The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) welcomes you to the web site for NSHE’s Retirement Program for employees.
As an employee of NSHE, you are fortunate to be a participant in a multi-faceted Retirement Program that gives you every chance to accumulate significant retirement wealth over time that can be the source of funds for a high quality of life after your retirement. The Retirement Program consists of the following retirement plans:
- Defined Contribution Retirement Plan Alternative (RPA)
- Medical Resident/Postdoctoral Scholar Retirement Plan
- Tax Sheltered Annuity 403(b) Plan (TSA)
- Excess Benefit Plan
- Public Employee's Retirement System (PERS)
- Nevada Public Employees' Deferred Compensation Program (NDC)
Guide to plan eligibility
Depending upon your employee classification and your personal financial circumstances, you may participate in more than one of these plans. Please refer to the following guide to plan eligibility.
| Employee Classification | Mandatory Eligibility | Voluntary Eligibility | Automatic Conditional Eligibility* |
| Faculty | RPA | ||
| Professional Staff | RPA | ||
| Classified | PERS | ||
| Medical Resident | Med Res / Postdoc Plan | ||
| Postdoctoral Scholar | Med Res / Postdoc Plan | ||
| *Participation in this plan occurs only after participants have received the maximum allowable benefit under the RPA. | |||
Enrolling in the program
Faculty and professional staff are required to participate in the RPA as a condition of employment with NSHE on the date of appointment. Medical residents and postdoctoral scholars are likewise required to participate in the Medical Resident/Postdoctoral Scholar Plan as a condition of employment with NSHE on the date of appointment.
Participation in the TSA is purely voluntary. Participation in the TSA is supplementary to participation in the mandatory plan and cannot replace participation in the mandatory plan.
Participation in the Excess Benefit Plan is limited to those individuals who are not able to fully participate in the mandatory plan due to IRS imposed benefit restrictions.
Managing your money and keeping track of your account is the function of three providers or record keepers chosen by NSHE for these purposes: TIAA-CREF, VALIC, and Fidelity Investments. You decide which of the three providers is right for you. You may have multiple providers. In other words, you may direct contributions to one, two, or three of these providers. You must direct a minimum of 25% of your contribution to each recordkeeper you chose. In case you do not choose a provider for your account, NSHE has designated Fidelity Investments as the default provider and your contributions will be directed there.
You can obtain the necessary enrollment materials from your campus benefits office. To learn more about our plans and how to enroll, visit the TIAA-CREF, VALIC or Fidelity Investments micro sites.
Social Security
Nevada is one of seven states that have voluntarily opted out of the Social Security system. This means that while you are employed by NSHE neither you nor NSHE contribute to Social Security and you do not earn a Social Security benefit. It also means that if you have previously earned or at some future time earn a benefit from Social Security, the Social Security benefit you ultimately receive may be affected by your employment with a non-participating employer such as NSHE. To learn more about Social Security's so-called "Windfall Elimination Provision" visit the Social Security Administration website. You can also access an online calculator tool to help you understand how the Windfall Elimination Provision might affect you.