To and Through Retirement

As a benefits-eligible employee of Washington University in St. Louis, you are eligible for various benefits when you retire. Review the Planning for Your Retirement Guide for steps to help you transition. For full functionality, please download the below benefits summary guide to your computer.

Retirement-2021
Planning for Your Retirement Guide (PDF)

Required Forms

Retiree Eligibility

To be eligible for retiree health, dental, vision and life insurance benefits from WashU, faculty and staff must meet the following requirements:

  • You must be at least 55 years old; and
  • You must have completed at least five years of consecutive  benefits-eligible service at 50% full-time equivalent or more; and
  • Your age plus years of service must equal 65 or greater.

To be eligible for the Dependent Child Tuition Assistance Plan as a retiree, faculty and staff must meet the following requirements:

  • You must be at least 55 years old; and
  • You must have completed at least seven consecutive full-time years of service (or the equivalent number of part-time years of service); and
  • Your age plus years of service must equal 65 or greater.

Eligible service includes only full years of service with WashU; partial years do not apply.

Retirement Medical Savings Account

A welcome kit will be mailed to participating retirees from ConnectYourCare. Retirees who have participated in the Plan should transfer their RMSA investments into a TIAA Money Market Fund. Please contact TIAA at 1-877-554-1004 for more information on accessing your account balance to pay for out of pocket retiree health care expenses.  For more information, see the RMSA Flyer.

TIPS

  • If you are a WashU retiree, your RMSA account will be activated for claims submission and you will receive your welcome packet AFTER your retirement date. The packet is mailed in a very generic looking envelope, so don’t throw it away!
  • When you are ready to access your RMSA, you must transfer funds to CREF Money Market Fund in order to start submitting claims. Please call TIAA-CREF’s toll free number and select Option 1 for assistance with making this transfer if you are not comfortable making this transfer yourself through the TIAA-CREF.org secure site.
  • Connect Your Care is the third party claims administrator for this plan. The welcome packet will be sent by Connect Your Care, which is where all paper claims should be submitted.

Distribution Options Counseling

During the retirement planning process, many employees find it  helpful to utilize the counseling session services offered by TIAA. Representatives are available for one-on-one sessions held on various campuses frequently throughout the year. Counselors can assist with many retirement savings and planning questions during a counseling session. When attending a session, please bring account information for those accounts that are not held with the investment institution whose counselor you will be meeting with.

An important detail to consider before moving your funds from the WUSTL Plan is that of the cost of investing. Be sure to review the annual Fee Disclosure for the WUSTL Plan and compare the cost of investing elsewhere before you move your retirement account.

Transaction forms – Plan representative signatures are not required on TIAA forms. The separation date will be provided electronically to TIAA following the event. The participant signature is required, along with the signature of a spouse if applicable.

To schedule an appointment with TIAA:

Health Insurance Resources

CLAIM – assistance with Medicare

Need help signing up for Medicare PartD? CLAIM provides assistance and helps you get the most from your Medicare benefits. Make informed decisions about Medicare and related health insurance needs with assistance from CLAIM, the state health insurance assistance program. Learn more about CLAIM.

Free Health Insurance Educational Service

Utilize the free educational service provided through HealthCompare to assist pre-65 retirees in exploring and comparing health insurance options available through the individual marketplace.

The individual marketplace offers many health insurance plan options, some of which may be more cost effective than WUSTL’s Pre-65 Retiree PPO Plan. Please review the HealthCompare Notice and FAQs for information about this resource. 

Contact HealthCompare:

Healthcare Exchange

Enroll in plans through the Healthcare Exchange. Learn more at Healthcare.gov.

Plan Documents and Policies

    Helpful Links

    Questions may be directed to:

    WashU Benefits at HR-benefitsmail@wustl.edu.