CTA Retirement Savings Plan

Why do you need a 403(b) savings plan? 
Because your CalSTRS pension will cover only about half the income you will need in retirement, CTA has created a retirement savings plan to help make up the difference.

CTA Educating Educators from CTA on Vimeo.

How is this plan different than other 403(b) plans? 

  1. All plan representatives are salaried, not paid on commission. The result is significant savings on plan costs.  
  2. Your union has no financial benefit from this plan. The goal in creating the CTA retirement savings plan was to help make sure that every educator has a financially secure future.
  3. There are no hidden fees, and the plan is designed to keep administrative and investment management costs low.
  4. CTA follows fiduciary standards to ensure that all recommendations and plan decisions are made solely in your best interests.
  5. CTA Retirement Savings Plan is the only one that is built for—and endorsed by—the California Teachers Association.

How the plan works
The CTA plan allows you to put aside part of your salary in a tax-advantaged way until you need it at retirement.

When you enroll in the plan, your contributions to your retirement account will happen automatically every time you get paid. This will help make sure you are meeting your retirement savings goals.

You can contribute any amount you wish, up to the annual maximum.

  • If you’re under age 50, you can save up to the annual maximum ($20,500 for 2022).
  • If you’re age 50 or older, you can also make catch-up contributions ($6,500).
  • If you have 15 or more years of full-time service, in certain districts you may also be able to contribute up to $3,000 more for five years (up to a maximum of $15,000).

Even if you can start with only $100.00 per month, it is good to start. As your situation changes you can always increase your contributions.

Starting as soon as you are able makes a big difference. You'll have compound interest on your side.

Enrolling in the plan
There are just two steps to enroll in the plan: 

  1. Enroll online at enroll.ctaretirementplan.org. 
    It only takes a few minutes to complete.
  2. Complete a Salary Reduction Agreement (SRA)
    An SRA form is required to direct your employer to fund your CTA retirement account. The CTA Enrollment team can help you completing this form.

Free 403(b) Plan Review For CTA Members
Provided by the CTA Retirement Savings Plan team at review.ctaretirementplan.org

Do you have one or more of the following concerns about your current 403(b) plan?

  • You don’t understand your plan
  • You don't know what plan fees you are paying
  • You don’t know what kind of investments are in your plan
  • You get poor service or no service at all from your current advisor
  • You have general trust issues with your current advisor or financial company

Moving to the CTA plan
If you have other retirement savings accounts, either currently or from a former employer, you may be able to exchange those plans and consolidate them into the CTA plan. You need to have opened a CTA retirement savings account first before you can do the rollover. Opening a new account is easy and it only takes a few minutes to complete: enroll.ctaretirementplan.org
 
There are important things to consider before making an exchange or rollover, including surrender fees, the regulations governing your former employer's plan, and possible tax implications.
 
CTA Enrollment Team can help you review your options. The CTA RSP 403(b) review service is designed to provide you with the clarity, peace of mind, and confidence you deserve. Visit review.ctaretirementplan.org to get a free second opinion! 

What are the plan fees? 
You pay a flat annual recordkeeping fee of $95.00 and 0.05% for custodial services based on the assets in your account. These fees will be deducted from your account balance on a quarterly basis. Additionally, you pay an asset-based fee for the investments selected and certain transactions such as loans and distributions are subject to fees. 

New CTA members or existing members who have not previously opened a 403(b)/457 governmental plan may be eligible for lower administrative/recordkeeping fees for two years to help them get started with their retirement plan. To find out if you qualify, please send an email to team@ctaretirementplan.org.

A one-time $10 enrollment fee will be assessed with the first quarterly recordkeeping fee payment at the end of the quarter in which your account is funded.

All fees are clearly outlined in the annual fee disclosure statement and will be reported as transactions on your quarterly statement.