Ohio Northern University

Office of Human Resources

To:All Full-Time Employees of ONU

From: Kate Colwell, Benefits and Payroll Manager

Re:Helpful Information Regarding ONUs TIAA-CREF Retirement Funds

Date:August 23, 2011

As you are most likely aware, the University will be altering the amount of contribution to your retirement fund with TIAA-CREF to 7% effective 9/1/2011. Therefore your contribution to the ONU Defined Contribution Plan will change to 7% with the September payroll. With this change in mind, we would like to share some facts and information on our TIAA-CREF Plans, and your options in retirement planning.

======VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS======

You may contribute voluntarily, on a pretax basis, to your TIAA-CREF retirement account. Many of you already do this; however, there are many employees that do not take full advantage of this opportunity. In order to start or modify your voluntary contribution, please fill out this form.

VOLUNTARY SALARY REDUCTION FORM

Then, simply return it to the Office of Human Resources.

NOTE: If you have already completed a Voluntary Salary Reduction Form and have designated an amount per pay to be contributed to your retirement, you do not have to do anything to have this amount to take effect/continue. The best way to determine if you are currently contribution voluntarily is to look at your paystub online via Luminis and look for a voluntary contribution deduction. Many of you have already sent in forms effective September 1. If you have already communicated your September amount , no further action is required.

If you are going to be voluntarily contributing to TIAA-CREF with ONU for the first time, you will need to go online at TIAA-CREF and complete an application for the Tax Deferred Annuity Plan. This will allow you to choose the allocation of funds for these dollars. Any unallocated funds will default into the appropriate Lifecycle fund for your age. To enroll in a voluntary plan:

  • Go to the ONU Web portal and select the “Enroll Now” Button
  • Choose the “Ohio Northern University Tax Deferred Annuity Plan”
  • Login with your TIAA-CREF User Name and Password. If you have not logged in before, you will need to choose “Register with TIAA-CREF” first to create the user name and password.
  • Work through the prompts which will ask information regarding address, beneficiaries, etc. and will finish your account setup.

You may contribute, voluntarily, based on the calendar-year limits for 2011:

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If you are under age 50:$16,500

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If you are under age 50 and have 15 years or

more of service at ONU:$19,500

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If you are age 50 or older:$22,000

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If you are age 50 or older and have 15 years or

more of service at ONU:$25,000

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*Subject to change in 2012

======TIAA-CREF CLIENT SUPPORT======

TIAA-CREF offers many outlets for service to our members including a Web portal, call center, Individual Consultant Services and on-campus forums.

TIAA-CREF offers a vast array of Online information for the ONU community. Please visit:

Within the ONU portal, you can learn more specific information about the funds that are offered under our plan, how to allocate investments, view your account information and balances or enroll in additional plans.

Additionally, Phone Support is available 24 hours a day and can field most general calls regarding asset allocation, loans, transfers, balances, rates, etc. Please call 800-842-2252 to speak with a live representative.

When you feel that your situation needs individualized/special attention, you can make an appointment with our Dedicated Individual Consultant, Stephen Baker. You can set up appointments to meet with him during his campus visits. To set up an appointment, please contact TIAA-CREF at 1-800-732-8353 or 614-659-1009. Simply inform them that you work for ONU and wish to set up an appointment with Steve Baker. Times fill up quickly and may be booked a couple months in advance. If you have an impending retirement, let them know at the time of scheduling.

As always, please feel free to contact the Office of Human Resources with any questions you may have or if you would like to sit down with us to review your payroll contributions, ask questions or change your voluntary contributions. We are always glad to assist.

Please note that any voluntary elections will remain in effect until the Office of Human Resources is notified of a change. Therefore, if you wish to change these voluntary elections, at any time, simply complete a new Voluntary Salary Reduction Form and return it to us.

I hope this information will be helpful in assisting you, now and in the future, as you plan for your retirement.