Student Workers - Voluntary Retirement Savings Program (VRSP)

The VRSP is a 403(b) retirement plan that lets you contribute from 1% to 80% of your eligible pay, on a pre-tax (deducted along with any other taxes) and/or Roth after-tax (deducted from take-home pay) basis, up to the annual IRS limit.

  • Eligibility begins on date of hire.
  • You are always 100% entitled to the value of your own contributions.
  • The IRS sets a maximum contribution limit each year, which applies to combined contributions, pre-tax and Roth:
    • The 2022 maximum contribution is $20,500 (plus $6,500 if you are age 50 and over, for a total of $27,000).
    • The 2021 maximum contribution is $19,500 (plus $6,500 if you are age 50 and over, for a total of $26,000).
  • The Social Security wage base will increase for 2022 from $142,800 to $147,000.

You have a wide range of funds to choose from for investing your savings, available through TIAA and/or Vanguard.

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Make Sure You Are Signed Up

Not sure if you are participating in the VRSP? The simplest way to check is to look at your payroll statement.

To enroll in the VRSP, log in to CUBES; select "Retirement" and follow the prompts. 

 

Your contributions

Pre-tax contributions to the VRSP are deducted from your paycheck with taxes withheld. 

Making pre-tax contributions allows you to defer paying taxes until you make a withdrawal from your retirement account. 

A Roth contribution is money that you contribute to your VRSP after taxes. Roth contributions are taxable like the rest of your current pay.

Because Roth contributions are deposited into a VRSP after taxes were deducted, withdrawals will be tax free, subject to certain rules.