If you want to boost your retirement savings, consider contributing to the 403(b) Plan or 457(b) Plan, or both. These plans provide options for deferring pre-tax and after-tax income for retirement saving.
All exempt employees and nonexempt employees (except for student workers) may enroll in the 403(b) Plan and/or 457(b) Plan at any time during employment. For more information, review the Universal Availability Notice.
How the 403(b) and 457(b) Plans Work
The 403(b) Plan and 457(b) Plan are supplemental retirement plans that allow you to save up to the IRS limits for additional savings. The balance you’ll have at retirement is determined by your contributions, plus accumulated earnings on those amounts. The plans generally work the same; the major difference is in how the plans consider and penalize withdrawals.
Watch a video that describes the differences. To learn more, review the following Plans at a Glance information
Plans at a Glance
| Feature | 403(b) Plan | 457(b) Governmental Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Details of Plan | 403(b) & 457(b) Retirement Enrollment Guide | 403(b) & 457(b) Retirement Enrollment Guide |
| Eligibility | All exempt employees and nonexempt employees (except for student workers) may enroll at any time during employment. | All exempt employees and nonexempt employees (except for student workers) may enroll at any time during employment. |
| 2025 Contribution Limits | $23,500 Additional $7,500 if you’re age 50 - 59; age 64 - 69 Maximum additional $11,250 if you're age 60 - 63 within 2025 | $23,500 Additional $7,500 if you’re age 50 - 59; age 64 - 69 Maximum additional $11,250 if you're age 60 - 63 within 2025 |
| Investment Options | To learn more about your investment options, go to OneUsgConnect. Click Research Your Investments within Retirement@Work. | To learn more about your investment options, go to OneUsgConnect. Click Research Your Investments within Retirement@Work. |
| Benefit of Retirement | Account balance accumulated at the time of retirement. | Account balance accumulated at the time of retirement. |
| Vesting | You are immediately 100% vested in your contributions plus any investment earnings (you retain immediate ownership interest). | You are immediately 100% vested in your contributions plus any investment earnings (you retain immediate ownership interest). |
| Loans | Loans are permitted. You can have two loans outstanding at a time, a general purpose loan, where loan proceeds are not for a principal residence; and a residential loan, where loan proceeds are used to purchase your principal place of residence. | Loans are permitted. You can have two loans outstanding at a time, a general purpose loan, where loan proceeds are not for a principal residence; and a residential loan, where loan proceeds are used to purchase your principal place of residence. |
| Withdrawals |
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| Rollovers/Transfers | Rollovers and transfers permitted from any eligible retirement plan, including 401(k)s and IRAs. | Rollovers and transfers permitted from any eligible retirement plan, including 401(k)s and IRAs. |
Choose Pre-tax or After-tax Contributions
You can set aside money by contributing pre- and/or after-tax monies from your pay.
- Pre-tax contributions lower your taxable income and could reduce your current income taxes. With pre-tax contributions, you defer taxes on interest and earnings until you withdraw your money. You’ll pay taxes when you withdraw money from your account, and federal withdrawal restrictions apply.
- After-tax contributions to a Roth account mean that you’ll pay income taxes on your contributions now, but qualified distributions from a Roth account are tax-free. Generally, a qualified Roth distribution is a distribution that is withdrawn after the end of the five-year period beginning with the first year in which a Roth contribution was made to the plan, and is withdrawn after age 59½ or due to death or disability.
Investing Your Account Balances
USG has partnered with the following three retirement plan provider(s) to manage your 403(b) and/or 457(b) accounts and offer the plan’s investment choices:
- Corebridge Financial
- Fidelity Investments
- TIAA
You can allocate your contributions to one or more of these retirement plan providers.
Each of these providers offers USG’s enhanced, four-tiered investment menu, featuring a wide array of fund options, interactive financial planning tools and high-quality customer service to help you create a diversified retirement portfolio. To learn more about your investment options, go to OneUsgConnect. Click Research Your Investments within Retirement@Work.
How to Enroll
Enroll at OneUSGConnect.usg.edu, click the Retirement@Work link in the Manage My Benefits section, and follow the prompts to complete your enrollment.
- If you want to contribute to one or both voluntary plans, choose how much you’d like to contribute per pay period as a dollar amount, percentage, or the maximum contribution amount; then indicate when you want contributions to start.
- If you don’t want to contribute to either voluntary plan, click on the link in the blue box Continue to vendor selection without additional contributions.
- Choose if you want to direct all contribution types (pre-tax and Roth) to the same investment provider(s). Then enter the amount that should go to each provider.
- Open an account with the investment provider(s) you selected and choose your investments to complete the enrollment process.
More About Your Brokerage Options
For experienced investors seeking maximum flexibility, USG offers a self-directed brokerage option that allows you to select from a wide array of mutual funds, individual stocks and Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for employee contributions. The self-directed brokerage options vary by plan and retirement plan provider, so be sure to check with the retirement plan provider that you select to learn what investment options are available. You can use this feature to add diversification above and beyond USG’s core investment offerings.
Review these brokerage guides: