Eligible employees have 90 days to choose to participate in the ORP. If you do not formally elect to participate in the ORP plan, you will continue to participate in the Teacher Retirement System (TRS) https://reportcenter.highered.texas.gov/agency-publication/guidelines-manuals/overview-of-trs-and-orp1/

Step 1: Contact your Texas Tech University Resources office and request form TRS 28 Election to Participate in Optional Retirement Program and/or Refund Form. Return the TRS 28 form to HR.

Step 2: Open an account at Fidelity at netbenefits.com/nbao or call 1-800-343-0860.

Step 3: Go to www.MyRetirementManager.com to choose Fidelity Investments as your Texas Tech University ORP provider. You may need to create a username and password if this is your first time using the website.

Your ORP contributions will begin as soon as administratively feasible after submitting the TRS 28 form to your Texas Tech University Human Resources office.

Employees electing to participate in the Optional Retirement Program are required to contribute 6.65 percent of salary. Texas Tech contributes 6.4 percent. Employees who were enrolled in the Texas ORP on or before August 31, 1995, will receive the FY 95 supplemented employer contribution rate of 8.5 percent. Legislative action may change the percentages of salary to be contributed.

The IRS contribution limit for 2025 is $23,500.

You are always 100% vested in your own contributions to the ORP.

After one year of employment, you will be 100% vested in contributions made by your employer, as well as any earnings on them. If you have questions about the vesting schedule, contact Human Resources or your Benefits Office.

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 many 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 ORP 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 Texas Tech University.

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. More information about the Fidelity Freedom^® Fund Class K options can be found online.

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 guaranteed.

If the idea of getting professional help to manage your investments appeals to you, your plan offers Target Date Funds. With Target Date Funds, the investment mix of stocks and bonds automatically becomes more conservative as the target retirement date approaches. Principal invested is not guaranteed at any time, including at or after the fund’s target date. Choose the fund that represents your anticipated year of retirement.

Funds in an ORP account (including employee contributions and any net earnings) are not available to the participant until the earlier of termination of participation or attainment of age 70½. An individual terminates participation by death, retirement (including disability retirement), or termination of employment in all Texas public institutions of higher education. Transferring from one institution to another is not considered termination of participation, so employees who transfer are not permitted to access the funds in their ORP accounts. Loans and hardship withdrawals are not available under ORP prior to termination or reaching age 70½. Although such features may be provided by non-ORP 403(b) contracts, the ORP statute has more restrictive distribution rules than the federal 403(b) regulations because ORP is an employee's mandatory retirement plan selected in lieu of membership in TRS, not a supplementary tax-deferred savings vehicle.

Note: 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 directly rolled 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. 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 advisor about your situation.

Rollovers from other retirement plans into the Texas Tech University ORP are not allowed. If you have an existing balance in the Texas Tech University ORP plan that is held at another Texas Tech University approved ORP vendor, you may move those balances to Fidelity.

Call Fidelity at 1-800-343-0860 for assistance.

Be sure to consider all your available options and the applicable fees and features of each before moving your retirement assets.

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.

Learn about exchanges, withdrawals, and more online. In particular, you can access a withdrawal modeling tool, which shows the amount of federal income taxes and early withdrawal penalties you might pay, along with the amount of earnings you could potentially lose by taking a withdrawal. Additional information can be obtained by calling the Fidelity Retirement Benefits Line at 1-800-343-0860.