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View 2008 MBPs Using myVRS
Active members will be able to view their Member Benefit Profiles (MBPs) in myVRS later this month. Your employees can compare their 2008 MBPs with 2007 and 2006 MBPs, already stored in their myVRS accounts. They can view their MBPs in myVRS at any time, securely and conveniently, and print a copy whenever they need one for their records.
VRS will mail printed MBPs to employers in late August. Employers who elected not to receive printed copies will receive an e-mail notice as soon as their employees’ MBPs are available in myVRS.
VRS Introduces "Preparing for Retirement" E-Learning Presentation
Look for an e-learning presentation, customized for your employer type, on the Employer Resources page of the VRS Web site. You can use this presentation to give your employees an overview of their VRS benefits and what they need to think about as they approach retirement.
"Preparing for Retirement" covers the basics of VRS benefits: benefit eligibility, payout options, benefits after retirement and steps in the application process. Separate presentations are available for:
- state agencies
- state police officers
- Virginia law enforcement officers.
View Preparing for Retirement Presentations
Coming Soon - Presentations for political subdivisions and school boards.
Celebrate National Save for Retirement Week
Congress designated October 19-25 as National Save for Retirement Week to raise public awareness of the importance of saving for retirement through individual and employer-sponsored savings plans. VRS is joining public and private retirement plan sponsors around the country to support the event.
This national observance presents a great opportunity to tell your employees about the many resources they have as VRS members:
- myVRS. Employees with secure online accounts in myVRS can view their account balances, total service credit, average final compensation and earliest date they qualify for an unreduced benefit. Using the Benefits Estimator, they can calculate the amount of their benefit and try out different retirement ages and dates to see the effect on the amount of their benefit.
- myVRS Retirement Planner. Employees can get a complete picture of income and expenses in their first month of retirement, using the myVRS Retirement Planner. They can see the effect of increasing the amount they are saving or adjusting their investment strategy on net income.
- Retirement Education Seminars. These meetings offer information about financial planning as well as basic information about VRS benefits and non-financial aspects of retirement.
- Retirement Counseling Session. Employees close to retirement can schedule an appointment with a retirement counselor by calling the VRS Customer Contact Center. Retirement counselors can provide specific information and answer questions about the retirement process, payout options and benefits after retirement.
- VRS Publications. Newsletters, handbooks, guides and other publications are available on the VRS Web site at www.varetire.org.
- 457 Plan Regional Enrollment and Education Meetings (REEMs). Participants learn about the features and benefits of the Commonwealth of Virginia 457 Deferred Compensation Plan, how to manage their accounts and their distribution options. View the REEMs schedule
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Tools to Help You Communicate About myVRS
Do you know that you can download PDF and text versions of myVRS promotional materials from the Employer Resources page of the VRS Web site? You’ll find posters and articles on myVRS and the myVRS Retirement Planner. Use the articles as they are, or copy and paste content into an e-mail message or article for your employee newsletter or intranet.
New Faculty Have 60 Days to Elect ORP for Higher Education
Faculty at Virginia colleges and universities may choose between the VRS defined benefit plan or the Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) for Higher Education. To choose the ORP, the faculty employee must elect coverage within 60 days from the date of employment by completing the Election to Participate – Optional Retirement Plan for Higher Education (VRS-65)
28kb and submitting it to the human resource office. Faculty employees who do not send in the VRS-65 within the required deadline will be covered by the VRS defined benefit plan. Assist eligible employees by directing them to Choosing Your Retirement Plan 311kb on the VRS Web site.
Read the Information Bulletin 78kb.
Register for the ORP for Higher Education webinar
Learn more by attending a VRS webinar on August 13. Register now.
VSDP Participants Can Continue Long-Term Care Benefits
Do your employees who are covered by the Virginia Sickness and Disability Plan (VSDP) know they can continue their valuable long-term care benefit after they terminate employment or retire?
This year about 5 million Americans over the age of 65 will need long-term care services. By 2020, that number will increase to 12 million. Forty percent of people currently receiving long-term care are adults 16-64 years old.
— U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Long-term care helps pay for services not covered by other health plans or Medicare, lessening the burden on personal resources. Covered services include nursing home care, assisted living facility care, hospice care, at-home services and community-based care.
Employees who continue their coverage pay premiums based on favorable group rates and the age they were first covered under long-term care.
What To Do
Don’t let your retiring employees miss out on this valuable benefit. Have them complete the VSDP Long-Term Care Plan Authorization of Coverage Retention (VRS-170) 27kb and the VSDP Long-Term Care Plan Protection Against Unintentional Lapse (VRS-171)
26kb. By completing the VRS-171, the employee can receive written notice if coverage is about to terminate because of non-payment of the required premium. As an additional precaution, this form allows the employee to designate a second person to receive the notice.
Learn More about Long-Term Care Benefits
457 Plan Reminders
Submit Forms to Great-West Service Center
Many employees prefer to use paper forms to enroll or make changes to their Commonwealth of Virginia 457 Plan, rather than go online or call the automated phone system. New employees subject to auto enrollment often use the paper form to initiate earlier deferrals through self enrollment. When you receive paper enrollment forms, mail them promptly to the Great-West Retirement Services, the 457 Plan record keeper. Also, mail beneficiary forms and payroll authorization forms to:
Great-West Retirement Services1108 East Main Street, Suite 1102
Richmond, VA 23219
Do not mail the One-Time Payroll Authorization Form participants use to defer bonuses and termination pay to Great-West. Instead, send these forms to the department that processes your agency’s payroll.
Inform Employees Opting Out of 457 Plan of Deadline for Refunds
Employees who opt out of the 457 Plan and want a refund of any automatic deferrals must do so within the deadline. Great-West must receive the 457 Plan Automatic Enrollment 90-Day Permissible Withdrawal form within 90 days following the pay date of the first deferral.
Notice Regarding Keeping Beneficiaries Up to Date
VRS, with Great-West Retirement Services, is mailing a reminder notice 25kb to 457 Plan participants to keep their beneficiary information current.
Employees can review their beneficiary information by logging in to their account at www.vadcp.com, selecting the appropriate plan and then selecting Beneficiary from the left hand menu. To add or update beneficiary information, the participant selects Change Account, Beneficiary and then Change Beneficiary. Employees must update information for both the 457 Plan and the 401(a) Cash Match Plan.
Important. Simply updating the beneficiary for VRS life insurance does not automatically update the beneficiary for their 457 Plan and Cash Match Plan. The employee must complete a separate beneficiary form for each plan in which they have an account.
Your Turn to Ask
Q: What happens to a member’s purchase of prior service credit contract if he or she goes on leave without pay?
A: Members on leave without pay may not purchase prior service credit during the months they are not reported to VRS. If a member is in the middle of a contract to purchase service credit, payroll deductions stop until the member returns to work. For example, if a member contracts to purchase 12 months of prior service credit in January and then goes on leave without pay for two months in March, no deductions are taken during the two months he is on leave without pay. Deductions resume with the first payroll report following the member’s return to work in May. The member is not required to enter into a new contract.
If the member was in a pre-tax contract prior to going on leave without pay, deductions resume immediately due to the irrevocable nature of the pre-tax contract. If the employer fails to report the deduction, VRS automatically posts the buyback deduction to the member’s account and charges the employer account for the cost.
If the member was in an after-tax contract and the employer does not report deductions immediately upon the member’s return to work, the absence is considered a break in service and the contract automatically terminates. This could cause the member to have to purchase any remaining prior service in a lump sum or at actuarial cost.
The start date for future contracts must be adjusted by the number of months the employee is on leave without pay for employees purchasing prior service credit in incremental contracts (12 months at a time).
Ask your question
To submit a question, send an e-mail to the editor. Only questions of a general nature are published. If your question is an individual case or involves sharing any personal information, such as Social Security number, do not use e-mail. Instead, call the VRS Customer Contact Center at 1-888-VARETIR (827-3847) or contact your Employer Representative.
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