UFF-USF

When we came to USF, most of us had to choose between the state’s standard pension plan and sticking the equivalent USF contributions into one or more mutual funds (e.g., TIAA-CREF). (Not everyone had a choice: many of those in USF Health have to join the mutual-fund system and cannot join the Florida Retirement System, or pension plan.) Many tenure-track faculty members and instructors have chosen the mutual-fund route because we weren’t sure how long we’d be at USF or because mutual funds seemed a better financial option than a state pension. When you’re 30 or so, the possibilities for job switches loom big, and retirement is far in the distance. Normally, the two plans are entirely separate, but the legislature is allowing university employees to make a one-time switch during 2008 from the mutual-fund accounts into the state’s standard pension plan by buying credit for years of service. (There is another option—moving from mutual funds where you control the mix of assets to a mutual fund where the state of Florida controls the mix of assets—but I assume most people will only be considering the shift into the pension plan.)

(more…)