College faculty and staff have saved more and are better prepared for retirement than the general population, according to a TIAA-CREF survey released Wednesday.

College employees not only get more in matching funds from their employers, but they are more likely to also have an IRA in addition to the employer-sponsored retirement plan, TIAA-CREF says.

Forty-two percent of higher education employees have saved in an IRA, compared to 34 percent of American employees overall.

Also, 36 percent of college faculty and staff say they have met with a financial advisor, compared to 22 percent of the general population, says the Higher Education Survey.

“Their actions set a good example for Americans as a whole when it comes to planning and saving for retirement,” says TIAA-CREF.

The survey includes 727 higher education professionals currently contributing to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, compared to results from an earlier TIAA-CREF survey of 1,000 Americans with an employer-sponsored retirement plan.

Nearly three-fourths of higher education employees say their employer offers a matching incentive for retirement plan contributions. Those who get matches are more likely to get a substantial match from their employer: Forty-three percent get a 5 percent to 8 percent salary match, compared to 34 percent of the general population, according to the survey.

The survey also found that higher education employees are less likely to take loans from their retirement plans. Only 16 percent say they have taken a loan from their plan, compared to 29 percent of the general population. This employee group also is more likely to keep contributing to their retirement plan at the same rate while paying back their loan. Fifty-four percent say their contribution rate did not change while they repaid their loan versus 43 percent of Americans overall.

“People who take loans from their retirement plans are actually borrowing from their future selves. Keeping savings in their retirement plans helps them optimize earnings from rising markets,” says Teresa Hassara, senior managing director of Institutional Client Services for TIAA-CREF. “It’s encouraging to see that most people in higher education do not take loans from their plans, but we encourage those who do to keep loans small to ensure they will have the income they need later in life.”
 
TIAA-CREF is a retirement plan provider for the higher education market.