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Staff Box

Retirement Planning Seminars December 3 through 10

The following seminars will be held in the Club Room at the Faculty Club. Faculty and staff are invited to atend as many as they like.

--Hillary Lopez, Benefits, HR

 

The Choice Is Yours
Especially for: New Faculty & Staff and those who are eligible but not participating in the Tax-Deferred Annuity Plan, Wednesday, December 3, 12-1:15 p.m. & 1:30 -2:30 p.m. If you attend only one seminar this semester, make it this one. The Choice is Yours focuses on topics of interest to individuals who are eligible but not enrolled in the Plan, or those who are considering whether to transfer/diversify their new or existing Plan assets to The Vanguard Group/Calvert Group.

Highlights: The benefits of plan participation; the basics of mutual funds; advantages of investing with The Vanguard/Calvert Group.


Vanguard: The Triumph of Indexing
Especially for: New Faculty & Staff currently in the plan, Thursday, December 4, 12:-1:15 p.m. Indexing is a widely used investment strategy at the heart of many successful stock portfolios. By closely reproducing the investment mix of a specific market index, like the Dow Jones Industrial Average or Standard & Poor's 500, an "index fund" is designed to parallel the index's performance.

Highlights: This seminar reveals how to employ indexing as a strategy for investing. Learn how indexing differs from traditional investing; the advantages and disadvantages of indexing; how to pick an index fund.


Vanguard: International Investment Strategies
Understanding Investments & Diversification
Especially for: Early to mid-career Faculty & Staff, Thursday, December 4, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Highlights: Explores the risks and potential rewards of investing in overseas markets, and the kinds of options that are available to investors who seek to capitalize on the growth of emerging markets outside the U.S.; illustrates the added volatility associated with international stock markets; explains topics such as currency risk & political risk, and how to select an international stock fund.


TIAA-CREF: Just Starting Out
Primer for the Newer Participant, Especially for: New Faculty and Staff currently in the plan

Tuesday, December 9, 12-1:15 p.m. This seminar is especially designed for the faculty and staff members who entered into the plan within the past year and those participants who have not reviewed their options since entering the plan.

Highlights: Review of the contribution concept, and the advantages of tax deferral; how to maximize participation in the plan. Emphasis on saving additional amounts for retirement and using compounding interest to meet retirement goals; what to consider when investing, determining personal attitudes towards risk, and suggested portfolios; jow to do transfers and allocation changes through the Automated Telephone Service.

TIAA-CREF's available services for ongoing questions:

The Telephone Counseling Center and the TIAA-CREF on-campus individual counseling which is available once a month.

Brief summary of distribution options.


TIAA-CREF: Understanding Investments and Diversification
Especially for: Early to mid-career Faculty and Staff, Tuesday, December 9, 1:30-2:30 p.m. and Wednesday, December 10, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

This discussion of investor fundamentals begins with a description of net worth and cash flow analysis and how to establish savings goals with disposable income. These concepts are applied in a discussion of investment strategies for particular savings, goals, including retirement.

Highlights: Descriptions of the three basic type of investmentsstocks, bonds, and money market instruments, as well as types of risks and the relationship between risk and reward.In-depth description of the TIAA-CREF accounts and their portfolio make-up.Impact of other source's of retirement income (Social Security, spouse's retirement plan, and savings) on TIAA-CREF asset allocation; a take-home workbook for participant's use in developing their own portfolios. TIAA-CREF's available services for on-going participant questions.


TIAA-CREF: Looking Ahead To Retirement Customizing Retirement Income
Especially for: Faculty and Staff age 50+ who are considering retirement, Wednesday, December 10, 12-1:15 p.m.

This presentation is directed toward participants who are approaching retirement or who are about to retire. The workshop addresses topics to assist in planning for retirement.

Highlights: Sources of retirement income, replacement ratio, and the effect of early and late retirement. Emphasis is on TIAA-CREF's flexibility, which enables customization of retirement benefits. In depth description of distribution options-including cash withdrawals, annuities and more; impact of inflation on retirement income and how to combat it; minimum distribution and death benefits; discussion of taxes applicable to retirement benefits and high-accumulator issues.



Return to:Almanac, University of Pennsylvania, November 25, 1997, Volume 44, No. 14