CU to review retirement plans

CU’s 401(a) plan, also known as the Optional Retirement Plan, is the mandatory retirement savings vehicle in which faculty and most university staff (formerly called officers and exempt professionals) participate. The university contributes 10 percent and the employee has 5 percent deducted from pay.

The 403(b) Plan is an additional retirement savings choice that is available to all CU employees.

Both offerings have not been extensively reviewed for adequacy of choice, plan performance, fees and plan fund sponsors in over two decades.

At the direction of E. Jill Pollock – vice president, Employee and Information Services – Employee Services, therefore, is undertaking a study this year to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the plans’ components.

In addition to contracting with Innovest Portfolio Solutions, a national firm specializing in such work, Employee Services has assembled a project advisory team to assist with the review:

• Geoff Barsch, associate vice president, Budget and Finance, system
• Peter Bowers, contract manager, Employee Services, system
• Gary Colbert, associate professor, Accounting; director of the 11-Month MBA Program, CU Denver
• Erin Foster, finance manager, Academic Affairs, CU-Boulder
• John Lynch, director of the Center for Consumer Financial Decision Making and Ted Anderson Professor of Free Enterprise, CU-Boulder
• William Marine, professor (retired), Colorado School of Public Health, CU Anschutz Medical Campus
• Thomas Martinez, pension/savings specialist, Employee Services, system
• Michael Preston, emeritus professor, English, CU-Boulder
• Bryn Samuelson, director of business operations, University Information Systems, system
• Katie Sauer, director of financial education, Employee Services, system
• Ravinder Singh, associate professor, MCD Biology, CU-Boulder
• Thomas Zwirlein, professor, Finance, UCCS

As part of its role, the committee may request the current vendors for the CU retirement plans to submit formal proposals, to identify and ultimately retain a vendor or vendors with extensive experience in serving higher education to act as vendor(s)/recordkeeper(s) for CU’s plans.

Details will be provided in the coming weeks at www.cu.edu/retirement-vendor-review.