USC and Human Resources are committed to providing the most competitive retirement benefits for employees. CAPTRUST, an independent retirement plan consultant, was contacted to assist HR in identifying ways to enhance the 403(b) Plan relative to appropriate peer university benchmarks. If you are a USC employee who participates in the 403(b) Plan, you will receive a Transition Guide with detailed explanations of these enhancements on the 403(b) Plan. If you were unable to attend a town hall meeting on campus or virtually, watch the March 15th Town Hall Meeting with HR, CAPTRUST and vendor representatives. These resources will provide you viable options for transitioning your retirement accounts from the discontinued providers to any of the continuing providers.
Several enhancements to the 403(b) Plan include investments that are offered via a tiered, diversified menu of "Best in Class" investment options to be monitored daily by CAPTRUST while quarterly reporting will take place with an internal Committee, and changes will be made as appropriate. These new investment menus will be available through TIAA, Corebridge (formally AIG/VALIC), and Fidelity. Consolidating the number of vendors enables USC to offer additional services at lower administrative costs for all participants with that vendor paying the same administrative costs based on their account balances.
For the “sophisticated investors” or participants who may want to retain investment options they previously had on a provider platform but will now be eliminated, a Self-Directed Brokerage option will be available to invest in any mutual fund not offered within the core investment menus of the providers. After tax or ROTH, contributions will be available on each of the continuing vendor platforms, as well as individual investment advice (for an additional fee). Lastly, a new dedicated voluntary 403b website will be available for you to manage your plan.
The plan design will remain intact, to include eligibility, contribution limits, and vesting, and these enhancements will not affect the ORP plan or any other State of South Carolina plans.
Your next step is to transition to one of the providers of your choice: TIAA, Corebridge Financial, and/or Fidelity. If you are currently only contributing to TIAA, Corebridge Financial and/or Fidelity, or not contributing to the plan, no action is required.
403[B] ANNUITY PLAN PROVIDERS