There is no minimum age or waiting period requirement.

Dixie State College contributes an amount equal to 14.20% of your annual salary to your TIAA-CREF Retirement Plan. No individual contributions are required. Contributions are vested and belong to you the day your institution begins making them.

TIAA-CREF offers nine accounts, one that guarantees four principal and eight that are variable, or nonguaranteed.

• The TIAA-CREF Traditional Annuity guarantees your principal as well as a specified interest rate, plus provides the opportunity for additional growth through dividends.

• The TIAA-CREF Real Estate Account invests the majority of its assets in a portfolio of income producing commercial and residential properties. The remainder is kept in more liquid investments.

• The CREF Stock Account invests a major portion of its assets in a portfolio that tracks the performance of the US stock market as a whole. Other segments consist of foreign and domestic stocks selected for their above-average investment potential.

• The CREF Money Market Account invests in short-term interest-earning securities.

• The CREF Bond Market Account invests in a portfolio of medium- to long-term US government bonds, corporate bonds, and asset-backed securities.

• The CREF Social Choice Account Invests in a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, and money market instruments of companies that follow certain standards for social responsibility.

• The CREF Global Equities Account invests in a portfolio of stocks from around the world, including the US.

• The CREF Equity index Account invests in a diversified portfolio that tracks the overall US stock market, as represented by a broad market index.

• The CREF Growth Account invests in a portfolio of stocks selected for exceptional growth potential.

Like returns from all variable annuities, returns from the TIAA-CREF variable accounts will fluctuate and principal is not guaranteed.

You can allocate your contributions among the TIAA-CREF accounts in any whole-number percentage, including full allocation to any option. Once participation begins you can change your allocation of future premiums or transfer existing accumulations by calling our Automated Telephone Service (ATS) toll free at 1-800-842-2252. The ATS is available 24 hours a day.

You can transfer accumulations among the CREF accounts, the TIAA Real Estate Account, and TIAA Traditional as often as you like at no charge. The minimum transfer from any CREF account is $1,000, and the minimum transfer from TIAA Traditional is $10,000 (or, if less, the entire accumulation). CREF transfers are made immediately, while transfers from TIAA Traditional to any CREF account are made over a ten-year period in substantially equal annual installments.

TIAA and CREF deduct no sales charge (or "load") from the contributions made to your annuities. There are no surrender charges or maintenance fees or any other direct charges.

Operating expenses for TIAA are expected to average about 1/4 of 1% of annuity assets. These expenses are taken into account before declaring dividends, so there are no charges deducted from TIAA annuities.

Investment, administrative and distribution expenses for CREF are expected to average less than 4/10 of 1% of annuity assets. These expenses are taken into account before all CREF returns are quoted, and no charges are deducted from CREF annuities.

TIAA-CREF offers many retirement income options to choose from. You'll have the choice of cash, payments over a set number of years, or lifetime income. Certain federal tax penalties are associated with early withdrawals.

TIAA and CREF are dedicated to providing the best possible service to participants. These services include transaction summaries and annual reports, special mailings on any legislative matters affecting the plan, personal counseling, conducting staff meetings on various topics, making numerous booklets available to help explain the different aspects of the TIAA-CREF program, preparing personalized retirement illustrations, and offering an extensive toll-free telephone network. All of these services are provided without any additional charge and are designed to keep participants up to date and as informed as possible about their retirement plan.

You can also make supplemental tax-deferred contributions through TIAA and CREF Supplemental Retirement Annuities (SRA's) or Retirement Annuities. Contributions can be arranged by contacting the Human Resources Office.

If you have any questions about the Utah System of Higher Education TIAA-CREF Retirement Plan, please call the Participant Information Center toll free at 1-800-842-2776.