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Cooperative Extension Service |
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Agricultural
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U of A Board Policies
Dale Bumpers College
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Summary: Establishes policies and procedures for participation in the University of Arkansas Retirement Plan or the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System for Extension employees on University appointment. To provide retirement benefits for employees, the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service will contribute to one of the following retirement plans: the Optional Retirement Plan (O.R.P.) or the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System (A.P.E.R.S.) Neither of the plans require the employee to make a contribution. Employees selecting the O.R.P. will have the option of making personal contributions to the plan. A.P.E.R.S. is non-contributory so employees may not make personal contributions to the A.P.E.R.S. retirement plan. Selection of either A.P.E.R.S. or O.R.P. is a permanent choice. Optional Retirement PlanContributions: If you enroll in the University of Arkansas Optional Retirement Plan (O.R.P.) Extension will contribute an amount equal to 5% of your salary to the plan. You are not required to make a personal contribution. However, if you choose to make a personal contribution in excess of 5% of your salary, Extension will match that contribution up to 10%. Vesting (Ownership): For Classified employees, who are under the state pay plan, the vesting schedule for contributions to the O.R.P. is handled in the following way. Your employee contributions will always be vested (owned by you.) Contributions made by Extension on your behalf are vested and completely owned by you at the earliest of:
For all employees other than Classified employees, the contributions made by Extension and by you are immediately vested (owned by you.) This refers to both the employee and employer contributions. Tax Deferral: If you make personal O.R.P. contributions, you may elect to have these contributions "sheltered" from taxes. Tax-sheltered contributions will not be taxed currently but will be taxed later as you receive them as income. Your take-home pay is increased by the amount of income tax that would have been paid on the amount sent to your retirement plan. The maximum amount that may be deferred from taxation is determined by limits set by the I.R.S. If you wish to tax defer your contributions, you should contact the Extension Business Office. There are two companies in the O.R.P.: Fidelity Investments and T.I.A.A./C.R.E.F. Employees may allocate contributions to either company or both. Fidelity Investments is a mutual fund company which offers the employee an opportunity to make pooled investments in stocks, bonds, and short-term investments. T.I.A.A./C.R.E.F. is a nonprofit life insurance company which offers investment opportunities in long-term bonds and common stocks. Benefits from each include lifetime annuities and lump sum payments. Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System (A.P.E.R.S.)A.P.E.R.S. is a defined benefit plan. It is governed by a board of trustees consisting of ex-officio members who are elected state officials and active and retired members of the system appointed by the Governor. The University of Arkansas contributes an amount equal to 10% of your total salary to A.P.E.R.S. There are no provisions for employees to make contributions. Vesting: Employees must participate in A.P.E.R.S. for 5 years before benefits are vested (owned by you). Return to Fringe Benefits Index |
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University of Arkansas • Division of Agriculture |
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