Permanent exempt and non-exempt employees may begin participation in Berry’s retirement plan through the companion companies, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA) and the College Retirement Equities Fund (CREF) on a voluntary basis after completing one year of service.
All exempt employees are required to begin participation in the plan no later than completion of three years’ service at Berry and attainment of age 30. Eligible non-exempt employees, though not required to participate, are strongly urged to take advantage of the opportunity to receive assistance from Berry in providing for their retirement years. Part-time and temporary employees normally scheduled to work fewer than 1,000 hours per fiscal year are not eligible to participate in the retirement plan.
All participating employees must contribute five percent of their regular earnings to the plan and the institution contributes ten percent of each participant’s regular earnings. Employees may elect to contribute extra amounts (beyond five percent of their earnings) toward the purchase of larger TIAA/CREF annuities, but Berry does not match extra payments.