Retirement Savings Plans Overview

Primary Plans

Benefits-eligible employees are automatically enrolled in a primary retirement plan based on employee group. If you need help determining your employee group, you can ask your supervisor or unit/college HR department. 

Faculty and P&A Staff

The Faculty Retirement Plan is for Faculty and Academic Professional & Administrative (P&A) employees with an appointment of at least nine months and at least 67% FTE (full-time equivalent).

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About the Faculty Retirement Plan (FRP)

The FRP is a defined contribution plan (known as a 401(a) plan) administered by Fidelity Investments. If you began participating in the FRP after January 1, 2012, you contribute 5.5% of your covered salary, and the University contributes 10%. Participation is required, and employees can’t change contribution percentages. Covered salary includes:

  • Base salary
  • Administrative augmentation
  • Commutation allowance
  • Increment
  • Regents' Professor stipend
  • Nine-month appointee summer earnings (check with your unit/college to confirm)

All other earnings are excluded.

To check your account or make changes to your investment mix, create a free Fidelity NetBenefits® account. You can also schedule a call with a Fidelity retirement consultant.

Contribution Timeframe and Limits

Contributions to the plan will begin the first day of the first full pay period after hire or transfer to an eligible position. They will be posted to your Fidelity account on pay dates. In rare cases, contributions may be posted to Fidelity one to two days before or after a pay day. This may be due to holidays, system outages, or manual payroll adjustments.

Federal tax law limits combine employee and employer contributions to the plan, which are subject to cost-of-living increases. The contribution limits are based on when you joined the plan and the limit for the current year:

The University will stop contributions to the plan if you meet the limit. 

Vesting

All funds in the plan are fully vested. This means University contributions, your contributions, and any investment earnings belong to you with no waiting period. 

Civil Service and Labor-Represented Staff

Civil Service employees, Teamsters, AFSCME, and printer union-represented employees participate in the Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS) General Plan. (Some Labor-Represented employees contribute to other plans. See Other Plans below.)

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Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS) General Plan

The Minnesota State Retirement System (MSRS) General Plan is a defined benefit savings plan, or pension.

Learn more about the plan by:

Vesting and Contributions

Participants need three years of service to become vested. Vesting means you are entitled to a lifetime monthly payment at retirement. If you leave before you are vested, contact MSRS to understand your options.

Contributions to the plan will begin the first day of the first full pay period after hire or transfer to an eligible position. You contribute 6% of covered salary (reduced to 5.5% July 1, 2023–June 30, 2025) and the University contributes 6.25%. Participation is required, and employees can’t change contribution percentages.

Other Plans

Sworn police officers contribute to the Public Employees Retirement Account (PERA). Other union-represented employees contribute to other plans through their unions. The University also contributes to these plans. Reach out to your plan administrator or union representative with any questions.

United Educators Association (UEA)-represented faculty contribute to the Faculty Retirement Plan (see Faculty & P&A Staff section).

Voluntary Retirement Plans

Faculty and staff paid on a continuous basis can save additional money for retirement through one or both voluntary plan options: 

  • Optional Retirement Plan, a 403(b) plan
  • 457 Deferred Compensation Plan, a 457(b) plan

Both plans are administered by Fidelity and offer: 

  • Pre-tax or after-tax (Roth) contributions
  • A variety of investment options at Fidelity

Visit our Plan Comparison page to learn more, or schedule a call with a Fidelity retirement consultant to discuss which plan is right for you.

Note: Students and non-resident aliens are ineligible to participate in voluntary plans. You can ask your unit/college HR department for help if you’re not sure if you’re eligible.

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Contributions Timeframe and Limits

You can start contributing to a plan at any time. Starting contributions or changing contribution amounts will take one to two payroll periods to take effect.

Contributions will be posted to your Fidelity account on pay dates. In rare cases, contributions may be posted to Fidelity one to two days before or after a pay day. This may be due to holidays, system outages, or manual payroll adjustments.

Contributions to each plan type are subject to IRS limits. (See the Plan Comparison page for more information.) The University will stop contributions to the plan(s) if you meet either limit through U of M payroll deductions. However, the University cannot stop contributions to other 403(b) or 457 plans you may have. You are responsible for tracking your total contributions to each plan type.

Early Withdrawals

Both plans offer access to funds before retirement in select situations. Visit the Plan Comparison page to learn more, or schedule a call with a Fidelity retirement consultant to discuss which plan is right for you.

How to Get Started

Create a free Fidelity NetBenefits® account. Through NetBenefits, you can:

  • Enroll in either or both plans
  • Start rollovers
  • Choose how much you contribute
  • Make investment changes
  • Find fund performance information
  • Request a distribution or withdrawal if eligible