You may enroll in the retirement savings plan at any time; however, in order to have your request processed in time for a given paycheck, the Benefits Office must receive your paperwork by specific dates. Click a link below to access the bi-weekly or monthly deadline tables. The first column in the table shows the date your paycheck is issued or deposited. The second column is the date by which the Benefits Office must receive your paperwork.

These deadlines apply only to the Basic Retirement Plan and Supplemental/SRA. All requests for 457(b) enrollments or changes are effective no earlier than the following month in accordance with IRS regulations.

Bi-weekly Deadlines

Monthly Deadlines

Requests received after 5:00 p.m. on these dates will be processed for the next available paycheck. For example, for a bi-weekly-paid employee, requests received by 5:00 p.m. on June 9 will be reflected on the June 24 paycheck; requests received on or after June 10 will take effect with the July 8 paycheck.

Your request may be delayed for the following reasons:

• Your paperwork is incomplete or contains errors (we will contact you);
• You are requesting enrollment in a plan for which you are ineligible;
• You are newly hired or had a recent change in benefits eligibility; retirement savings plan requests cannot be processed until your other benefit elections are enrolled or waived.

Where to Return Retirement Savings Plan Forms
To ensure timely processing, please fax your retirement savings plan paperwork to (734) 936-8835. Do not mail the originals; keep them for your records.

If you submit your paperwork by mail, be aware that it may take a week or more to reach the Retirement Area in the Benefits Office. Keep a copy for your records and mail the originals to:

University of Michigan
Benefits Office -- Retirement Area
Wolverine Tower -- Low Rise G405
3003 S. State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1278

Retirement Savings Plan Forms

Retroactive Contributions
Requests for retroactive contributions under the Basic Retirement Plan will be honored only if all necessary forms are received within 60 days of hire or eligibility. To receive retroactive contributions, you must mark the Retroactive box on your Salary or Annuity Option Plan Agreement. If you do not mark the Retroactive box, or if you miss the 60-day deadline, you will not receive retroactive contributions. In addition, faculty and staff who are newly hired or become newly eligible in the final months of the year (October or later) must submit their retirement paperwork (as well as other benefit plan elections) by December 1 st to take effect by the end of the year. Enrollments received after December 1st will become effective in January and retroactive contributions cannot be provided. This is because federal regulations do not allow retroactive contributions to cross a calendar tax year. Please refer to the back of your Salary or Annuity Option Plan Agreement for further details.

Supplemental/SRA contributions always begin on the first available paycheck and cannot be taken retroactively.

Special Notice for December Enrollments and Changes
All retirement plan enrollments and change requests must be received by 5:00 p.m. on December 1st to take effect by the final December paycheck. Incorrect or incomplete paperwork will result in delayed processing, so please contact the Benefits Office if you have questions regarding the forms. Any enrollments or changes received after 5:00 p.m. on December 1 st will be processed for the following January.