There is an uptick in emails coming from non-affiliated retirement companies advertising services to UT employees. The emails encourage employees to register for one-on-one counseling sessions to review their pensions, investments, etc. with a “Tennessee retirement specialist.” This is misleading as it appears they are associated with the State of TN. The disclaimer that they are not associated with the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System, or TCRS, is in fine print at the bottom of the email and easily missed. The State of TN/UT contracted retirement vendors are listed below.
- Empower/Retire Ready TN – 401k, 457
- TIAA & VOYA: State of TN Optional Retirement Plan (ORP); 403b
- TCRS: Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System
- John Hancock: Manulife/Merrill Lynch (ULPS employees only)
If you receive any emails regarding retirement counseling, check the email address. If the email address does not include one of the names above, proceed with caution and contact your vendor directly or call Benefits at 901-448-8547 to confirm the validity of the email. If the email is not from a contracted retirement vendor, forward to abuse@utk.edu then delete.