Washington State University offers all employees who earn a wage through the WSU Payroll System the option of participating in the Voluntary Investment Programs, in accordance with federal and state regulations.  This includes faculty, staff, administrative professional, graduate student assistants, and student and non-student employees.

These accounts allow employees to save additional retirement funds over and above their regular plans (if they are eligible to participate in those plans), including the Department of Retirement System plans (PERS, TRS, LEOFF), the WSU Retirement Plan (WSURP), as well as individuals who participate in the Federal Retirement Plan. Contributions can be made pre-tax to lower today’s taxable income, or post-tax Roth option resulting in the future money not being subject to income tax.

As voluntary plans, eligible individuals may start, stop or change their contributions at any time.

Unlike the regular WSURP and DRS retirement plans, WSU does not contribute to these accounts.

2024 contributions limits are:

  • A minimum contribution of $30a month/$15 a pay period, or
  • Up to $23,000 for all participants, and
  • An additional $7500 for those over 50, and
  • Starting in 2025, individuals who turn 60, 61, 62 or 63, are able to do $11,250 instead of the $7500 (New limit allowed under the federal Secure 2.0 Act)
  • These rates are subject to an annual adjustment, and the current limit, as well as references to past limits, can be found on the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) contribution website.

The voluntary plans WSU offers are:

Contribution to both of these plans are allowed, up to the maximum levels for both, since they are under two separate IRS codes.

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