Retirement Plan Project

University’s Board of Curators approves retirement plan design for new employees

Current plan will remain for existing employees

At their October 21, 2011 meeting, the University of Missouri Board of Curators approved a new retirement plan for employees hired after Sept. 30, 2012. The current university defined benefit plan remains in effect for existing employees and retirees.

University of Missouri System Interim President Steve Owens commented that the new plan will allow the university to better moderate risk and volatility, ensure the current plan’s long-term viability for existing employees and retirees, and offer new employees a fair and equitable retirement plan that is growing in popularity among public higher education institutions.

The retirement plan for new employees is a combination of a defined benefit and defined contribution plan and can be viewed at http://www.umsystem.edu/media/hr/retirement.pdf.

The retirement plan, slated to begin for new employees Oct. 1, 2012, is the result of more than two years of analysis and input from numerous constituencies across the university’s four campuses, including the ad hoc Retirement Plan Advisory Committee and the Retirement and Staff Benefits Committee. The university intends to honor its obligations to retirees and current employees under the current retirement plan. Detailed reports and independent actuarial analysis have confirmed that the current plan will not be harmed by closing it to new employees.

The University of Missouri Board of Curators first voted in June to close the current retirement program to new employees beginning late next year. Since then, the board has received regular updates on new retirement plan draft designs before approving the final plan design today at their regularly scheduled October board of curators meeting in Kansas City.

Reviewed 2011-10-21.