Retirement and 403(b) Plans
Saint Louis University provides faculty and staff with a retirement savings plan that combines SLU employee contributions, university contributions for eligible faculty and staff members, and investment earnings to assist in building financial security at retirement.
About SLU's 403(b) Retirement Plan
Eligibility
All faculty and staff are eligible to contribute to the University’s voluntary defined contribution plan. Contributions may be made on a pretax or after-tax (Roth) basis. The retirement savings plan offers a wide range of investment options.
To enroll or change your retirement savings plan account, log in to TIAA.org/slu. When you enroll in the plan, be sure to designate a beneficiary for your account.
To be eligible for university matching contributions, a faculty or staff member must be scheduled to work full time (.8 FTE/32 hours per week or greater) or be a part-time employee who has worked 1,000 hours in a year.
Employee Contributions
All eligible employees may contribute a percentage of their pay to the plan on a pretax and/or after-tax Roth basis, up to the current IRS annual maximum. Pay is the employee's base pay. For academic employees, pay includes salary from teaching summer school or similar programs in professional schools, summer research salaries, overtime, bonuses, and supplemental salary.
Note: If you are a new employee, you will not be able to enroll in the plan until about one week after the later of (a) the date you have enrolled in benefits and (b) your first day of employment. TIAA will notify you when you are eligible to enroll.
The IRS maximum allowable contribution limit for 2025 is $23,500 (2024 is $23,000) for employees under age 50, and $31,000 ($30,500 for 2024) for employees age 50 and above. The payroll system stops deductions when the limit has been reached. Effective Jan.1, 2025, a new rule will enable active employees age 60-63 to increase the age-based catch-up contribution even more. If you are age 60-63, you can contribute up to $34,750 for 2025. You do not need to take any action to participate in this additional catch-up benefit, it is automatically available to employees upon attainment of age 60.
Note: This limit may change each year and applies to all 403(b) and 401(k) plans in which you participate during the calendar year. If you are a new hire enrolling in the plan, you are responsible for managing the limit.
Automatic Enrollment
If you are a new or rehired eligible faculty or staff employee with a hire/rehire date on or after Jan. 1, 2024, you will be automatically enrolled into the plan on a pre-tax basis at a contribution level of 2% of pay for each pay period. You have 30 days to make changes to or opt out of the automatic enrollment feature. Refunds cannot be made on employee contributions.
Making Changes
You may change your contribution election at any time by logging in to your account at TIAA.org/SLU. Your change will go into effect based on the payroll calendar.
Schedule Contributions Change Deadlines (PDF)
University Contributions
The University’s contribution is a percentage of your pay up to the current IRS Annual Compensation limit amount ($330,000 in 2023, $345,000 in 2024).
If you are an eligible faculty or staff member whose date of hire was prior to January 1, 2024, you are eligible for the university contribution as of the earlier of (a) the first full pay period in January 2024 and (b) the month in which you completed one year of service. To receive the university contribution, you must contribute a percentage of your pay to the plan each pay period. University contributions will not be made retroactively.
If you are an eligible faculty or staff member whose hire date is on or after Jan. 1, 2024, you are eligible for the University contribution as of the pay period in which you begin to contribute a percentage of your pay to the plan.
For eligible faculty and staff employees hired or rehired before Jan. 1, 2024, the University matching contribution is 2:1 up to 5% of employee contributions.
| Employee Contribution | Employer Contribution |
|---|---|
| 1% | 2% |
| 1.5% | 3% |
| 2% | 4% |
| 2.5% | 5% |
| 3% | 6% |
| 3.5% | 7% |
| 4% | 8% |
| 4.5% | 9% |
| 5% (and higher) | 10% |
For eligible faculty and staff employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 2024, the University matching contribution is 1:1 up to 5% of employee contributions for the first seven years of employment. On a faculty or staff member’s seventh anniversary, the match escalates to a 2:1 match up to 5% of employee contributions.
| Employee Contributions | Employer Contributions |
|---|---|
| 0 | 0 |
| .5% | .5% |
| 1% | 1% |
| 1.5% | 1.5% |
| 2% | 2% |
| 2.5% | 2.5% |
| 3% | 3% |
| 3.5% | 3.5% |
| 4% | 4% |
| 4.5% | 4.5% |
| 5% (and higher) | 5% |
Vesting
You are always 100% vested in your own contributions. If you are a faculty or staff member whose hire date is before Jan. 1, 2024, you must complete one year of service to be vested in the University contributions. If you are a faculty or staff member whose hire date is on or after Jan. 1, 2024, you must complete three years of service to be vested in the University contributions. If you are a rehire on or after Jan. 1, 2024, your prior service will not count toward your vesting service.
How to Enroll Online
Employees may enroll for the 403b online at TIAA.org/public/tcm/slu. New participants and employees already contributing to the 403(b) can also create and modify their contribution percentage at TIAA.org/public/tcm/slu
The vendor calculator is a tool from TIAA that allows you to preview the tax savings you will experience by contributing to the 403(b).
Instructions to Enroll Online (PDF)
If you received a notice that you are eligible for the 457(b) plan, visit the retirement and 457(b) plan page for more information.