Working and Saving

• Meet periodically with your retirement plan and savings plan representatives to review retirement income from all sources. 
• Prepare to make the most of your meeting: watch Make the Most of Your Meeting with a Financial Advisor for tips (transcript of the video is here). 
• Discuss your investment portfolio including the funds you have selected, your risk level, accumulated balances, projected totals at retirement, and designated beneficiaries. Develop a long-range target for income. 
• Make saving for retirement a priority and increase your savings. 
• Determine if you are contributing the maximum to your retirement plan, take advantage of catch-up provisions, and weigh the advantages and disadvantages of changing the allocation of funds prior to retirement and after retirement. 
• Discuss the options you have to withdraw accumulated retirement plan assets. 
• Your provider’s representatives can provide specific information illustrating your projected retirement income and distribution options: 
  • Fidelity: 1.800.343.0860 
  • TIAA: 1.800.842.2252 
  • ICMA 1.877.327.5261 
• You should also periodically check any retirement income from other employers or other sources of income which you may have. 

• If you are a member of the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) you can view an estimate of your retirement benefits by logging into the VRS system directly using myVRS or by registering for MyVRS on the VRS website www.varetire.org
• Attend any of the education sessions offered by VRS 

• Review your annual Personal Earning and Benefit estimate from the Social Security Administration (SSA). 
• If you have not yet received your annual estimate, you may request one online. 
• You can also use the SSA’s online Retirement Estimator to estimate the future value of your Social Security Benefits.
• You can establish an online “my Social Security” account on the SSA’s account creation page.

• As your needs may change over time, you should periodically review your life insurance levels.
• An overview of employee life insurance and plan-specific resources are available on the UVA HR website.  
• VRS members may receive additional information and assistance with their life insurance plans on the Virginia Retirement System website or by calling their provider (Securian Financial) directly at 1.800.441.2258.
• Optional life insurance is best requested as a new hire.  Employees can elect optional coverage later in their career but it is subject to Evidence of Insurability in many situations.
• ORP members can contact their insurance provider (The Standard) at 1.800.843.7979.

Explore your need for long term care insurance. Visit the Genworth Financial website or call 1-800-870-0877. If this is the right choice for you, starting while healthy and at a younger age may save you in premiums.

Review and, if necessary, update your beneficiaries. You should confirm that you have the most up-to-date beneficiaries designated on file as the beneficiaries you designated when you first started at UVA may no longer be current.

You should review your beneficiaries for your retirement plan; life insurance; tangible and intangible property; and stocks, bonds, and other financial holdings.

• The University frequently offers Retirement Planning Workshops. Employees of all ages are encouraged to attend, though attendance is particularly important for those 50 years and older. 
• Periodically check the University Human Resources Hoo's Well webpage for the dates of these events. 
• Other seminars may be offered periodically concerning estate, taxes, wills and trusts, or other retirement needs. 
• The University of Virginia Community Credit Union, investment companies, and local banks also offer free retirement planning events. 

The reading resources below will help you learn basics of retirement planning:

• TIAA - Retirement Planning Basics
• Fidelity Investments - Retirement Planning
• Virginia Retirement Services - Retirement Planning   
• Social Security Administration - Retirement Planner: Plan for Your Retirement
• University of Virginia Community Credit Union - Retirement Planning
• United States Department of Labor – Taking the Mystery Out of Retirement Planning and the Top Ten Ways to Plan for Retirement