AZ State Retirement System Selects TIAA-CREF for 403(b), 457

The new statewide supplemental voluntary retirement plans will be available to 179,000 eligible employees among 600 employers in the state’s public school districts, community colleges, and local governments and agencies. The plans complement the state’s existing defined benefit plan.

According to the announcement, through TIAA-CREF employees will gain access to objective investment advice and education from both local TIAA-CREF Individual Consultants and telephone-based Consultants familiar with the plan offerings. The ASRS will also have access to TIAA-CREF’s Compliance Coordinator service, which provides plan sponsors a cost-effective, proactive approach to compliance with 403(b) regulations.

“TIAA-CREF’s ability to provide a plan tailored to the needs of our public school teachers and administrators and our local government employees was instrumental in our decision,” said Paul Matson, Executive Director, Arizona State Retirement System, in the announcement. “We are especially pleased that, through the pooling of assets across the employers and participants that utilize the plan and the professional oversight of the ASRS, we can bring employees a professionally managed, low-cost, retirement saving option that can help the career school teacher to potentially achieve additional accumulations and retirement income compared to other commonly available defined contribution plans.”

More about TIAA-CREF is at www.tiaa-cref.org.