Maximize your  Retirement Plan Contributions to the IRS limits

The following information is provided as an outline to the IRS Limits that apply to the MSU retirement plans.

Points To Consider

Type of Deferral

Employees may elect to defer a percentage of their pay every pay period. Deferrals continue unless an employee elects to cancel or change the deferral percentage, or the employee reaches their IRS limit.

  • With a percent of pay, the actual dollar amount deferred may vary pay period to pay period if there is a change in base pay. If a pay increase occurs, your deferral will increase.
  • If you would like help in converting a dollar amount into a retirement contribution percentage, please see our online percentage calculators to help you through the process.

Frequency of Pay Cycles

The number of pay cycles available in the year varies.

  • Bi-weekly paid employees have 26 pay cycles in a calendar year.
  • Monthly paid employees (with the exception of AY Faculty) have 12 pay cycles in a calendar year.
  • Academic Year (AY) Faculty have 9 full pay cycles (8 full and 2 half cycles) in a calendar year. No pay is received in the months of June and July.