Calculating Contribution Percentage

There are two online calculators to assist you in calculating your contribution percentage to the MSU 403(b) Supplemental Retirement Program*: the MSU 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plan and the Health Savings Account (HSA).

  1. Monthly/Biweekly Contribution Calculator: If you know the dollar amount per pay period (monthly or biweekly) that you would like to contribute to your retirement account or HSA, and the amount of applicable pay that you receive each pay period, this calculator will help you compute that percentage to the nearest 1/100 (for example 7.38%). 
  2. Annual Contribution Calculator: If you know the annual dollar amount that you would like to contribute to your retirement account or HSA, and the annual amount of applicable pay that you receive, this calculator will help you compute that percentage to the nearest 1/100 (for example 6.41%). Calculating your percentage on an annual basis may be more useful if your pay fluctuates each pay period due to the change in the number of hours you work, or if you are an academic year faculty member.

Your actual retirement or HSA contribution based on the percent calculated may be different than the dollar amount that you used in the calculation due to rounding or using incorrect amounts. Also, if your pay increases, decreases, or changes due to the amount of time you work, you should review your calculation percent to confirm you are still contributing the amounts of your choosing to your retirement account or HSA. Keep in mind the applicable pay to use in the calculations:

Retirement Accounts

  • Faculty and Academic Staff: Only use base wage. Do not use faculty overload, summer pay, medical service monthly, etc.
  • Support Staff: Some employee groups use only base wage for retirement plan contributions, while others use base wage, overtime and differential pay.

Health Savings Accounts

  • For Faculty, Academic Staff, Executive Management and Non-union Support Staff: Use ALL of your pay (including faculty overload, summer pay, medical service monthly, overtime, etc.) for the calculation of your HSA contribution.

You may want to review your previous earnings statements to gather the amount of pay and the amounts of retirement plan or HSA contributions to help in calculating the percentage.

* Note: If you are currently contributing to the MSU 403(b) Base Retirement Program and receiving the university match, your contribution is 5% and cannot be changed to a different percentage.

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