Your Money Works for You in a TSA
By Scott Culver
Communications Specialist
WEA Trust
November 2000
Some people think saving for retirement when you are young is like buying
filet mignon when the budget only allows for hamburger. In reality, saving
for retirement now is the best way to afford the things you want later
in life.
As public school employees, you can participate in a tax-sheltered annuity
(TSA) program such as the one offered by WEA Trust. You don’t need
a lot of money to get started in a TSA, only about $10 per paycheck, or
$200 annually. A TSA combines two benefits:
- The power of compounding growth over time.
- The efficiency of tax-deferred savings.
These two principles make a TSA account an attractive vehicle for saving
toward retirement. The accompanying graphic shows the impact that saving
$100 per month over 30 years could have on your retirement savings. (Most
employers allow new enrollments and changes to payroll deductions at least
twice a year).
A TSA program is similar to IRA or 401(k) programs but offers certain
features that set it apart. Annual contribution limits for IRAs are much
lower than for TSAs. In addition, the catch-up provisions granted with
TSAs do not exist in IRA or 401(k) plans. The catch-up option allows you
to contribute beyond the annual limit to make up for years when you could
not save the maximum.
Your employer has a list of available TSA providers. The Trust’s
TSA program is open to public education employees in nearly every Wisconsin
school district. We offer a traditional guaranteed investment plus 13
selected mutual funds. We can help devise an investment strategy and method
for allocating funds that is easy to set up and follow.
To get an enrollment kit, you can call (800) 279-4030, send an e-mail
to tsa@weains.com, or visit our Web
site at www.weatsa.com.