Comments on: The Vital Benefits Package – Important Tips on how to Evaluate It

By: Julia

Julia — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 19:25:02 +0000

You cannot open an IRA with fellowship monies as the IRS considers them “nonearned” income. I recently had to close my Roth IRA because I opened it and contributed to it while on the NSF GRFP. Graduate students on fellowships are left with nearly zero options for retirement. You could open an individual non-retirement investment account but the tax benefits aren’t the same as an IRA.

By: George

George — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 03:12:53 +0000

Rosie – speaking as a former graduate student, your only option will likely be opening an IRA. I have never heard of a university offering 401k’s to graduate students.

By: busickj

busickj — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 23:38:03 +0000

I would encourage you to talk with someone from the Human Resources department at OSU to find out about your retirement benefits. This is not our expertise and therefore I don’t want to give you incorrect information. Here is a link to their contact information: http://oregonstate.edu/admin/hr/contact-us. It is possible to start your own retirement account and those are typically a ROTH IRA or Traditional IRA. Again, this is not our expertise but something you can definitely look into online and through a finance organization. Glad you are thinking about your retirement now, it is never too early to start.

By: Rosie

Rosie — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 23:25:10 +0000

How do you start a 401K or something like it/ a retirement plan if you are a graduate student on a fellowship? I am an NSF graduate research fellow and I would like to set aside some money to start planning for my retirement but since under OSU I am not considered an employee I don’t think I can get a 401k started with OSU. Am I right in this thought, and is there something that fluctuates less then a 401k that I can start. Thank you for your time.