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Human Resources

Additional Retirement Savings Plans

There are three supplemental tax advantage retirement savings plans available to Illinois State University employees: the 403(b) Plan and two 457 Plans. Generally, all common law employees of the University who receive compensation reportable on a Form W-2 are eligible to participate in the Plan, so long as the employee elects to contribute at least $200 each year. The only employees not eligible to participate in the Plan are non-resident aliens with no U.S. source income.

Universal Availability Notice

Plan participants who are (or will turn) 50 years of age during the calendar year are also eligible to make catch-up contributions up to $7,500 above the 2025 annual statutory limit of $23,500, for an annual maximum contribution during 2025 of $30,500. Effective January 1 2025, employees who attain the age 60 through 63 are eligible for a seperate catch-up of $11,250 above the 2025 annual statutory limit of $23,500, for an annual maximum contribution during 2025 of $34,750.  For highly compensated employees, eligible earnings are limited to $350,000 for the purposes of providing contributions as a percent of salary.

Additional Catch Up Notice

Payroll offers a Gross-to-Net calculator to help assist with calculating 403(b) and 457 contributions and their impact on your pay. Please note the calculator provided on this website may not match payroll calculations and are only meant to provide general guidance and estimates about the payroll process. They should not be relied upon to calculate exact taxes, payroll or other financial data, and Illinois State University disclaims any responsibility for such use. These calculators are not intended to provide tax or legal advice. Please consult with a professional advisor or accountant regarding any specific concerns you may have.

403(b) Plan

In the Illinois State University Supplemental Retirement Plan, your contributions with the Traditional 403(b) are pretax dollars and have the potential to accumulate tax deferred and are taxable upon distribution. Contributions to the Roth 403(b) are made with after-tax dollars. Therefore, the monies in a Roth 403(b) will be tax-free upon distribution after five or more years after the initial contribution and you attain age 59 1/2 or older.

Employees enrolling for the first time should select one or both vendors and select the enrollment and general information link(s). Once an account is established with one or both vendors, employees will need to complete the ISU 403(b) Plan Payroll Deduction Form and return it to Human Resources.

403(b) Plan Payroll Deduction Form

Employees who are already enrolled with one or both 403(b) vendors and who wish to make a change in the amount being deducted will need to log in to iPeople, select Employee > Benefits > 403(b). There employees will be able to change the contribution percentage. Employees who wish to stop their contributions for a time should enter a zero in that field.

Fidelity Investments

TIAA

457 Deferred Compensation Plan

The CMS and SURS Deferred Compensation Plans are supplemental tax-advantaged retirement plans for state university employees. Contributions can be made on a Pretax and/or a Post-Tax basis. Enrollment and changes to contribution amounts must be done the month prior to the month you wish to start making contributions or changes to the amount of your contributions.

CMS

SURS

Any questions can be directed to a Retirement Consultant in Human Resources at (309) 438-8311.