Retirement investment help available from Fidelity

May 11, 2012

Faculty and staff looking for guidance on how to invest for their retirement have expert service available to them through Fidelity as part of Purdue's retirement program.

"Fidelity offers plan participants a full range of services from analyzing their current retirement portfolio to helping with investment and retirement planning decisions," says Teresa Wesner, customer service manager in Human Resources.

Fidelity is Purdue's official provider of education, guidance and assistance related to retirement plan investments and decisions. Although other organizations may be advertising their services and calling or emailing Purdue employees, Fidelity is the only one endorsed by Purdue.

Fidelity has representatives on-site at the West Lafayette campus. Representatives are also regularly available at the regional campuses.

"We encourage our faculty and staff to take advantage of Fidelity's expertise before they consider paying additional fees for outside assistance," Wesner says.

Fidelity's guidance is objective, according to Wesner, who points out that no Fidelity funds are included in investment tiers 1-3 of Purdue's retirement plan, therefore eliminating any conflict of interest.

Some faculty and staff maintain retirement accumulations through organizations that were part of Purdue's program before 2011 (i.e., TIAA-CREF, VALIC, Lincoln and American Century). Assistance from these organizations is available to Purdue employees for any funds still invested through these retirement vendors.

One-on-one appointments

Fidelity offers confidential consultations to all interested faculty and staff. During an appointment, Fidelity can guide participants in a variety of ways, including:

* Starting to save for retirement.
* Reviewing investment options.
* Assessing if the participant is on track with his or her retirement goals.
* Creating a retirement income plan.
* Consolidating retirement accounts from multiple financial investment sources.

To schedule a one-on-one appointment, go to Fidelity's Purdue-dedicated website at www.plan.fidelity.com/purdue and click "Schedule an appointment" in the "Get guidance" box on the right-hand side of the screen.