Benefits eligible faculty and staff members, 21 years of age and older, and with 6 months of service, are eligible to participate.

Rice will automatically enroll you in the 401(a) plan if eligible. However, your contributions will not begin until you have 6 months of service and are in a benefits-eligible position. You can visit
www.netbenefits.com/rice or call the Fidelity Retirement Benefits Line at 1-800-343-0860 at any time to select your retirement provider(s), establish your beneficiary(ies), and choose the investments for your contributions.

You will have online access virtually 24/7 to make changes to your retirement savings account.

	% Comp Less Than Age 50	% Comp Greater Than Age 50
Within SS Wage Base	7%	10%
Above SS Wage Base	12%	15%

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

Rice University's contributions and any earnings vest according to the following schedule:

Years of service	Vested percentage
0 - 1	0
1+	100

If you were hired on or after November 1, 2020, Rice University's contributions and any earnings vest according to the following schedule:

Years of service	Vested Percentage
0 - 3	0
3+	100

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 Fidelity and TIAA 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 Rice University 401(a) 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 Vanguard Target Retirement Trust II 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 Rice University.

If no date of birth or an invalid date of birth is on file at Fidelity, your contributions may be invested in the Vanguard Target Retirement Income Trust II. More information about the Vanguard Target Retirement Trust II 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.

Withdrawals from the Plan are generally permitted when you are of retirement age and terminate your employment, retire, or become permanently disabled as defined by your Plan. Keep in mind that withdrawals are subject to income taxes and possibly to early withdrawal penalties.

For more information, call the Retirement Services Center at 1-800-343-0860.

If you have an account with TIAA, you can call 1-800-842-2252.

You are permitted to roll over eligible contributions from another 401(k) plan, 401(a) plan, 403(b) plan or a governmental 457(b) retirement plan account or eligible pretax contributions from conduit Individual Retirement Accounts (rollover IRAs) and certain non-conduit individual retirement accounts (traditional IRAs, Simplified Employee Pension plans, and "SIMPLE" IRA distributions made more than two years from the date you first participated in the SIMPLE IRA). A conduit IRA is one that contains only money rolled over from an employer-sponsored retirement plan that has not been mixed with regular IRA contributions.

If you're not sure about the best option for you, talk to a Fidelity or TIAA representative today. They can explain each option in greater detail so you can make the best choice for your specific needs.

Fidelity: Call 1-800-343-0860 or log in to your account.

TIAA: Call 1-800-842-2252 or log in to your account.

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

Your beneficiary or beneficiaries will inherit your account in the event of your death. You should consider identifying a beneficiary when you enroll in your plan, and updating the information if you experience a life-changing event such as a marriage, divorce, birth of a child, or death in the family.

If you have an account with Fidelity, login to NetBenefits^®, go to 'Profile' in the navigation bar at the top of your NetBenefits^® page and click on the 'Summary tab' and then 'Beneficiaries'.

If you have an account with TIAA, you can update your beneficiaries online at TIAA.org/Rice or call 1-800-842-2252.

You can access your account online or on the phone. Log in online at www.netbenefits.com/Rice or call the Retirement Service Center at 1-800-343-0860 to speak with a representative or use the automated voice response system.

To access your TIAA account, log in to your TIAA account at www.TIAA.org/Rice. You can also contact TIAA directly at 1-800-842-2252.