From Human Resources:

Tax-Deferred Retirement Plan (TDR) Update

As of January 1, 2006, Penn has started contributing an additional 0.5% of base salary to the Tax-Deferred Retirement Plan (TDR) for eligible faculty and staff under age 30. The University’s contribution to the Basic Plan for this group has increased from 1% of base salary to 1.5% of base salary. Penn’s Basic Plan contribution is still 3% of base salary for eligible faculty and staff age 30– 39, and 4% for those age 40 and over.

The University is making this change in order to better synchronize the benefits for all eligible plan participants as well as to help comply with certain federal testing standards. Per federal regulations, Penn is required to provide the following notice explaining this change. Please contact the Retirement Call Center at 1-877-PENN-RET (1-877-736-6738) if you have any questions.

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Summary of Material Modification for the
University of Pennsylvania Basic Plan

Employer Identification Number: 23-1352685 Plan Number: 028

As required by federal law, this is a Summary of a Material Modification (“SMM”) to notify you about a material change to the University of Pennsylvania Basic Plan (the “Plan”). Together with the Summary Plan Description for the Tax-Deferred Retirement Plan of the University of Pennsylvania (the “SPD”), the SMM and SPD are intended to provide you with a general description of your Plan benefits. However, please keep in mind that the SMM and SPD are only summaries of the Plan’s provisions. If you have questions about how the Plan is administered, you should request and review a copy of the official Plan document. In the event of a conflict between the SMM and the terms contained in the official Plan document, the terms of the official Plan document will control. (Note: Terms that are capitalized below have the same meaning as set forth in the SPD.)

Effective as of January 1, 2006, the Basic Contribution level for Participants who are 30 and under will be increased from 1% of Compensation to 1.5% of Compensation. Please note that a Participant must otherwise satisfy the Plan’s eligibility requirements to receive this Basic Contribution. Also, if you are under age 30 as of January 1 and have satisfied the Year of Service requirement under the Plan, you will receive increased Basic Contributions from 1% of your Compensation to 1.5% of your Compensation for that year. Please note that if you are only eligible to receive Basic Contributions for a part of a year, your Basic Contributions will be based on your Compensation only for the period in which you are eligible to receive Basic Contributions under the Plan.

New Contact Information for Some Benefits

Please note the updated contact information for the Tuition Benefit Program, Short-Term Disability (STD), and Family and Medical Leave (FMLA), as shown below.  These changes are effective immediately.

–Division of Human Resources