Full-time and part-time (50%) salaried faculty are eligible to participate in the Virginia Tech Optional Retirement Plan. For individuals hired prior to 7/1/2010, or those coming to Virginia Tech from another state agency with an existing account balance, the University will contribute 10.4% of your salary to the Virginia Tech Optional Retirement Plan. Employees hired on or after 7/1/2010 contribute 5% of your salary and Virginia Tech will contribute 8.5% of your salary into the Virginia Tech Optional Retirement Plan.

You have 60 days from your date of hire to enroll in the Virginia Tech Optional Retirement Plan. If you do not enroll in the Optional Retirement Plan within 60 days, you will be enrolled in the Virginia Retirement System (VRS) and will no longer be eligible to participate in the Optional Retirement Plan.

Follow the detailed instructions on the "Enroll today" page after this FAQ section to enroll in the Optional Retirement Plan.

To help you meet your investment goals, the Plan offers you a range of options. You can select a mix of investment options that best suits your goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance. The 47 investment options available through the Plan include conservative, moderately conservative, and aggressive funds. A complete description of the Plan’s investment options and their performance, as well as planning tools to help you choose an appropriate mix, are available online.

We encourage you to take an active role in the Plan and choose investment options that best suit your goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance. If you do not select specific investment options in the Plan, your contributions will be invested in the Fidelity Freedom^® Fund - Class K with the target retirement date closest to the year you might retire, based on your current age and assuming a retirement age of 65, at the direction of Virginia Tech. Target Date Funds are an asset mix of stocks, bonds and other investments that automatically becomes more conservative as the fund approaches its target retirement date and beyond. Principal invested is not guarantees. Please refer to the chart in the Investment Options section for more detail.

If no date of birth or an invalid date of birth is on file at Fidelity your contributions may be invested in the Fidelity Freedom^® Income Fund - Class K. For more information about the Fidelity Freedom^® Fund - Class K options, log into www.netbenefits.com/VATECH.

Loans are not available under the Optional Retirement Plan.

Withdrawals from the Plan are generally permitted when you terminate your employment, retire or become permanently disabled.

The taxable portion of your withdrawal that is eligible for rollover into an individual retirement account (IRA) or another employer’s retirement plan is subject to 20% mandatory federal income tax withholding, unless it is rolled directly over to an IRA or another employer plan. (You may owe more or less when you file your income taxes.) If you are under age 59½, the taxable portion of your withdrawal is also subject to a 10% early withdrawal penalty, unless you qualify for an exception to this rule. Learn more about and/or request a withdrawal online, or by calling the Fidelity Retirement Benefits Line at 1-800-343-0860. The plan document and current tax laws and regulations will govern in case of a discrepancy. Be sure you understand the tax consequences and your plan’s rules for distributions before you initiate a distribution. You may want to consult your tax adviser about your situation.

You are permitted to roll over eligible contributions from other Virginia Retirement Institutions. For more information, please contact the Virgina Tech Human Resources Department at (540) 231-9331 or perserv@vt.edu.

If you have not already selected your beneficiaries, or if you have experienced a life-changing event such as a marriage, divorce, birth of a child, or a death in the family, it’s time to consider your beneficiary designations. Fidelity’s Online Beneficiaries Service, offers a straightforward, convenient process that takes just minutes. To make your elections, click on the “Profile & Settings” icon in the upper right-hand corner, then select “Beneficiaries” and follow the online instructions.