LIFE BEYOND THE UNIVERSITY

"Transitioning to Retirement" — The next session of this workshop series, for academics and staff members who are within five years of retirement, is scheduled to begin Jan. 10. Presented by the Retiree Center, Benefits Office, Office of Academic Affairs, Academic and Staff Assistance Program, and Staff Development and Professional Services. More information, including enrollment details.

Fidelity Retirement Services, which manages the UC Retirement System (comprising the UC Retirement Plan and the UC Retirement Savings Program), can help with your retirement planning, via the UC Focus on Your Future website. It includes a “Financial Fitness Library” and a “Personalized Retirement Roadmap,” which calculates your “potential retirement readiness score.” (UC’s At Your Service website features a “Retirement Estimator” with your personal information (age, compensation and service credit) preloaded.

Fidelity also offers regular financial education classes for UC employees, on-site and online. The curriculum includes “Your UC Retirement System,” “Getting on the Right Path with Your Work Place Savings” and “Creating Your Personal Retirement Roadmap.” Check the schedule here.

UC’s Retirement Administration Service Center will assume responsibility effective Jan. 2 for most of the retirement processing on the Davis and Sacramento campuses.

The switch also affects Agricultural and Natural Resources, the Davis-based, systemwide unit whose retirements are now handled by Davis campus Human Resources.

The transfer is another step by UC and its campuses to streamline business processes, for cost savings and improved service.

“When you call the Retirement Administration Service Center, you will be assigned a specialist and that’s who you will work with all the way through retirement,” said Irene Horgan-Thompson, director of compensation, benefits and employment for Davis campus Human Resources.

She cited downsizing of the Davis campus HR staff over the last few years, to the point of having only one retirement counselor, who will continue to provide retirement support, locally, for UC Retirement Plan disability cases.

Under UC Davis’ new partnership with the Retirement Administration Service Center, employees can call any time for assistance on the entire range of retirement matters, from general inquiries about the UC Retirement Plan, to preretirement planning and counseling — and to make the decision to retire.

The service center, in Oakland, includes veteran retirement specialists from around the UC system, including the Davis campus.

The center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and has a toll-free telephone number, (800) 888-8267 (select option 8). You can also request assistance via this online form. For callers, the center has interpreter services at the ready: If you need an interpreter, he or she will join you in a three-way call with your retirement specialist.

Other RASC services:

• Buyback inquiries and processing
• UCRP service credit inquiries
• Reciprocity
• Transitioning from UC disability income to service retirement
• Post-retirement service credit adjustments
• Support to separated employees trying to access retirement savings or CAP balances (CAP stands for Capital Accumulation Provision, a deferred compensation program that is no longer offered)

Davis campus HR and the UC Davis Health System Benefits Office will continue to provide all counseling for UCRP disability income, layoff inquiries, death reports and survivor benefit counseling, as well as new employee orientation and open enrollment.

Online

Retirement Administration Service Center

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