Education and Advice

On-Campus One-on-One Counseling Sessions

TIAA-CREF and Vanguard sponsor on-campus one-on-one counseling sessions to help you review or develop a financial plan, discuss investing for long-term goals like retirement, create an investment mix that fits your financial goals, and more.

• TIAA-CREF: Make an 1-hour on-campus appointment or call 1-800-732-8353 to set up a visit to their office in the Rand Building.
• Vanguard: Make a 45-minute on-campus appointment or call 1-800-662-0106, extension 14629 speak to a specialist through YourCall (available the third Wednesday of every month).

Online Retirement Investment Education 

Vanguard:

• Vanguard Planning and Education
  Vanguard's Plain Talk® investor education and online planning tools provide a wide range of financial guidance in the areas of retirement planning, general investing, college planning, estate planning and tax information.
• It’s Your Money: Make it Work™ Video Presentations
  These 12 entertaining, fast-paced videos from The Vanguard Group are presented in the journalistic Q&A style of a financial news show. It’s Your Money explains financial ideas for those who’ve just begun investing to those who are already an expert.

TIAA-CREF:

• TIAA-CREF Education and Calculators
  The tools, calculators, and publications that TIAA-CREF offers can help you determine if you're on track toward meeting your financial goals.

How Much To Save

Experts recommend setting aside 10%-20% of your salary for retirement. Even with the university's contributions, you should still save additional funds in an SRA in order to achieve your retirement lifestyle goals. Investing just 2% of your income on a pre-tax basis will have a very small impact on your take home pay. But over time, with compounding interest, in the impact on your retirement savings can be enormous.
Consider these factors in deciding how much to invest:

• How much can you afford to invest, either pre-tax or in a Roth account? Can small lifestyle changes (such as making coffee at home vs buying Starbucks) make a difference?
• At what age do you hope to retire?
• What kind of retirement income do you expect from other sources (your spouse, other investments, Social Security)?
• How many years do you think you will have in retirement? (Are you in good health, do you have a family history of longevity)?
• What kind of lifestyle do you hope to have in retirement? (travel, entertaining, working, charitable giving)?
• How much do you hope to pass on to your heirs?
• What level of major expenses do you anticipate in retirement (mortgage or property tax payments, health care, nursing care, car payments, etc.)