Retirement Programs

Collin College full-time and part-time employees will participate in a retirement program. New full-time employees will be automatically enrolled through the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS). Certain employees (full-time faculty and administrators) have the option of choosing the Texas Optional Retirement Program (ORP) in lieu of TRS. Part-time employees will participate in Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) Alternative plan. In addition, there are voluntary retirement plans to choose from. 

Collin Invests 403(b) FAQs 

Who is eligible to enroll in a retirement plan?

Full-time and part-time employees (with the exception of student employees) at Collin College may enroll in the "Collin Invests" Retirement Savings Plan. Collin College has partnered with Corebridge Financial to administer our Voluntary 403(b).

Does Collin match retirement contributions?

Yes, Collin offers employer contributions! Collin Invests Enhanced Retirement Savings Plan will offer employer matching contributions to all full-time, benefits-eligible employees. Collin will match your contributions dollar-for-dollar up to 4% of your base salary.  You must contribute to the 403(b) plan through Corebridge in order to receive the match.  No employer match is paid for any month in which you have not contributed. 

May I make changes to my Collin Invests 403(b)?

Yes, changes are submitted to Collin College weekly. Any change made Friday - Thursday will be received by the College on the following Friday. Your Workday profile will then be updated accordingly.

Employees may stop, restart, or change their deductions anytime during the year by logging into the Corebridge Financial website and signing into their account. For example, if you would like to end deductions in May and restart deductions in September, you will need to contact Corebridge Financial in advance so that the dates can be updated and processed through payroll.

What happens if I have multiple changes in a calendar month?

Please review your benefits in Workday. Should you identify any discrepancy, please reach out to the Benefits Team at benefits@collin.edu.

Are there contribution limits?

Yes. For 2025, the limit has changed to $23,500. The additional “catch-up” amount that participants age 50 and older can contribute each year remains at $7,500, for an annual total of $31,000. Review the IRS publication for more information.

Enroll in the Collin Invests 403(b) Plan

To enroll in the 403(b) plan, visit Corebridge Financial to sign up for the 403(b) elective deferral plan.

• Plan Access Code for Full-time employees: 40521003
• Plan Access Code for Part-time employees: 40521002

Enroll or Log in to Corebridge Financial

To make a change to your contribution, visit Corebridge Financial to log into your 403(b) elective deferral plan or reach out to your financial advisor.

Enroll in Texa$aver 457

Benefit-eligible employees may also participate in the 457 through Empower Retirement. Visit Texa$aver 457 for more information.

Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)

Generally, Full Time Staff employees are required to participate in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS). This is a defined benefit, state retirement plan. 

• Employees contribute 8.25% to the plan and the state contributes 8.25%. These rates are set by the State of Texas and are subject to change in the future. The employee, however, is not able to modify these rates.
• After five (5) years of service with the TRS system, you are vested for retirement benefits.
• Vesting means that the employee has earned a retirement income benefit when they are eligible to retire.  The amount of the retirement income benefit is based on a statutory formula using the number of years of employee service credit with the TRS system, the employee’s age, and average covered earnings while an active participant.

Optional Retirement Program (ORP)

Full Time Faculty and Administrators at Collin College have the option to choose between TRS and ORP, if they have not been offered ORP in the past.  The ORP is a 403(b) defined contribution plan in which, the employee contributes 6.65% of their salary to the plan and the state contributes 6.6% of the employee’s salary to the plan. With ORP, the college contributes an additional 1.75% of the employee’s salary to the plan.

As an ORP participant, you will vest after a year and a day of ORP participation. ORP retirement benefits are a direct result of the amounts contributed and any net return on the investments selected by each participant. As like most investment plans, the plan does experience a certain amount of risk and fluctuation.  It is the responsibility of the employee to monitor this volatility and work with the vendor to minimize the long term ups and downs of this type of plan.

Upon completion of 10 years of service and otherwise having been eligible to retire under TRS Rules (Rule of 80), an ORP participant can submit for retiree insurance. If you are under the age of 65, ORP Participants need to be eligible for an annuity with their ORP account(s) in order to maintain eligible for retiree insurance. Moving your funds out of ORP can impact retiree insurance eligibility. 
 

If you are newly eligible to enroll in the ORP plan, you will need to complete the TRS-28 provided to you. This form needs to be received by HR/Benefits by the end of your 90-day window. Late forms will not be accepted. Once you have a vendor selected, and an account opened, you will need to submit the Salary Reduction Agreement indicating your vendor of choice.

Visit the ORP page to learn more           Complete the TRS - 28 form           Fill out the Salary Reduction Agreement

To change ORP vendors:

Once you have selected a vendor and have opened the account, you will need to submit a new Salary Reduction Agreement to HR/Benefits via fax to 972.599.3156 or email at benefits@collin.edu. 
 

Collin College Authorized Optional Retirement Program (ORP)

The third-party administrator for the Collin College ORP plan is TSA Consulting. Contact the representatives of any of the organizations from the list below. These representatives are ready to help advise you on how to select the appropriate plan for you.

Once you have selected a company and opened your ORP account, you will need to submit a Salary Reduction Agreement advising us of the company you have chosen. If you wish to change your financial provider (contract exchange), you will need to submit an updated Salary Reduction Agreement to let us know of the change. Please submit completed agreements to benefits@collin.edu.

Retiree Insurance Eligibility

As a TRS or ORP retiree, you may be eligible for retiree insurance if:

• You have at least 10 years with an agency (Texas public college or University participant in the GBP or state department that participates in ERS insurance) and
• Your last place of public employment was with an agency or higher education institution that participates in the GBP. 
• ORP participants will need an ORP account from which they are eligible to start drawing payments. If you withdraw or roll over all your funds to another account at retirement, you will not be eligible for retiree insurance through ERS. For more information please see the ERS website.

If you are under the age of 65, there are additional eligibility requirements that apply. Contact the Benefits department for additional information at benefits@collin.edu.

Important Information about Tiered Rates. If you did not have 5 years by 8/31/2014 (hired FT by 9/1/2009), you will have to meet the following requirements:

• 20 years - 100% retiree premium paid
• 15 years - 75% retiree premium paid
• 10 years - 50% retiree premium paid

Part Time Employees - FICA Alternative Plan

A retirement plan in lieu of Social Security has been created with MetLife.  Participants will have 7.5% of their salary deducted pre-tax for the PERC plan. Part time employees at Collin College must participate in the FICA Alternative Plan, unless they are exempt by the following:  

• a current TRS or ORP retiree,
• an active TRS member through other full time employment elsewhere, or
• an International employee working in the United States based on F1, J1, M1, or Q1 visa.
   

The FICA Alternative Plan features tax deferred contributions and interest accumulation, 100% vesting immediately, portability or transfer to an individual IRA upon complete separation of employment, and no annual service fee for active accounts. For questions on the FICA replacement, please reach out to Chuck Mulkey at cmulkey@financialguide.com or 972.246.1857.

Enroll at MetLife Today!           Contact Chuck Mulkey

Benefits Resources

• Benefits Homepage
• HR Homepage