Rules for loans and hardship withdrawals differ for each type of retirement plan.
Texas state law prohibits distributions, including loans and hardship withdrawals, under the Optional Retirement Program (ORP) until a participant retires, dies, reaches age 70½ or terminates employment with all Texas public institutions of higher education.
The Tax-Deferred Account (TDA) program and the Texa$aver Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP) do allow loans and hardship withdrawals regardless of the participant's employment status. However, not all TDA vendors offer loans. For more information, contact your vendor representative.
Optional Retirement Program and Tax-Deferred Account vendor representatives are allowed to make sales presentations regarding investment products to individual employees on A&M System premises only at an employee's request and subject to the approval of the employee's supervisor.
Vendor representatives may not visit, call or send mail or e-mail messages soliciting A&M System employees at their offices except at the employees’ request.
If you encounter a problem with a company or vendor representative who has violated these solicitation rules, please contact your Human Resources office.
Effective Jan. 1, 2007, your maximum contribution limits under the Tax-Deferred Account Program (TDA) and the Texa$aver Deferred Compensation Plan (DCP) will increase from $15,000 to $15,500 for each plan.
The catch-up contribution limit for each plan for those who are 50 and older will remain $5,000.
A chart listing the calendar-year contribution limits through 2007 is available online. Your maximum TDA and/or DCP contribution limits for 2006 and 2007 are included on your 2006–07 Total Compensation Statement, which is available on HR Connect.
If you wish to change your monthly TDA contribution for the 2007 calendar year, complete the TDA Salary Reduction Agreement/Change of Vendor Form and submit it to your Human Resources or Payroll office. Please contact your Human Resources or Payroll office for deadline dates to ensure that your change will take effect on the first pay date of 2007.
If you wish to change your monthly DCP contribution, contact CitiStreet, the DCP plan administrator, at (800) 634-5091.
State law requires that Optional Retirement Program (ORP) contributions be sent to ORP vendors within three business days of the funds' legal availability (pay date) and that ORP participants be notified each year of vendors that are unable to receive these contributions by electronic funds transfer.
All currently active vendors receive funds electronically on the first business day of each month and are required to credit the contributions to participants' accounts within one day of receipt. The following is a list of inactive vendors who do not currently receive ORP contributions electronically:
The Social Security wage base will increase to $97,500 for 2007, up from $94,200 in 2006.
The wage base is the most earnings on which an employee and his/her employer
must pay Social Security taxes during a calendar year. Medicare taxes must
be paid on all earnings. 