Some responses. 1. As a retired professor I am (was)
considered a state employee and therefore my base retirement plan was
(is) considered a Michigan public pension. 2. As a consequence,
when I retired the Benefits Office printed in boldface that any
rollover of my base retirement plan to an IRA would cause me to lose
the total state tax exemption provided to those who have Michigan
public pensions. 3. TIAA, as my plan administrator, confirmed
this when I separated from service, as did my accountant. 4. In
the course of a recent conversation with our TIAA wealth manager, my
wife brought this topic up once again and the TIAA wealth manager
once again confirmed the loss of the state tax exemption if my wife
chose to rollover some monies to an IRA.
Suggestions: talk to
your plan administator, and talk to an informed accountant before you
make any moves. This assumes that under Michigan law you are
considered to have a Michigan public pension. That's the best I
can do. Bob U.
