The retirement plan for non-Federal employees at the Smithsonian
Institution (at least when I was there in 1996-98) was also TIAA/CREF.
Clearly, TIAA/CREF works for both very large and small institutions.
I'm not sure of the specifics of how the plan worked at the Smithsonian
since I wasn't eligible for it when I worked there (employees under 30
years-old weren't eligible until their 2-year anniversary).  However,
many of my coworkers at the time thought the TIAA/CREF plan was much
better than the Federal Employees Retirement System.

Laura

-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Larry & Judy Godfrey
Sent: Monday, September 06, 2004 10:03 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Retirement Plans

Jessica:

At The Grace Museum in Abilene, Texas we have an excellent retirement
program with TIAA/CREF.  It is a huge  company that provides retirement
services for educational organizations.

There are many different options. Each employee has the opportunity  to
design their own investment portfolio.

We have 12 employees eligible with only 4 participating - so you do not
have to be a large organization to participate.

Employees can have contributions deducted from their pre-tax salary and
deposited into their account -  the maximum allowed by law.  Most just
have the 3% of their annual salary deducted that the Museum matches
after 1 year on the job.  After 5 years on the job the Museum matches 6%
of  the annual salary.  (Three of us participate at this level.)

Each employee's contribution is deducted from their bi-monthly paycheck.
I administer the program with electronic transfer.  It is relatively
easy to manage with almost immediate response to questions.

I highly recommend this program.  Good Luck.

Judith Godfrey
President and CEO
The Grace Museum
102 Cypress St.
Abilene, TX 79601
325.673.4587
[log in to unmask]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jessica Trickett" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 9:35 AM
Subject: Retirement Plans


> Hello,
>
> We are in the midst of implementing a retirement plan, and I have been

> asked to pose these questions to the listserv:  What kinds of 
> retirement product does your institution use (401K, Simple IRA, 
> Simplified Employee Pension, Tax Sheltered Annuity, Payroll Deduction 
> IRA, etc.)?  Are you happy with your current plan?  What are the 
> pros/cons of the product(s) you are using?
> Any information you could share would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Jessica D. Trickett
> Manager of Collections and Curatorial Services Mahoning Valley 
> Historical Society
> 648 Wick Avenue
> Youngstown, Ohio 44502
> 330/743-2589
> [log in to unmask]
> www.mahoninghistory.org
>
>
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