Retirement Savings

IMPORTANT 401k Migration Information

Last year, Empower Retirement purchased Mass Mutual (our 401k provider). As a result, at the end of this month, all Mass Mutual data will be migrated over to Empower Retirement.

It is important to note that all of your information and investments will transfer over automatically, and no action is required from you. However, you will not be able to transact on your 401k account between Friday, October 28 and Wednesday, November 2 while this data migration takes place. 

Starting on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, you will be able to access your 401k account using the new Empower portal. Look out for further communication directly from Empower Retirement with instructions on logging into your new account. 

We are excited about the Mass Mutual migration to Empower for many reasons: 

• Empower has a top-rated user interface (including a mobile app!) for you to access, view, and transact on your account.

• Empower has an extremely robust team of customer service representatives and financial associates to support you day or night.

• Empower’s status as an industry lead has resulted in over 89 best-in-class awards. 

You can learn more about this migration and preview what the new site will look like by visiting the Empower Participant Site. 

As a reminder, you can get to your 401k account portal by following this guide.   

If you have any questions, please reach out to humanresources@scienceandtech.org. 

401k Overview

The 401(k) Retirement Plan through Empower (formerly Mass Mutual) 401(k) is designed to support you in developing financial security for your retirement.

We encourage you to start participating as soon as possible — the sooner you begin contributing to a retirement account, the more time you have for your money to grow. Your contributions to the plan are tax-deferred, as the money you contribute to your retirement account is automatically deducted from your paycheck before taxes are taken out. You are able to choose how your contributions are invested, depending on your tolerance for risk and overall financial strategy.

To support your financial security, DSST contributes a gift to each employee’s Mass Mutual 401(k) account, equivalent to 5% of his/her annual base salary by each August 31st (new employees must have completed two years of service and be with the organization at the time of the distribution to receive the gift). It is anticipated that you will choose to defer part of your salary into your retirement account. You are always 100% vested in your deferral contributions to the plan, any rollovers or transfers to the plan, plus any earnings they generate.

 You are fully and immediately vested in DSST’s contributions plus any earnings they generate.

 You may choose how much to contribute. As a default, to help achieve your retirement goals, DSST automatically sets up your account to have 5% of your monthly earnings deposited in the 401(k) account each month unless you decide otherwise. 

DSST: Aurora Science and Tech is one of more than 400 employers throughout Colorado that are part of Colorado PERA. PERA stands for Public Employees’ Retirement Association and they provide retirement benefits for those working in Colorado’s public sector. As a PERA member, you contribute a  percentage of every paycheck to PERA and in exchange, you’ll receive a lifetime defined benefit payment, sometimes called a  pension, at retirement.* PERA also provides built-in benefits like survivor and disability benefit programs.*