Retirement Plans
Who's Eligible?
The Commonwealth of Virginia provides a retirement plan for all full-time faculty, full-time classified staff employees, and part-time classified staff employees, effective on the employment date. For employees hired before 7/1/10. The University makes the entire contribution to the retirement plan. For employees hired on or after 7/1/10, the University and the employees both contribute to the retirement plan with employees contributing 5%(pre-tax).
Faculty
Faculty can choose between Virginia Retirement System (VRS) and one of two vendors from the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP). VRS is a defined benefit plan with vesting at five years of service. The ORP has a defined contribution from the university with immediate vesting. For faculty hired on or after 7/1/10, George Mason University will contribute 8.5% of the employee's annual base salary and the employee is required to contribute 5%(pre-tax). For employees hired prior to 7/1/10, Mason contributes 10.4% of the employee's annual base salary and there is no employee contribution.
Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) and Amendments
The ORP plan document is available in both .pdf and .doc formats. Amendment 1 .pdf .doc and Amendment 2 .pdf .doc are also available.
Faculty who do not select a retirement plan within 60 days will be irrevocably enrolled in VRS. For detailed information on the differences between the two plans, read "Choosing Your Retirement Plan".
Retirement Vendors
The two vendors providing the Optional Retirement Plan to George Mason University faculty are:
Investment Policy Statement (IPS)
Within each vendor there are specific investment or fund options made available based upon the Investment Policy Statement (IPS) .pdf .doc
Investment Fund Options
Individual Counseling Sessions
Individual counseling sessions for TIAA-CREF, Fidelity Investments and ING are available for faculty and staff.
Classified Staff (Full & Part Time)
Classified Staff must enroll in the Virginia Retirement System (VRS). VRS is a defined benefit plan with vesting at five years of service.