Eligible employees of the University System of Georgia participate in one of two qualified retirement plan options: (1) the Optional Retirement Plan/Regents Retirement Plan – a defined contribution plan; or (2) the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia – a defined benefit plan. The plan year for the Optional Retirement Plan, or Regents Retirement Plan, is a calendar year (January 1 – December 31). The plan year for the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia is a fiscal year (July 1 – June 30). The limits listed below should be determined based on the plan year; calendar year for ORP and fiscal year for TRS.
Both of the University System of Georgia qualified retirement plan options are deemed to be Section 401(a) (17) plans under the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). For 2015, the maximum compensation that is to be used for computing retirement benefits is $265,000.
The IRS, also imposes limits on the amount contributions that may be allocated to an employee’s defined contribution retirement plan accounts in any one year. This is known as an IRC Section 415 limit. For 2015, the IRC Section 415 limit is the lesser of $53,000 or 100% of compensation.
For 2015, the maximum contribution that an employee may allocate to his/her 403(b) plan is $18,000 if he/she is under age 50 and, $24,000 if he/she is age 50 or older. For 2015, the maximum contribution that an employee may allocate to his/her 457(b) plan is $18,000 if he/she is under age 50 and, $24,000 if he/she is age 50 or older.
For more information, see attached document.