Retirement Plans

Dartmouth College
Employment Policies and Procedures

Applies to: All benefits-eligible employees*

*With the exception of the SRA which applies to all employees

 

Dartmouth sponsors two retirement plans for eligible employees. These plans provide participants with opportunities to save for retirement and to manage their retirement income during retirement. Participants may manage their accounts through Fidelity, TIAA, or both. Investment options include target-date retirement funds, mutual funds, collective investment trusts, and annuities. 

To the extent that there is any inconsistency between this policy statement or other supporting documents related to the plans, the terms of the official plan document will govern in all cases.

401(a) Defined Contribution Plan

The 401(a) Defined Contribution Retirement Plan for Dartmouth College Faculty and Staff (the "401(a) plan") covers benefits-eligible employees that are: 

• Age 21 or older. 

• Faculty, Research Associates, and Salaried (exempt) staff hired on or after January 1, 1989, with appointments of at least nine months and regularly scheduled to work half of the full-time equivalent of hours for their position. 
• Hourly (non-exempt) staff or a member of IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) hired on or after January 1, 1998. who are regularly scheduled to work for 20 hours per week in positions lasting at least 9 months. 

• Certain members of Local 560, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) that did not electively retain participation in the Defined Benefit Retirement Plan. 

• Eligible employees who were participants in the Dartmouth College Defined Benefit Retirement Plan on December 31, 1997, and whose participation was electively transferred to this plan effective January 1, 1998. 

• Eligible employees who were participants in the Dartmouth College Defined Benefit Retirement Plan, whose employment classification was changed from hourly to salaried after January 1, 1998, and whose participation was electively transferred to this plan in connection with such change. 

• Employees not eligible for or participating in the 403(b) Defined Contribution Retirement Plan for Dartmouth College Faculty and Staff. 

• Employees not classified as consultants or independent contractors (including those classified as Research Fellows.) 

• Eligible faculty, research associates, exempt, and non-exempt staff hired on or after January 1, 1989, shall be entitled to participate if they complete at least 1,000 hours of service in an eligibility computation. 

 

The amount of the College's contribution is based on a percentage of eligible compensation and increases with age: 

Employee Age	Dartmouth Contribution
21 to 29	3%
30 to 34	5%
35 to 39	7%
40 and older	9%

 

The 401(a) Plan's contribution is deposited each pay period. Dartmouth requires a 30-day administrative period for new hires or employees newly eligible for the 401(a) Plan. Contributions begin with the paycheck following the end of the administrative period and will be based on eligible compensation starting with the date of hire through the pay period date. 

Participants become fully vested after three years of employment with Dartmouth. Participants terminating employment with fewer than three years will forfeit their 401(a) Plan balance. If rehired by Dartmouth, prior service will count towards vesting service. Those rehired within six years of their last termination date may be eligible to have forfeited account reinstated. 

Vesting means ownership by the employee of their 401(a) Plan account. Once vested, a participant has an irrevocable right to the amount in the account (with investment earnings and gains or losses), even if they leave Dartmouth before retiring. 

403(b) Defined Contribution Plan 

The 403(b) Defined Contribution Retirement Plan for Dartmouth College Faculty and Staff (the "403(b) Plan") covers eligible regular employees, who are classified as faculty members and exempt staff, who were hired before January 1, 1989. Such employees' participation in this part of the Plan was grandfathered when the 401(a) Defined Contribution Plan was established in 1989. Grandfathered participants receive the same 3%-9% of eligible compensation based on age as the 401(a) Plan and may contribute pre-tax contributions up to the IRS standard contribution maximum for participants under age 50. Grandfathered participants may also contribute to the SRA. 

Supplemental Retirement Accounts 

Dartmouth offers employees the Supplemental Retirement Account for all Employees of Dartmouth College (the "SRA"), a tax-favored savings plan, to which employees can voluntarily contribute to save for retirement.

All Employees are eligible to participate in the College's SRA on a voluntary basis unless they are classified as a student worker performing services for Dartmouth and have FICA-exempt earnings, a post-doctorate research fellow that does not receive W-2 wages, or a nonresident alien who receives no earned income within the United States or a nonresident alien who receives earned income within the United Sates but it is exempt from income tax under an applicable tax treaty. 

The SRA offers participants the opportunity to save on a pre-tax and/or Roth post-tax basis up to 94% of their eligible compensation subject to the annual IRS contribution maximums. Contributions can be structured as a percentage of compensation or as a flat-dollar amount for each paycheck and can be changed at any time.  

Participants may roll 401(k), 403(b), 401(a) and certain other qualified retirement plan accounts from prior employers into their SRA by initiating a request through their current and former investment providers. Loans and in-service withdrawals are permitted through the SRA according to the Plan's rules. 

The SRA is a tax-deferred plan that allows employees to invest money for retirement and postpone paying taxes on the money invested, or its earnings, until they take the money out of the account, typically when they retire.

Dartmouth 401(k) Plan for Students covered under GOLD-UE

Dartmouth offers a 401(k) savings plan for eligible members of the Graduate Organized Laborers of Dartmouth, United Electrical Workers of Local 261 ("GOLD-UE").  It allows participants to save on a pre-tax and/or Roth post-tax basis up to 94% of eligible compensation subject to the annual IRA contribution maximums.  

There is a 30-day wait period for new participants before they can enroll or opt-out through Fidelity's NetBenefits enrollment system.  Participants that do not select a savings rate (including 0% to opt-out), within 35 days of their participation date will be automatically enrolled at 3% pre-tax until they elect otherwise.  Those automatically enrolled will have their savings rate increase by 1% each year not to exceed 10%.

Automatically enrolled participants have the option of an unwind withdrawal – within 90 days of their first automatically enrolled contribution, they may request a distribution of their account and unenroll.  Unwind withdrawals may be requested by contacting Fidelity.

The plan also allows participants to roll certain qualified retirement plans from other employers into the 401(k) account, loans and hardship withdrawals. 

Investment Funds and Providers 

Several investment fund options are available to participants in the 401(a) Plan, 403(b) Plan and the SRA, including target-date retirement funds, collective trusts, annuities, and mutual funds, and a self-directed mutual fund brokerage window. The 401(k) Plan offers the same with the exception of annuities. Participants may exchange or reallocate their selection of funds for each plan on any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading. 

Two investment providers are offered for the 401(a) Plan, 403(b) Plan, and the SRA: Fidelity and TIAA. Participants may choose to invest in one or both providers. Participants have the option of transferring their existing plan(s) balances between providers, as necessary. The 401(k) Plan is only offered through Fidelity.

The 401(a) Plan, the 403(b) Plan, and the SRA and the 401(k) Plan are intended to comply with ERISA Section 404(c), which means that participants are responsible for their own investment decisions and the plan's fiduciaries are not liable for any losses resulting from those decisions. 

Procedure

The 401(a) Plan, 403(b) Plan, and SRA participants: Choose or update your investment provider (Fidelity, TIAA, or both) through Fidelity's NetBenefits enrollment system. NetBenefits collects the investment provider election, and all future contributions will be directed to the selected investment provider. An investment provider election is required for each plan.

SRA and 401(k) Plan Participants:  Enroll or update a pre-tax and/or Roth post-tax savings election, use Fidelity's NetBenefits enrollment system. NetBenefits will collect the savings election, and it will be applied as soon as administratively possible to the next paycheck. Grandfathered 403(b) participants eligible to make pre-tax contributions must follow the same procedure.

Participants that do not select an investment provider or investment funds will be automatically enrolled in a provider and an investment fund based on Dartmouth's default procedures at the time of the contribution. 401(k) Plan participants that do not enroll within 35 days of their participation date will be automatically enrolled to contribute on a pre-tax basis.

Defined Benefit Retirement Plan 

The Defined Benefit Retirement Plan for Dartmouth College Staff only covers grandfathered employees effective January 1, 2006, and is closed to new participants. The Plan was designed to provide employees with monthly benefits. Dartmouth pays the full cost of the plan, which is based on the employees' earnings. Benefits continue to accrue according to the plan's rules for grandfathered employees.

At retirement, participants have the option of taking monthly payments for their lifetime or the lifetime of themselves and their beneficiary. Lump sum distributions are permitted. 

Procedure 

Grandfathered employees entitled to a benefit may contact the Office of Human Resources at any time to receive an estimate of monthly retirement benefits. Benefits are paid through the plan's administrator: Bank of New York Mellon. 

Definitions 

1. Benefits-Eligible Employee refers to Dartmouth's Benefits Eligibility Policy in place at the time. 

2. Eligible Compensation is defined by each plan. Refer to the Plan's Summary Plan Description for more details. 

3. Tax-qualified retirement plans are employer sponsored retirement savings plans that meet the requirements set forth by the Internal Revenue Code and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act that offer tax advantages to both the employer and the employees. 

Related Information 

Both the United States Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service require Dartmouth to regularly disclose important information about the Plans. 

Summary Plan Descriptions 

Summary Plan Description for the 401(a) Plan and the 403(b) Plan 

Summary Plan Description for the SRA 

Summary Plan Description for the Defined Benefit Plan 

Annual Fee Disclosures 

401(a) Plan Annual Fee Disclosure  

SRA Annual Fee Disclosure 

403(b) Plan Annual Fee Disclosure 

Annual Funding Notice for the DB Plan 

April 2025 Funding Notice 

Other Important Information 

Retirement Legal Notices 

See also: Benefits Eligibility