The University of Colorado takes care and pride in helping faculty and staff to manage their retirement assets. We are committed to offering high quality retirement services, including best-in-class investment options, personal financial advice and retirement programs through TIAA and PERA, in addition to comprehensive resources to assist faculty and staff at every stage of their careers. 

That’s why we want to make you aware of unauthorized, misleading solicitations for financial advice from individuals and/or organizations claiming to be associated with CU. These solicitations, delivered through emails, event invitations and cold calls, purport to help with financial planning. Most are intentionally misleading and falsely suggest that CU endorses their services.

CU’s retirement planning and financial advisory services

It’s important to know that CU partners with TIAA and PERA exclusively to administer our mandatory retirement plans, voluntary plan options, financial advice and related education.

TIAA offerings

TIAA is the recordkeeper for CU’s 401(a) mandatory retirement plan and CU’s 403(b) voluntary retirement plan.

As part of CU’s contracted services, faculty and staff can schedule a personal financial consultation via phone, virtual session or in person with a TIAA financial advisor at no-cost. These sessions focus on your retirement savings goals and provide guidance tailored to your needs.

PERA offerings

PERA administers two mandatory retirement plans – the PERA Defined Benefit Plan and PERA Defined Contribution Plan – and the PERA 401(k) and PERA 457 voluntary retirement plans.

For its voluntary plans, PERA offers online advice and professional management options. Visit the PERAPlus website and open the Investing menu for resources.

More CU resources

To learn more about all the retirement planning services available to you, visit the Employee Services Retirement plans webpage.

If you are beginning to approach retirement, visit the Retirement Ready webpage for guidance and resources to aid you in planning for this important milestone.

As always, CU is fully committed to helping you reach your retirement goals. Contact the Employee Services Benefits department (benefits@cu.edu) with any questions or concerns that may arise as you plan your path to retirement.

Outside investment advisors

If you prefer to consult an outside investment advisor, it’s important to do your research.

Always ask for and carefully read the advisor’s Form ADV, which registered investment advisors (RIA) must complete to register and file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and/or state securities regulators. The Form ADV reports each RIA’s professional background, including business, ownership, clients, employees, business practices, affiliations, current registrations, employment history and disclosures about certain disciplinary events involving the individual.

You can view an advisor’s most recent Form ADV online by visiting Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD), an official U.S. government site.

I opened a suspicious link, attachment or invite. What should I do?

Many unsolicited financial advice messages are designed to be intentionally misleading, and it can be hard to distinguish them from authorized messages and notices. If you believe you may have been contacted by an unauthorized service provider, please immediately report it as a possible incident.

Timely reporting allow allows CU’s information security team to act quickly, determine the level of impact and contain the incident, if needed. Visit the Report an Incident web page to learn more.

You can learn more about phishing scams from the Office of Information Security.