Manage your retirement plan all year long

Did you know you can take action at any time when it comes to your Johns Hopkins University retirement plan? Unlike your health and life benefit elections, you can make changes to your Retirement Choice elections throughout the year.

Through the Retirement Choice online portal, you can:

• Review and change your contribution amounts and investment provider.
• View JHU retirement plan balances and manage contributions.
• Learn more about the JHU Select Funds, a group of investments hosted by TIAA and monitored by the university based on performance and cost.
• Learn more about Brokerage Services, through which you can invest in thousands of additional mutual funds.

Through the investment provider you have selected, you can make changes to your fund allocations at any time.

Now is a good time to reassess your savings and investment strategy to ensure that it is in line with your retirement goals. To make changes, visit the myChoices tab on the Benefits website and select the Retirement Choice link.

For those 50 or older, electing the annual maximum on the Retirement Choice portal is a two-step process:

• First, elect to contribute the maximum amount ($18,000 in 2017).
• Second, you'll be asked if you also want to make a 50-plus catch-up contribution; in 2017, you can enter an annual dollar amount of up to $6,000.

Please note, these limits are determined by the IRS and can change each year. If you elect to contribute the maximum amount of $6,000 for the 50-plus catch-up this year, your contribution will automatically be increased in future years to ensure that you contribute your maximum allowable as the limits increase.

To get personalized advice at a free one-on-one session with your investment provider, see the campus schedule on the Benefits website.

For online portal support, call the JHU Retirement Center at TIAA-CREF at 888-200-4074, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.

For general plan-related questions, call the Benefits Service Center at 410-516-2000 or email benefits@jhu.edu.