You may recall that we sent a letter to your home in February 2009 announcing enhancements to The George Washington University Retirement Plans, including the introduction of Fidelity Investments as the administrative service provider and the creation of a new Web site for GW faculty and staff to access their retirement accounts. 

Since our last letter, we have made two major enhancements:  

1) We have moved the effective date of implementation to October 1, 2009 to ensure that you have plenty of time to learn about and take advantage of these new and exciting enhancements and  

2) We have expanded the options where eligible employees may direct The University’s 4% employer base contribution--you will now be able to choose among TIAA-CREF, Fidelity Investments and Vanguard.  Previously, employees could only direct the employer base contribution to TIAA-CREF. 

To prepare for the upcoming implementation, certain transactions will be limited during a blackout period.  The duration of the blackout period varies for each type of transaction, based on your specific investment provider.  The dates and types of transactions affected are summarized in the accompanying chart. If you have accounts with more than one investment provider, you should refer to the blackout dates for each provider. 

It is important to note that the selection of Fidelity Investments as the administrative service provider will not affect your ability to invest in TIAA-CREF, Fidelity Investments or Vanguard family of funds.  Equitable will no longer serve as an investment provider beginning October 1, 2009.  Equitable participant account balances through September 30, 2009 will remain with Equitable; however, participants must select a new plan provider for future contributions. 

In the coming weeks, we will be sending additional communications with more details regarding the plan enhancements and the applicable blackout periods, as well as a schedule of information seminars where you will have the opportunity to ask questions.  In the interim, you can contact the Benefits Administration Department at benefits@gwu.edu or (202) 994-9620. 

Note: These enhancements affect only the University’s 401(a) and 403(b) retirement plans.