The University of Illinois was able to secure an agreement with Fidelity Investments for a lower expense ratio share class for two funds in the University of Illinois Supplemental 403(b) Retirement Plan. The funds, Spartan Total Market Index Fund and Spartan U.S. Bond Index Fund, will change to the lower expense ratio effective August 23, 2012.
The funds will retain the same investment objective, risks, and fund manager. The only difference is a lower cost expense ratio. The expense ratio is the annual cost to operate the fund, expressed in a percentage of total assets. The lower expense ratios of the new funds means participant fees on fund assets will be reduced before the performance is calculated.
What does this mean for 403(b) participants?
This means more of your money can go to work for you in your supplemental 403(b) account. Confirmation of the changes to the funds will be reflected in participants' next quarterly statements. The fund names will now be listed as Institutional Class instead of Investor Class.
Why might I consider participating in the 403(b) Plan?
With the availability of the lower fee mutual funds, now might be the time to consider participating in the supplemental 403(b) plan. The 403(b) provides an opportunity to accumulate additional retirement funds as a supplement to your State Universities Retirement System (SURS) pension. You may begin participating in the 403(b) plan at any time by enrolling through NESSIE.
More Information
Free one-on-one counseling sessions are available. More information is available on NESSIE.
Questions?
Please call Fidelity at 800-343-0860Monday through Friday between the hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. CT. You may also obtain account and fund information by logging into www.fidelity.com/atwork.