The following are brief summaries of some features of the WWURP. Please refer to the Summary Plan Description for more in-depth information.

Faculty, librarians, professional staff, and other designated positions that are employed for 70 or more hours per month of the normal full-time workload for five or more months of the plan year are eligible to participate.

You may begin participation in the WWURP on the date of your appointment or on any pay period thereafter. You must, however, begin participation beginning with your third year of eligibility.

Under age 35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5% of salary

Age 35 and over . . . . . . . . . . . 7.5% of salary

At age 50, employees may elect to increase contributions to 10% of salary

Contributions are made on a tax-deferred basis and are equally matched by the University.

Information about these fund sponsors is provided in this booklet and is available from each fund sponsor.

You direct how your WWURP employee and employer contributions are invested. You may allocate WWURP contributions among any of the available fund sponsors in whole-number percentages that total 100 percent.

You may reallocate your existing account balances and/or future allocations within your current fund sponsor at any time by calling one of its customer service representatives.

At any time you may transfer your existing account balances and/or reallocate future contributions among any of the available fund sponsor(s) by submitting the appropriate election form and contract application(s), if necessary, to the Faculty/Staff Benefits Office, MS: 5521.

Allocation changes to fund sponsor(s) will be effective the first pay period that falls at least 10 days after the properly completed forms are received by the Faculty/Staff Benefits Office.

Transfers of existing account balances will be made as soon as reasonably possible after the appropriate transfer forms have been submitted to the receiving fund sponsor(s).

It is not necessary to transfer existing account balances from the present fund sponsor to begin a new contract with any of the other available fund sponsors.

Employee and employer accumulations are immediately vested in the WWURP.

Loans are not available from your WWURP accumulations.

You may retire from Western Washington University on the first day of any month after attaining age 62.

You have several options and combinations of options to receive income from your retirement accumulations at retirement or upon separation from employment.

Income options include lifetime annuities, interest only, cash withdrawal, systematic cash withdrawal, and minimum distribution. Choosing which option(s) is best for you is a very important decision. Obtaining professional tax and financial advice is highly recommended.

The Western Washington University Retirement Plan (WWURP) was established by the Western Washington University Board of Trustees under the authority provided by RCW 28B.10.400 et.sq. The WWURP has been amended and restated effective August 7, 1998.

The purpose of the WWURP is to provide retirement benefits to faculty members, librarians, professional staff, and certain other employees of Western Washington University (WWU). The WWURP is a governmental plan as defined in section 414(d) of the Internal Revenue Code, and is subject to Washington state laws. WWU intends that contributions under the WWURP will be excluded from the gross income of participants in accordance with section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code.

This Summary Plan Description has been prepared to explain the major provisions of the WWURP currently in effect and to answer some of the questions participants might have. Copies of the official WWURP document are available for inspection in the WWU Faculty/Staff Benefits Office during regular business hours. Although care has been taken in the preparation of this Summary Plan Description, it is not the official text of the WWURP. In the event of any inconsistency between the information in this Summary and in the WWURP itself, or to the extent the WWURP contains more complete or detailed information or rules, the provisions of the WWURP will prevail.

The WWURP is a "defined contribution" plan under which both you and WWU make contributions. Your benefits under the WWURP will be provided by an insurance, variable annuity, or investment company that sponsors the investment funds available for investment of WWURP contributions (a "Fund Sponsor"). The amount of your benefits will be based on the amounts you and WWU have contributed to the WWURP and the net investment return on those amounts. In certain limited circumstances, you may qualify for a supplemental benefit payable by WWU in order to bring your total WWURP benefits up to a level determined under a formula.

Any employee of WWU who is employed in an eligible position may participate in the WWURP. An eligible position is an academic, research, librarian, professional, or other position designated by the Board of Trustees of WWU that requires at least 70 hours per month of the normal full-time workload per month for five or more months of the plan year.

An employee who has retired from an eligible position or another position covered by a Washington State institution of higher education retirement plan or any Washington State Retirement System, and who is receiving retirement benefits as a participant in that plan or system, is not eligible for participation in the WWURP.

You may begin participation in the WWURP on the date of your employment in an eligible position or on the first day of any pay period thereafter. Appropriate enrollment forms must be completed and returned to the WWU Benefits Office in order to participate.

You must begin participation no later than the first day of the first pay period following the second anniversary of your date of employment in an eligible position.

Once you begin participation in the WWURP, you may not cease participation while you are employed in an eligible position.

4. Are there other ways by which I may become a participant in the WWURP?

a. If you are a participant in any Washington State Retirement System and you are moved to (or your position is converted to) an eligible position, you may make an irrevocable election to participate in the WWURP or to remain in the other retirement system. You must make the election no later than six months following the date of your move or conversion. If no election is made, you will remain in the other retirement system.

b. If you have participated in the WWURP for at least two years and you are moved to (or your position is converted to) a position that qualifies for participation in a Washington State Retirement System, you may make an irrevocable election to participate in that other retirement system or remain in the WWURP. You must make that, election no later than six months following the date of your move or conversion. If you make no election, you will remain in the WWURP.

c. If you:

· are hired by WWU in a position other than an eligible position,

· are eligible for participation in the Washington State Public Employees Retirement System, and

· have, for at least two consecutive years immediately preceding your date of hire, participated in a retirement plan under which your employer made contributions to a WWURP Fund Sponsor

You may irrevocably elect to participate in the WWURP. You must make that election within six months after your hired. If no election is made, you will become a participant in the Washington State Public Employees Retirement System from the first day of your employment.

You will cease to be a participant in the WWURP if:

· your retire or otherwise separate from all employment with WWU,

· you are transferred or reclassified to a position that is not an eligible position and you do not elect within six months to remain a participant in the WWURP, you are transferred or reclassified to a position that is not an eligible position and does not qualify for participation in a Washington State Retirement System, or

· you begin receiving any form of income from the accumulation amounts while still employed in an eligible position

· the WWURP is terminated.

If you:

· leave the employ of WWU before you retire,

· are a WWURP participants on the date you leave, and

· are reemployed in a WWURP eligible position without having started your retirement benefits, you will immediately become a WWURP participants again upon your reemployment.

You may retire on the first day of any month after attaining age 62.

You may also retire because of a health condition under certain circumstances. Retirement because of a health condition may be approved by WWU’s President upon your request. The basis for approval is whether your continued service is likely to seriously impair or endanger your health, or whether you are permanently unable to carry on your normal duties because of your health. Any request will be referred to the Human Resource Department who will convene the Special Board on Retirement because of Health. The recommendations of this Special Board will be presented to the WWU’s President.

You may be reemployed up to 40 percent of a full time appointment. A reemployed retiree is not a participant under the WWURP. Also, reemployment after retirement is not counted as service under the WWURP and does not result in any eligibility for increased benefits under the WWURP.

You must make the following contributions:

For this purpose, your salary is the amount WWU pays you as basic monthly salary, contracted salary for summer session and salaried summer research grants, chair stipends, together with any paid leave. Salary is determined before taking into account any salary reduction under the WWURP, the WWU’s Voluntary Investment Program, or any other plan.

Your annual salary taken into account under the WWURP may not exceed $160,000. This limit is adjusted from time to time by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue. Prior to July 1, 1997, it was $150,000.

Yes. Beginning with the first pay period following the pay period in which you reach age 50, you may increase your contribution to 10 percent of salary. (Salary is defined and limited as described under Question 9 above.)

You may change your contribution back to 7 ½ percent of compensation, or re-elect the 10 percent rate, at any time by completing the WWURP Enrollment/Change form. Forms received by the fifteenth of the month will be implemented on the paycheck of the twenty-fifth. Forms received by the last day of the month will be implemented on the paycheck of the tenth of the following month.

Yes, WWU will make contributions to the WWURP equal to your own contributions.

No, rollovers or transfers from other plans will not be accepted by the WWURP.

Yes. There are legal limits on the amount of contributions that may be made to the WWURP by you and WWU. For example, these contributions, together with any contributions for your benefit under another tax-exempt employer’s 403(b) retirement program, or under any Keogh or other 401(a) or 401(k) plan you control, cannot exceed 25% of your pay for any calendar year. Other limits may also apply. WWU reserves the right to reduce contributions made by you and WWU in order to comply with any applicable limits.

WWURP contributions will be made on a tax-deferred basis as authorized under section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code to the extent the contributions are within the legal limits.

During an authorized leave of absence with pay, contributions will continue to be made to the WWURP by you and WWU. These contributions will be based on the actual compensation WWU pays you during your leave of absence.

To the extent required by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, if you are absent from employment because of service in the United States uniformed services, you will be entitled to make up contributions that you would have made had you remained in your job during your period of service and to benefit from matching WWU contributions.

If you return to employment immediately following an authorized leave of absence, other than an absence due to service in the United States uniformed services, and you remain employed by WWU for at least two years after your return, you may contribute an amount equal to the total amount that would have been contributed had you not been on leave (including any amount WWU would have contributed) less any other contributions made by you and WWU regarding the same leave. These contributions will be based on the average of your compensation at the time your leave of absence was authorized and at the time you resumed employment. WWU will not match these contributions. If you make these contributions, your leave of absence will be included in your years of service for purposes of calculating the Supplemental Benefit described in Question 25. No more than two years of service will be credited for this purpose for your entire working career at WWU.

Contributions to the WWURP are invested in annuity contracts or mutual fund accounts offered by one or more fund sponsors. WWU determines which fund sponsor or sponsors, and which of their investment options, will be available for the purpose of investing contributions under the WWURP.

You are responsible for directing how your employee and employer contributions are invested. After your death, if amounts remain credited to your account, your beneficiary is then responsible. If a portion of your account is transferred to an alternate payee under a divorce or separation order, your alternate payee will be responsible. You (or your beneficiary or alternate payee) may not assign this responsibility to another party, except that directions may be given by a legal representative in the event you (or your beneficiary or alternate payee) are under a legal disability.

You may allocate WWURP employee and employer contributions among the investment options made available by WWU in any whole-number percentages that total 100 percent.

At least once a year the fund sponsor or sponsors will send you a report summarizing the status of your account(s). You may obtain similar reports upon termination of employment or upon your request from the fund sponsor.

You will at all times have a 100 percent vested interest in your accumulations under the WWURP. None of your accumulations, including WWU contributions, will be forfeited upon your separation from WWU employment. Instead, they will be used to pay benefits when you become eligible for retirement.

You are entitled to receive benefits under the WWURP upon your retirement or other separation from WWU employment regardless of age or years of service. You will not be entitled to make withdrawals from the WWURP while you are employed by WWU.

You need not receive your benefits at the time you separate from WWU employment, but generally, you must start them by April 1 after the year you reach age 70 ½.

To begin receiving benefits from your accumulations invested with a fund sponsor, you must contact the fund sponsor(s).

After you retire or otherwise separate from WWU employment, you will have several options and combinations of options to receive income from your accumulations. Income options include lifetime annuities, interest only, cash withdrawal, systematic cash withdrawal, and minimum distribution option. Choosing which option(s) is best for you is a very important decision and in some cases irrevocable. Obtaining professional tax and financial advice is highly recommended.

Upon your death, the entire value of your accumulations with a fund sponsor will be paid to the beneficiary you designated to receive benefits in the event of your death. However, to the extent your accounts have been applied to purchase an annuity, benefits will be paid as provided in your annuity contracts. If you are married at the time of your death, your surviving spouse will automatically be your beneficiary unless your spouse consents to another beneficiary. Your spouse’s consent must be in writing, on a form provided by the Benefits Office, and must be witnessed by a notary public.

Yes. Certain court orders, most frequently associated with divorce or martial separation, may require the WWURP to make payments from your account(s) directly to your spouse, former spouse, or other dependents, regardless of whether you have separated from WWU employment or are otherwise entitled to benefits under the WWURP.

The Supplemental Benefit is a lifetime benefit, calculated at the time of your retirement, equal to the excess, if any, of

· one-twelfth of two percent of your average annual salary multiplied by the number of your years of service (such product not to exceed one twelfth of 50 percent of your average annual salary), over

· the amount of the assumed TIAA-CREF annuity benefit offset you would receive in the first month of retirement.

Special definitions, assumptions and conditions apply in making this calculation. More information will be provided to you if you are eligible for the Supplemental Benefit.

The Supplemental Benefit is reduced by 0.5 percent times the number of full calendar months that your benefit payments begin before the last day of the calendar month in which you turn 65,unless you were granted retirement because of a health condition.

Payments of the Supplemental Benefit are made as lifetime income and may only be made over (a) your life, or (b) your life and the life of your designated beneficiary, in any form of lifetime annuity made available by WWU. If option (b) is chosen, the monthly benefit will be reduced because it will be paid over a longer period.

If you are married, your election of a form of benefit requires the written consent of your spouse on a form provided by the Benefits Office and witnessed by a notary public. At WWU’s election, the Supplemental Benefit may be paid less often than monthly if the monthly installments for you or your designated beneficiary would be less than $10.

You will be eligible for a Supplemental Benefit at retirement if:

· you have reached age 62, or you retire because of a health condition as described in Question 7;

· you have ten or more years of service, as defined in the WWURP; and

· the amount of your Supplemental Benefit is a positive amount.

If you die after age 62 while eligible for a Supplemental Benefit, your designated beneficiary will be entitled to a benefit. That benefit will equal the monthly benefit that your beneficiary would have received if you had begun to receive a Supplemental Benefit on the first day of the month in which your death occurred and had elected a two-thirds benefit to survivor option with a 10-year guarantee period with the beneficiary as the survivor.

If you are married at the time of your death, your surviving spouse will automatically be your beneficiary unless your spouse consents to another beneficiary. Your spouse’s consent must be in writing, on a form provided by the Benefits Office, and must be witnessed by a notary public.

The rules concerning federal income taxation of benefits from the WWURP are complicated, and you are strongly encouraged to seek the advice of a competent tax advisor before starting your benefits.

Some payments from the WWURP will be eligible for a tax-free rollover to an IRA or other eligible retirement plan. You may instruct the WWURP to transfer your eligible distribution directly to an IRA or other eligible retirement plan that accepts rollovers, or receive a check and roll over the distribution yourself within 60days of receipt. Under current law, if you do not use the "direct rollover" option, an automatic 20 percent federal income tax withholding will apply to your distribution.

Certain "early distributions" may also be subject to an additional 10 percent income tax penalty. In general, any payment from your account(s) will be considered an early distribution subject to the 10percent penalty unless it is:

· rolled over directly or within 60 days to an IRA or another eligible retirement plan;

· made to you after the age of 591/2;

· made to you if you have separated from service in the year you turn age 55 (or later.)

· made to your beneficiary after your death;

· made to you on account of your being disabled (that is, unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or to be of long-continued and indefinite duration); or

· made as part of a series of substantially equal periodic payments made at least annually, or your life (or life expectancy) or the joint lives (or joint life expectancies) of you and your designated beneficiary.

No. However; your interest in the WWURP may be subject to claims under a "qualified domestic relations order" issued by a court, granting to your spouse, former spouse, children, or other dependents a right to receive all or part of your account(s) as support, alimony, or property settlement.

No. You may not borrow from your accumulations under the WWURP.

The WWURP may be amended or terminated, in whole or in part, at any time by the Board of Trustees of WWU. However, the Board of Trustees shall not make any amendment to the WWURP that recaptures for WWU any contributions previously made under the WWURP except contributions that were made based on a mistake of fact, or contributions that were made for an employee who failed to complete required enrollment forms.

You may obtain information concerning eligibility, participation, contributions, or other aspects of the WWURP’s operation by contacting the Benefits Office. You should direct requests for information concerning a fund sponsor, its available investment products, their terms and conditions, and claims thereunder in writing to the fund sponsor.

WWU is the administrator of the WWURP and has designated the WWU’s Human Resource Department to be responsible for the day-to-day administration of the WWURP.

The WWURP does not give any person the right to remain as an employee of the WWU. It creates only those rights specifically provided in the WWURP.

The Internal Revenue Code limits the amount of contributions that may be made to retirement plans for a person in a given year. See Question 13.

Relating to the administration of the WWURP may be directed to:

Human Resource Department Faculty/Staff Benefits Western Washington University
516 High Street/MS 5221
Bellingham, WA 98225-9021
(360) 650-7713
Campus mail: MS: 5521

Internet: http://www.wwu.edu/~hr

PLAN SPONSOR

Western Washington University

Tax Exempt Services Company 82 Devonshire Street Boston, MA 02109 1-800-343-0860

Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association College Retirement Equities Fund

730 Third Avenue New York, NY 10017 1-800-842-2776

P. O. Box 1101 Valley Forge, PA 19482 1-800-523-1188

The WWURP is administered by WWU through its Human Resource Department. As Administrator, WWU, through its Human Resource Department has the discretionary authority to interpret and administer the WWURP. Any determination made by WWU shall be given deference, if it is subject to judicial review, and shall be overturned only if it is arbitrary and capricious.

The WWURP is a governmental plan as defined in Internal Revenue Code section 414(d). WWU intends that contributions under the WWURP will be excluded from the gross income of participants in accordance with section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The Plan Year is the 12-month period beginning on July 1 and ending on June 30.

Complete:

Employees who are currently contributing to TIAA/CREF and wish to continue contributing only to TIAA/CREF do not have to complete any forms. Employees who would like to re-allocate part of their employee and employer contributions to a fund sponsor other than TIAA/CREF must complete:

· WWURP Enrollment/Change Form

· Fund Sponsor Enrollment Application(s) to establish account(s) and designate the funds you wish to contribute to.

Complete:

· WWURP Enrollment/Change Form to reallocate contributions among fund sponsor(s);

· Fund Sponsor Enrollment Application(s) to establish account(s), if necessary.

Contact the fund sponsors directly to request transfer forms.

Contact the fund sponsor directly to reallocate dollars within the same fund sponsor.

The Western Washington University Retirement Plan (WWURP) is a defined contribution plan in which you are responsible for investing both your employee and the employer contribution. Your retirement income will be dependent on the investment choices you make.

Deciding where to invest your retirement dollars can be a challenge. Understanding some basics about investing will help. Each vendor provides you with several brochures and tools to assist you in understanding investments, risk tolerance and asset allocation. You are encouraged to read the brochures, visit websites, and use software programs to help you with your decisions.