Retirement Plan Enrollment

Yavapai College is the first community college in Arizona to offer its employees a choice in participation in retirement plans and the only higher education institution in the state of Arizona to offer this choice to all full-time employees. Currently, the college offers two attractive retirement options:

Arizona State Retirement System: (ASRS)

Arizona State Retirement System: (ASRS) - a defined benefit plan which guarantees a monthly annuity for the participant upon retirement. The employee’s benefit is determined by a formula of years of service times average monthly salary times a multiplication factor. A percentage of annual salary that is determined each year by ASRS is contributed by the employee and the college. Employees are vested after 5 years of service.

Optional Retirement Plan: (ORP)

Optional Retirement Plan: (ORP) - a defined contribution plan. The District Board of Governors has acted on recent Arizona state law and provided an option to employees on where to invest their money. Employees may choose plans with ING, TIAA-CREF, or VALIC. An employee's benefit under an ORP is determined by the amount of money invested and the performance of that investment. A percentage of annual salary that is determined each year by ASRS is contributed by the employee and the college. Employees are vested after just 3 years of service. If a new employee comes to the college with time and contributions already in one of these plans the vesting period will be shorter.

Tax-Sheltered Annuities

Tax-Sheltered Annuities: You may purchase tax-deferred retirement annuities with qualifying companies by means of a salary reduction agreement. This allows you to plan for your retirement and defer taxes on your current income until a later time when taxes may be less since your gross income may be less.