Tax Sheltered Annuities
Susan Strong, Director 239-337-8317

Tax Sheltered Annuities (TSAs) are special accounts made available to public education employees by Internal Revenue Code, that offers the ability to save for retirement through pre-tax salary deferrals.  They originally included only insurance company annuities, but have expanded to include mutual fund custodial accounts.  TSAs are valuable retirement planning vehicles and allow employees to contribute larger amounts than IRAs.  All regular employees working at least 20 hours or more are eligible to enroll in a TSA by choosing from the District approved Company /Agent list below.

The School District of Lee County has contracted with TSA Consulting Group (TSACG), a company specializing in providing services to public employers, for TSA compliance and educational services.  Among the services provided by TSACG is an Annual Retirement Benefits Guide that are distributed each year to all eligible employees.  The guide, personalized for each employee, contains information about the employee's Maximum Allowable Contribution Limits to TSA accounts and the following general retirement planning sections:

• Florida Retirement System
• Social Security and Medicare
• Personal Retirement Savings Plans

• TSA Retirement Savings Accounts (benefits, guidelines, & enrollment procedures)

• Sample TSA documents
• TSA contribution guidelines
• Personalized Maximum Allowable Contribution (MAC) Form
• FRS Pension Plan and FRS Investment Plan
• DROP
• BENCOR Special Pay Plan
• Websites, Addresses and Glossary

In addition to the Maximum Allowable Contribution calculations employees receive in their Annual Retirement Benefits Guide, TSACG will complete calculations for both a mid-year and year-end audit to assure compliance with Internal Revenue Code Regulations.  For more information, you may visit TSACG's website at www.tsacg.com This third party website is not host nor endorsed by the District.

UPDATE

As of January 1, 2009, Nationwide and Western Reserve will no longer be accepting 403(b) contributions.

DISTRICT APPROVED TSA LIST: