribute an additional amount each pay period, up to IRC annual limits. Use the New Hire SRA Calculator (PDF) to determine how much you can contribute to an SRA as a new hire faculty or staff member, or contact the HR/Payroll Service Center to get a quote of how much you can contribute. An SRA is a great way to save more for retirement and reduce your income taxes.

Since the university does not match your SRA contributions, you have more options for accessing the accumulations while you are still employed. These options are not available under the Basic Retirement Plan. See the following sections, SRA Cash Withdrawals and Rollovers, and SRA Loans.

IRS / SRA Max Limit Handbooks

You can find more detailed information on how your contribution limit for the retirement plan is calculated by reading the booklets available at benefits.umich.ed/plans/retire/maxlimit.html.

SRA or a 457(b)?

Which one should you choose? It depends on what is important to you. For a comparison of the two plan types, see 457(b) or an SRA?.

You may also be interested in Roth Savings Plans.

Contribution Limits

The IRC limit on 403(b) contributions for 2012 is $17,000, plus an additional $5,500 if you are age 50 or older. Your limit may be increased by an additional $3,000 once you have 15 or more years of service at the university. The 5% you contribute under the Basic Retirement Plan counts against this limit, with the remainder being the additional amount you can tax-defer to an SRA.

Are You Tax-Deferring Elsewhere?

The IRC limit on elective deferrals to a 403(b) plan applies no matter how many employers and 403(b) plans you have. In addition, elective deferrals to a 401(k) plan must also be taken into account when determining how much you can contribute to the U-M plan. If you are making tax-deferred contributions through another employer’s retirement savings plan, it is wise to consult a qualified tax adviser to make sure that your combined contributions do not exceed Internal Revenue Code limits. This can be especially important if you are new to the university and contributed to another plan this year before coming to U-M. See Your Tax Deferring Limit for more information.

Enrollment for Temporary Hourly Staff

Temporary hourly staff should refer to Retirement Savings Plans: Temporary Hourly Employees for enrollment instructions.

Enroll or Make Changes using Self Service > Benefits

• SRA Enrollment Instructions
• How is My Account Established?

SRA Cash Withdrawals and Rollovers

You can withdraw or rollover accumulations from your SRA only if you meet at least one of the following triggering events:

As an active employee:

• When you reach age 59 1/2;
• If you incur an IRS qualifying financial hardship. Federal regulations limit hardship withdrawals to contributions only; earnings are not available. In addition, hardship withdrawals are not eligible to be rolled over); or
• If you become disabled according to IRS guidelines;

As a former employee: Your contributions and earnings are available at any age after you have terminated your employment with the university.

SRA Loans

You may take a loan from your SRA at any time, whether you are an active employee or a former employee. There is no qualifying event you need to meet in order to take a loan.

Next: Extra to Basic vs. SRA