One of the most valuable employee benefits offered by the University System of Georgia is the option to save in a retirement plan that helps reduce your current taxes. Employees who participate in the plan might wonder why anyone would not take advantage of such a powerful way to create a retirement nest egg.

Many employees say there just isn’t any money left to save after they take care of current financial responsibilities. But there is a way to save before you spend: your workplace retirement plan. That’s because when you participate in a 403(b) or 457(b) plan, you make pretax contributions to your account by salary reduction. Your contributions are automatically set aside for your retirement before you even see your paycheck.

Futhermore, the money you contribute is deducted before tax withholdings are calculated—which reduces your taxable income and thus, your current taxes. You can actually save for retirement with money that you’d otherwise be sending to the government as income taxes. Of course, tax-advantaged plans are long-term investments and income taxes must be paid on withdrawal. Also, federal restrictions and a tax penalty may apply to early withdrawals.

Valic is our 403(b)/457(b) vendor and their contact information for Georgia Highlands is listed below:

VALIC – representative Steve Mink
Cell Phone 706.676.1208