Enhancements to Voluntary Retirement Plans

The University of Alabama System is pleased to announce enhancements to the 403(b) and 457(b) voluntary retirement plans through TIAA to help employees plan and save for the future. The changes do not require you to take any action at this time, and a detailed Transition Guide with additional information will be mailed in early March 2024 to all participants who have funds in The University of Alabama System voluntary retirement plan(s). Here are some important things to know:

• Introducing Target Date Plus model portfolios. These new model portfolios, available through the TIAA RetirePlus Pro® service, will serve as the default investment option for the voluntary 403(b) and 457(b) plans, replacing the current age-based TIAA-CREF Lifecycle Index Institutional funds. The new Target Date Plus model service may make it easier to plan and save for retirement by providing you with a professionally managed model portfolio that will be rebalanced every 90 days. They are a convenient alternative to making and managing your own choices from the retirement plans’ investment lineups and offer an option for monthly income payments for life once you retire.
• New TIAA accounts. As a part of the model portfolio enhancement, for those who do not already have one*, a new Retirement Choice Plus (RCP) account with TIAA will be created for you with contributions to the new account and model portfolio on your first paycheck in April. Fund balance transfers will occur in early May for eligible investments. Your TIAA portal access information will remain the same throughout this transition.
• Share class changes. Some of the current investment options will be replaced by a lower-cost share class of the same investments.
• Program fee reduction. As a result of implementing the RetirePlus Pro service, administrative fees are being reduced to help lower the overall cost of participating in your retirement plan.

Make the most of your retirement benefits
The upcoming enhancements provide an excellent opportunity for you to revisit your retirement plan options. No action is required to default into the new Target Date Plus model portfolio, however, you will have options to personalize or unsubscribe from the model. Please carefully review the Transition Guide that will be mailed to you in early March 2024 for more details on key dates, specific action steps, upcoming informational webinars, and resources available to you. 

You should be aware of the following key dates for anticipated changes and events: 

/**
	*	Licensed	to	Jasig	under	one	or	more	contributor	license
	*	agreements.	See	the	NOTICE	file	distributed	with	this	work	for
	*	additional	information	regarding	copyright	ownership.
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	*	Jasig	licenses	this	file	to	you	under	the	Apache	License,
	*	Version	2.0	(the	License);	you	may	not	use	this	file	except	in
	*	compliance	with	the	License.	You	may	obtain	a	copy	of	the	License	at:
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	*	http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
	*
	*	Unless	required	by	applicable	law	or	agreed	to	in	writing,	software
	*	distributed	under	the	License	is	distributed	on	an	AS IS	BASIS,
	*	WITHOUT	WARRANTIES	OR	CONDITIONS	OF	ANY	KIND,	either	express	or	implied.
	*	See	the	License	for	the	specific	language	governing	permissions	and
	*	limitations	under	the	License.
	*
	*	PHP	Version	7
	*
	*	@file					CAS/Request/MultiRequestInterface.php
	*	@category	Authentication
	*	@package		PhpCAS
	*	@author			Adam	Franco
	*	@license		http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0		Apache	License	2.0
	*	@link					https://wiki.jasig.org/display/CASC/phpCAS
	*/
/**
	*	This	interface	defines	a	class	library	for	performing	multiple	web	requests
	*	in	batches.	Implementations	of	this	interface	may	perform	requests	serially
	*	or	in	parallel.
	*
	*	@class				CAS_Request_MultiRequestInterface
	*	@category	Authentication
	*	@package		PhpCAS
	*	@author			Adam	Franco
	*	@license		http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0		Apache	License	2.0
	*	@link					https://wiki.jasig.org/display/CASC/phpCAS
	*/
interface	CAS_Request_MultiRequestInterface
{
				/*********************************************************
					*	Add	Requests
				*********************************************************/
				/**
					*	Add	a	new	Request	to	this	batch.
					*	Note,	implementations	will	likely	restrict	requests	to	their	own	concrete
					*	class	hierarchy.
					*
					*	@param	CAS_Request_RequestInterface	$request	request	interface
					*
					*	@return	void
					*	@throws	CAS_OutOfSequenceException	If	called	after	the	Request	has	been
					*	sent.
					*	@throws	CAS_InvalidArgumentException	If	passed	a	Request	of	the	wrong
					*	implmentation.
					*/
				public	function	addRequest	(CAS_Request_RequestInterface	$request);
				/**
					*	Retrieve	the	number	of	requests	added	to	this	batch.
					*
					*	@return	int	number	of	request	elements
					*/
				public	function	getNumRequests	();
				/*********************************************************
					*	2.	Send	the	Request
				*********************************************************/
				/**
					*	Perform	the	request.	After	sending,	all	requests	will	have	their
					*	responses	poulated.
					*
					*	@return	bool	TRUE	on	success,	FALSE	on	failure.
					*	@throws	CAS_OutOfSequenceException	If	called	multiple	times.
					*/
				public	function	send	();
}

It’s our goal to keep you informed throughout the upcoming transition. No action is required at this time. If you have questions or need assistance, visit TIAA.org/uasystem or call TIAA at 800-842-2252. Consultants are available every weekday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. (CT).

* If you participate in TIAA’s 457(b) plan, you already have a Retirement Choice Plus (RCP) account.