Voluntary Plans

Voluntary Retirement Plans

The University of Kansas offers two voluntary retirement plans for employees. No University contributions are made to either of the voluntary retirement plans.

• KPERS 457(b) deferred compensation plan (all employees may elect to participate)
• Kansas Board of Regents 403(b) voluntary retirement plan (only benefits eligible employees may elect to participate)

403(b) Voluntary Retirement Plan

The KBOR 403(b) Voluntary Retirement plan helps benefits eligible employees accumulate personal savings for use as future retirement income. This plan is in addition to mandatory retirement contributions made through either KPERS or the KBOR Mandatory Retirement Plan.  For additional information about the KBOR Mandatory and Voluntary Retirement plans and investment options, please download the KBOR Retirement Plan Guide (pdf).  

Eligibility

All benefits eligible employees are eligible to participate in the 403(b) voluntary retirement plan.

Enrollment

Your participation in the 403(b) Voluntary Retirement Plan is optional and you can enroll at any time. To enroll, simply complete the following steps:

1. Email the Benefits Office at benefits@ku.edu and ask for a “Voluntary Retirement Maximum Deferral Calculation”. The Benefits team will let you know the maximum amount you can defer. When contacting the benefits team, please let them know if any of the following situations apply to you, since they may impact the outcome of your deferral calculation:
   • The salary you receive is different from what appears in the University's budget
   • You are planning on taking sabbatical leave
   • You are planning on taking leave without pay
   • You are expecting to terminate your employment with the university or retire
   • You will be changing your appointment status in any way
2. The two retirement companies that are approved by the Kansas Board of Regents for its 403(b) Voluntary Retirement Plan are TIAA and VOYA.  For more information or to schedule a meeting with a retirement company representative, please visit their websites. Select, and contact one of the approved plan representatives, so he or she can guide you through the application, account creation, and investment allocation process or you can enroll online(pdf) with the retirement company you have chosen.  This process is required before you can contribute.
   • TIAA
   • Voya
3. Based on your discussion with the approved representative and your investment strategy, you will need to complete either one, or both of the Investment Agreement forms below and indicate the percentage of salary or set dollar amount to be deducted from you bi-weekly paychecks.
   • Roth After-Tax Investment Agreement Form
   • Pre-tax Investment Agreement Form
4. Forms received on or before the second Friday of a pay period will be effective as of the first day of that pay period.

Please keep in mind that the deduction amount may be changed/stopped at any time during the year by submitting a new ​Investment Agreement Form (listed above) to the Benefits Office.

Accessing your 403(b) Retirement Funds

Please refer to Access your KBOR 403(b) Retirement Funds (pdf) for more information and instructions.

Additional Information

Please visit the KBOR website for more information about the Voluntary 403(b) Retirement Plan.

KPERS 457 Deferred Compensation

The KPERS 457 Deferred Compensation plan is a voluntary savings plan to help you supplement your retirement income. The Plan is established under Internal Revenue Code Section 457 and is administered by the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System.

Eligibility

All employees (benefits eligible and non-benefits eligible) can participate in the KPERS 457 plan.

Enrollment

To enroll, please contact the plan at 1-800-232-0024 and select the appropriate prompt. A representative will guide you through the enrollment process.

Additional Information

For information on contribution amounts, payout distributions, taxation and beneficiary information, please refer to KPERS 457 Plan Details page.

*An accessible version of the documents on this site will be made available upon request. Please contact our office at hrdept@ku.edu to request the document be made available in an accessible format.