Retirement planning timeline

0-15 Years Before Retirement

It is never too early to start to plan and anticipate your retirement. Start your education process early and maximize your opportunities to save. Become familiar with the features of your mandatory retirement plan and the options that are available to you in the voluntary retirement plans.

1. Begin to investigate and review retirement income from all sources.
   
   • If you are entitled to retirement income from employers or sources other than the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), you should check those plans at this time. If you are a classified employee, or a Faculty member who had an active account with PERS at the time you were hired by the Nevada System of Higher Education, check your annual PERS statement to ensure you have been credited with all your eligible service credit.  The annual PERS statement is mailed out between February and May each year. If you think all your eligible and/or allowed service credit has not been accounted for on your PERS statement, call PERS at (866) 473-7768 and speak to one of the Retirement Advisors.
   • If you are a Faculty employee, and a member of the Retirement Plan Alternative 401(a) Program, request an estimate of your retirement benefits from your investment carrier(s).
2. Establish or update your will.
   • Retirement specialists recommend that a will, living trust, estate planning, etc. are all established at an early age. Check with your attorney and/or financial planner for specifics as to your individual situation. Without a will, the matter of who will administer the estate can be the occasion for painful disputes and needless expense. If you do not have a will already established, you are strongly advised to make one at this time.
3. Review and update your beneficiaries.
   • You should contact your retirement vendor(s) directly to see who is listed as your beneficiary. The beneficiaries that you designated when you first started with the Nevada System of Higher Education may need to be updated. You should contact the Benefits Office at BCNBenefits@unr.edu to review your beneficiary information on file.
4. Attend a retirement planning workshop.
   • The Benefits Office sponsors various retirement planning workshops throughout the year. All staff and faculty are encouraged to attend, regardless of age. Other seminars may be offered periodically concerning estate planning, taxes, wills and trusts or other retirement needs. All employees should be proactive in preparing for their retirement and blending employer-sponsored plans with personal strategies.
5. Contact or make an appointment with a representative of your 401(a), 403(b) and/or 457 investment carrier(s).
   • Discuss your investment portfolio including the accounts you have, funds you selected, accumulated balances, projected totals at retirement and designated beneficiaries. Evaluate if you are contributing the maximum to your retirement plan and the advantages and disadvantages of changing the allocation of funds prior to retirement and after retirement. Discuss the options you have to withdraw accumulated retirement plan assets. Identify what forms need completion and how they are obtained.

Your investment carrier representative can provide specific information illustrating your projected retirement income and distribution options. This is a time to determine how much of your current income you will need for your living expenses in retirement and whether you need to accelerate your savings for retirement.

Financial counselors from your investment carrier(s) are available for individual counseling sessions on a monthly basis.

3-6 months before retirement

• If retiring at age 62 or older, the employee has the option to start drawing their Social Security benefit, if eligible.  It will be up to the employee to determine if they should start drawing at 62 or wait until full retirement age to avoid a further reduction in benefit.
• If you are a PERS member: Contact NVPERS to confirm years of service credit and receive an estimated retirement benefit. You will need to request a Retiree Enrollment Packet to enroll and receive your benefit. The application does require a notarization and will need to be either mailed or dropped off at a PERS office in Carson City or Las Vegas. This can be completed up 6 months prior to an employee's anticipated retirement date.
• If you are a faculty member participating in the Retirement Plan Alternative 401(a) program: Contact your TIAA financial advisor to review your retirement portfolio. The purpose of this meeting should be to clarify any additional questions you may have about your accounts including current fund allocation, accumulated balances, and distribution options. Mainly, this meeting should establish what action steps you need to take to implement your distribution decisions. These will include what forms need to be completed and when they need to be received in order to ensure a smooth transition into retirement.
• If you are enrolled in 415(m) Excess Benefit Plan: You are required to take a full cash distribution within 60 days of your retirement date. You will want to discuss this with the TIAA financial advisor as well.
• Voluntary benefits plans:
  • 403(b) participants should contact our dedicated TIAA Financial Advisors 
  • 457 Deferred Compensation participants should contact our dedicated Voya Financial Advisors
  • Contact any non-NSHE financial institutions you may have accounts with including IRA, 401(K), or brokerage accounts

60-90 days before retirement

It is important to review your health insurance options for retirement and take the appropriate action in a timely manner. PEBP offers a comprehensive benefit package to eligible retirees and their surviving spouses/domestic partners including:

• • Medical (choice of plan)
  • Dental
  • Vision
  • Term Life Insurance Policy - $12,500

Eligibility:

To continue to receive the Public Employees’ Benefit Program (PEBP) health insurance plan in retirement, you must meet the following criteria (NAC 287.135):

• • Have participated in either the Retirement Plan Alternative 401(a) program, or the Public Employees' Retirement System of Nevada (PERS) for at least five (5) years as a full-time employee or the equivalent of a full-time employee.
  • Be receiving any distribution of benefits from one of the following retirement plans:
  • Public Employees' Retirement System of Nevada (PERS)
  • Nevada System of Higher Education Retirement Plan Alternative Program
  • Nevada System of Higher Education Tax Sheltered Annuity Program
  • State of Nevada Deferred Compensation Program

If you are not eligible for continuation of the health insurance plan in retirement, you may be eligible to continue the coverage as provided under the federal COBRA law for up to 18 months, or until you become eligible for Medicare, whichever comes first. You are responsible for the full premium payment. Contact PEBP to enroll or for more information.

Enrollment:

• • If retiring before age 65: The retiree health insurance plan for retirees is the same coverage that is available as an active employee and will continue to be your primary insurance until you qualify for Medicare. Here is a link to the PEBP Retiree information that you may find helpful: https://pebp.nv.gov/Plans/retiring-before-65/ 
  • If retiring after age 65, the employee must enroll in Medicare Parts A and B as their primary health insurance.  Here is a link to the PEBP Retiree Information that you may find helpful:  https://pebp.nv.gov/Plans/retiring-after-65/

These retirees will have their Medicare Supplemental plans covered through PEBP Via Benefits with the option of electing to remain in the PEBP dental plan.  These plans include the option of Medicare Advantage, Medigap, and Medicare Part D.

• • All retirees are responsible for their monthly health care premium.  This amount can be deducted from the PERS benefit check for PERS retirees and through or direct billing for RPA retirees.

Academic/Administrative Faculty (6 months to 1 year Prior to Retirement):

Notify your Department Chair and Appropriate Dean. - This is the time to discuss your anticipated retirement date with your Chair and Dean. By providing adequate notice, you allow the department to prepare for the transition.  Complete and discuss application to seek Emeritus/Emerita status with your Department Chair, Supervisor, and/or respective Dean/VP.

Classified Staff:

Discuss your retirement with your supervisor.  You will need to submit a formal resignation with reason of Retirement letter stating your official retirement date.

30-60 days prior to retirement

Emeritus status is a rank afforded to faculty members and is attained by a promotion taking place after retirement.  The qualifications for this rank are measured in terms of the individual's total contribution to their institution, based upon both achievement and service.  Consistent with the Board of Regents policy, eligibility for emeritus/emerita status normally requires full-time employment for a minimum of ten years.

Requests for emeritus status are submitted through the UAM 2,580: Emeritus Status > Request for Emeritus Appointment.

Classified Staff Honoree status is an honor which may be awarded to classified staff who retire after distinguished and long-term achievement and service..  Recommendations for Classified Staff Honoree status will be based upon appropriate review processes and shall be approved by the Vice President for Administration and Finance.  A minimum of ten years of service is required prior to granting of the title of Classified Staff Honoree status.  Note: an employee must submit their PERS retirement acceptance letter with their request

Requests for Classified Staff Honoree are submitted through the UAM 2,363: Classified Staff Honoree > Classified Staff Honoree appointment request form.

Qualified employees will receive a payout in their final paycheck on their regularly schedule pay date.   This payout can be significant and will be taxed at a higher rate.   Employees do have the option of routing their leave payout to a pre-tax retirement account (403b or 457) by changing their retirement savings election prior to their last day and final paycheck.

Academic/Administrative Faculty:

Annual time:

• Faculty on an academic year ("B" contract) appointment do not accrue annual leave.
• Faculty on an A Contract (12-month annual work period) may receive payment for up to 48 days (384 hours) of unused annual upon retirement, unless they are directed in writing by their appointing authority to use this time prior to termination.

Sick time:

• Faculty are not eligible to receive payout of unused sick time off.

Classified Staff:

Annual time:

If you separate from State service and have worked at least six months, you will be paid for any unused annual leave you have accumulated. (NRS 284.350 and NAC 284.113 and 284.538 to 284.5395) Managers may direct employees to use annual leave after a resignation is tendered.

Sick time:

A classified employee who terminates after a minimum of 10 years of service through no fault of his or her own is entitled to payment of accrued sick leave in excess of 30 days pursuant to NRS 284.355.

Years of Service and Maximum Payoff Amount:

• 10 but less than 15: $2,500
• 15 but less than 20: $4,000
• 20 but less than 25: $6,000
• 25 or more years: $8,000

Additionally, an employee may be eligible to receive a portion of his or her unused sick leave accrued but not carried forward (also known as special sick) when he or she leaves State service. To determine the amount of payoff, you may use the following formula: (special sick leave hours accrued and not carried forward + 120 hours accrued regular sick leave) /(divided by) 2 X (multiplied by) rate of pay = payment amount

>Employees under a CBA will be compensated in a lump sum payment for any accrued but unused Annual Leave hours earned through the last day worked.