Western Kentucky University offers a variety of savings and investment opportunities to assist with your retirement planning. Below you will find a brief summary of the retirement options available to you as a WKU employee.

Mandatory Retirement Plans:  All full-time employees and certain part-time employees are required to participate in one of the following retirement plans.  Plan participation depends on one’s employment category:

Defined Benefit Plans:  A defined benefit plan is qualified under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code and pays benefits based on a formula.  Both the employee and the University contribute a percentage of salary to the applicable retirement system.  Upon retirement, participants are eligible to draw a retirement allowance for life regardless of how much is contributed to the retirement system over one’s career.  The formula at full retirement is as follows:

Final Compensation x Benefit Factor x Years of Service Credit = Annual Benefit

University employees participate in one of the following Defined Benefit Plans: 

• KERS   - The Kentucky Employees Retirement System (KERS) is applicable for all positions that do not require certification or a 4-year college degree.  Regular full-time employees must participate by law.  Part-time employees who average 100 or more hours of work per month over a calendar or fiscal year must also participate.
• KERS-H  - The Kentucky Employees Retirement System – Hazardous Duty Coverage (KERS-H) is applicable for any position whose principal duties involve active law enforcement.
• KTRS  - The Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System (KTRS) is applicable for all positions that require either certification or graduation from a four year college or university as a condition of employment.  All full-time faculty and professional staff are covered by KTRS.  Part-time employees who hold positions equal to 70% time or greater are also covered by KTRS.

Defined Contribution Plan:  WKU’s defined contribution plan is qualified under Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Service and pays benefits based strictly on contributions and interest earned on those contributions.  Both the employee and the University contribute a percentage of salary to the selected company for funding of the individual retirement accounts.

ORP - The Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) is available to those individuals who would otherwise be required to participate in the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System (KTRS).    Employees may elect the ORP as an alternative to KTRS.  The providers of WKU’s ORP are AIG Retirement, ING, and TIAA-CREF.

Supplemental Retirement Plans:  All employees working at least 20 hours per week are eligible to participate in WKU’s supplemental retirement plan offerings.  Employee participation in these plans is voluntary and includes employee contributions only.  Plans are designed to provide a supplemental savings vehicle to the mandatory retirement plans outlined above.  All supplemental retirement plans are qualified under Section 403(b), 457(b), or 401(k) of the IRS.  Employees are eligible to participate in any of the following supplemental retirement plan types: