Ready, Set, Retire Workshops

Offered up to four times annually, this free retirement workshop is open to Iowa State employees 55 years old and up. Presentations and materials from previous workshops are recorded and made available here (see below). Contact benefits@iastate.edu for information, or if you are eligible to participate and do not receive email notifications for upcoming workshops.

Iowa State UHR Benefits Team

Lars Peterson, EFR

Kievin Wendt, IPERS

  • Explore all of the benefits and resources available to Iowa State retirees on the University Human Resources website.
  • A Voluntary Retirement Savings Plan allows you to contribute additional funds to your retirement on a tax-deferred, or after-tax (Roth) basis. Even with Social Security, pension plans, and savings accounts it can be difficult to save enough for retirement. A voluntary savings account can be a useful asset in helping you prepare for retirement.
  • Learn Online with TIAA and AIG
    • All TIAA on-campus seminars are postponed until further notice. TIAA is offering virtual meetings (PDF) through the local Ames Office and other online tools:  Career Stage Resources (PDF), TIAA Mobile App (PDF), Digital Retirement Planning (PDF).
    • To register for one of the upcoming webinars, visit TIAA's Live Webinar Lounge, complete the login, and select the webinar of your choice.
    • The seminar/webinar schedule for AIG Retirement Services is currently TBD. All AIG on-campus seminars are postponed until further notice. Contact 515.440.3000, and ask for Dan Allen or David Dykstra to schedule an appointment. 

Financial Education Programs

Iowa State University partners with its retirement vendors to offer free financial education seminars and webinars for employees and significant others. Whether you are learning to spend within your means, invest in your future, or live in retirement, there is a session for you.

Explore Enrich, a financial wellness platform that aims to empower all people to make effective personal finance, student loan, and career decisions throughout their lives. Adventure2 offers this platform to help you increase financial capability and understand your own financial personality. Enrich offers effective financial wellness information, articles, and practices that are continuous and ongoing, interactive and engaging, and relevant to the individual.

A new benefit tool helps ISU employees navigate complex federal and state programs to lower their student loan payments, including potential debt forgiveness. The Savi student loan repayment tool sorts through more than 150 state and federal assistance options to propose personalized repayment and forgiveness plans based on income, family size, debt amount, and employment history. According to Savi, users averaged an estimated savings of about $157 per month in 2019.

The federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program is one of the most recommended forgiveness options, erasing the remaining loan balance of a qualifying government and nonprofit employee who makes 10 years of income-based payments on a federal Direct Loan. At the essential services level, Savi can help borrowers satisfy the intricate PSLF rules that cause forgiveness applications to be rejected. 

Savi is offered through TIAA, but employees do not have to be a TIAA client. For a commitment-free assessment, provide your social security number, the first page of your most recent tax return, and login information for any of your loan servicing companies.

More information

The Employee Assistance Program offers free financial and legal consultations for ISU employees.

  • MyMoney.gov is a one-stop shop website for government personal finance programs, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Reserve, Securities and Exchange Commission, Social Security Administration, and more!!
  • The Veterans Benefits Administration offers various resources to qualified veterans, federal employees/benefit recipients, and the general public.