Each year, Congress declares a week in October as National Save for Retirement Week. With that week starting Oct. 19, it is a good time to review the retirement benefits available to UFT members.

Did you know that, according to retirement experts, you’ll need income equal to at least 80 percent of your preretirement earnings plus high-quality health insurance to be sure of a satisfying, enjoyable retirement?

The UFT has made sure that this level of retirement security is available to all members who are career employees of the Department of Education. Our four pillars of retirement security are:

• a defined-benefit traditional pension
• Social Security benefits
• health insurance
• personal savings

If you’re a member of the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) or the Board of Education Retirement System (BERS), you have a supplementary plan that can be your fourth pillar of personal savings, making your retirement even more secure. This is the Tax-Deferred Annuity program, a voluntary savings plan run by the retirement system. It has very low investment fees, which helps participants obtain higher earnings.

Started in 1970, the TDA is one of the most popular benefits the UFT has won for its members. More than 108,000 of our in-service and retired members have invested in this program.

As its name implies, the Tax-Deferred Annuity program enables you to make savings contributions on which federal income taxes are deferred. This lowers the income taxes you pay during your working lifetime.

New York State and New York City also defer state and city income taxes on amounts contributed to the program. Members who live in other states should consult with their own state tax experts as to how TDA contributions are treated.

Taxes are also deferred on the investment earnings generated by your contributions. You will pay taxes on your contributions and earnings when you withdraw them.

The TDA is an excellent program. But it is intended for retirement and therefore has strict rules and possible tax penalties on withdrawals before retirement. It’s best to have other savings in addition for emergencies. Many experts recommend accumulating at least six months of living expenses in a nonvolatile emergency fund, such as a bank account or money market fund, before investing in the TDA program.

With the TDA, money is withdrawn from your paycheck, and you choose where to invest it. There are six investment choices, called Passport Funds because they can be a passport to a financially secure retirement. A brief summary of each fund follows, and more detailed information is available on the TRS website at www.trsnyc.org under Passport Funds: Fund Profiles.

Fixed Income Return: Contributions are commingled with the pension fund in a broadly diversified portfolio of assets. The rate of earnings is currently guaranteed at 7 percent, which compares very favorably with similarly guaranteed rates in investments outside of the TDA.

The other five investment funds have no guaranteed rate of return, but earn the returns of the assets in which they are invested:

Diversified Equity Fund: This fund invests in a broadly diversified portfolio of domestic and international stocks. The objective is to achieve a rate of return comparable to that of the broad stock market.

Bond Fund: This fund began in January 2012. Its primary objective is to seek income from a diversified portfolio of high-quality bonds.

International Equity Fund: This fund invests primarily in the stocks of non-U.S. companies. Its contributions are commingled with the international stock investments in the Diversity Equity Fund with the objective of providing long-term capital growth and achieving a rate of return equivalent to the return of non-U.S. equity markets.

Inflation Protection Fund: This fund invests in multiple asset classes including fixed-income securities such as Treasury Inflation Protection Securities, commodities, real estate, mortgage-related securities, stocks and others. The objective is to provide, over a full market cycle, a real rate of return in excess of inflation.

Socially Responsive Equity Fund: The objective of this fund is to achieve positive long-term growth and to earn a rate of return comparable to the return of the broader equity market while reflecting social priorities. The fund invests in an actively managed portfolio of large and middle-sized U.S. and non-U.S. companies that show leadership in such areas as environmental concerns, workforce diversity, progressive employment and workplace practices, and public health.

As you consider which funds to choose, we’d like to pass along some advice: Never invest in something you do not understand.

All of the investment funds are carefully selected and monitored by the retirement board and its advisers and consultants. As with any market investments, there is no guarantee that any of these five funds will meet their investment objectives. Be sure to make your choices based on your investment philosophy and your ability to tolerate the volatility of some of the funds.

Remember, the TDA is voluntary and supplements a guaranteed defined benefit pension. The pension will be paid monthly and isn’t affected by current economic factors such as stock market volatility.

Under current rules, the Internal Revenue Service allows annual contributions of up to $17,500 for members under age 50 and up to $23,000 for members 50 or older. If you have at least 15 years of qualifying city employment and have contributed an average of $5,000 or less per year to the TDA, you may also contribute an additional $3,000 per year in “catch-up” contributions up to a total of $15,000 over your career.

Don’t worry if you are unable to contribute the maximum. You may contribute as little as 1 percent of your salary to the TDA. Many members start with small contributions and gradually increase them. As a person’s financial situation improves, contributions can go up. You may change your rate of contribution at any time of the year by filling out the TRS’ TDA contribution rate change form or through the TRS website.