Students who are hired by the University of Colorado may be subject to enrollment in the university's Student Employee Retirement Plan (SERP) if they do not meet the conditions of exemption for participation in a retirement plan. House Bill 93-1328 (Colorado statute) provides a SERP as an alternative to Social Security tax. Please contact your student employment office for specific details on the minimum amount of credits needed to not pay SERP/Medicare Tax.

REQUIRED CONTRIBUTION AMOUNT: 7.5% of gross wages

REQUIRED MEDICARE TAX DEDUCTION: 1.45% of gross wages


Credit Requirement Details
 

Undergraduate Students:

  • Academic Year: Students enrolled in fewer than six credits for the academic year
  • Summer: Students enrolled in fewer than six credits for the summer (total credit hours of all summer terms)
  • Student employees whose normal work schedules are 40 or more hours per week (across all jobs at the university) will be subject to student retirement, regardless of the number of credits in which they're enrolled.
     

Graduate Students:

  • Academic Year: Students enrolled in fewer than three academic credit hours
  • Summer: Students enrolled in fewer than three credits for the summer (total credit hours of all summer terms)
  • Student employees whose normal work schedules are 40 or more hours per week (across all jobs at the university) will be subject to student retirement, regardless of the number of credits in which they're enrolled.
     

Non-resident, alien student workers:

  • Contact an Employee Services international tax specialist at 303-735-5534 for retirement plan assistance.


Please contact your campus Student Employment office for additional details on credit hour requirements: