In This Edition

1. Watch for New Training Opportunities in 2008
2. Have You Used the myVRS Retirement Planner?
3. 457 Plan Offers Great Way to Improve Retirement Outlook
4. Inform VSDP Participants of Important Social Security Advocacy Service
5. Your Turn to Ask

Have an idea for a future article?

Watch for New Training Opportunities in 2008

Employers will have more training opportunities and online resources available in 2008. The VRS Education and Training Department has restructured its curriculum for training on coordinating VRS benefits. The new curriculum provides three days of instructor-led training, each day devoted to specific topics. You can choose to attend one, two or all three days, depending on your needs and interests.

In addition to instructor-led workshops, VRS is offering monthly webinars. Webinars are one-hour presentations on specific VRS topics, delivered via the Internet and telephone. They enable you to explore a topic in depth from the convenience of your office.

“We’re excited to offer these new learning opportunities to employers,” says VRS Director of Education and Training, Pat White. ”Employers have more options for receiving benefits information, particularly webinars. This method makes training convenient and more affordable by eliminating travel expenses, an important factor for employers experiencing budget constraints.”

Through forums and surveys, employers have expressed interest in webinars, e-learning and more training devoted to specific topics. “At the fall 2007 Department of Human Resource Management conference, employers overwhelmingly told us they want more options. They also told us through an employer survey conducted this past summer that they’re open to receiving information and training online.”

“We’re looking forward to further expanding employers’ options by adding e-learning to our offerings in the near future,” Pat says. E-learning is online education which allows you to learn at your own pace by accessing courses via your computer.

In addition to new training opportunities and webinars, more online resources for employers will be added this spring. These resources will include presentations for employees, benefit coordination checklists and employee communication tools.

VRS also redesigned the employer training section of the Web site to make it easer to find course content and schedules, and redesigned the registration process.

See our new Employer Training Section.

Have You Used the myVRS Retirement Planner?

Your employees now have a comprehensive retirement planning tool available through their myVRS member accounts. The new myVRS Retirement Planner, launched in January, helps members estimate net income in the first month of retirement.

The planner displays projected VRS retirement income, income from deferred compensation and Social Security. Employees eligible for the health insurance credit or the hazardous duty supplement also will see these benefits displayed. Employees can enter other expected sources of income, such as spousal income.

The myVRS Retirement Planner also allows members to estimate net monthly income by projecting future health insurance premiums and state and federal income tax withholding. Employees can enter other types of expenses, such as basic living expenses. The planner displays estimates in both current and future dollars to show the effect of inflation on monthly income and expenses.

With the new planner, employees can see if they’re on the right track or need to make adjustments to reach their personal financial goals when they retire. They can even see the effect of increasing their tax-deferred savings, changing their investment strategy or selecting a different retirement date.

The planner is flexible and easy to use. Employees can choose from two views. The Quick Plan assumes a Basic Benefit. It pre-populates information VRS has on file for the employee, including unreduced retirement date and projected Basic Benefit. It also uses “intelligent defaults,” freeing members from making numerous assumptions about the future.

The Detailed Plan allows employees to select from different VRS benefit estimates and enter their own information and assumptions. It allows them to create a financial plan more tailored to their individual circumstances.

The planner walks employees through every step to the finished product. The final plan displays graphically a side-by-side comparison of income and expenses, whether using the Quick Plan or Detailed Plan.

The myVRS Retirement Planner provides a more complete picture of income and expenses immediately upon retirement and helps eliminate surprises for our members.”

- VRS Director Robert P. Schultze

Keep In Mind

The myVRS Retirement Planner estimates potential income and expenses as of the first month of retirement. It does not factor in changes in income or expenses that may occur throughout retirement.

Social Security estimates duplicate the Social Security Administration’s calculator. If a member is not eligible for Social Security on the chosen retirement date, an estimate does not display in the planner.

What’s Next?

Communications to members will begin with a special edition of the Member Bulletin, to be published in spring 2008. This edition will include a myVRS Retirement Planner pull-out section. In addition, VRS is developing content you can incorporate in your internal communications.

Create Your Own Plan

Log into your myVRS member account and try it out. Select the Retirement Planner tab. Note: The myVRS Retirement Planner is not available through myVRS for Employers.

457 Plan Offers Great Way to Improve Retirement Outlook

Are your employees looking for a way to improve their retirement outlook? The Commonwealth of Virginia 457 Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan) is an easy and convenient way for eligible employees to increase their retirement income through convenient payroll deductions. Eligible employees include state employees and employees of school boards or political subdivisions that offer the plan.

By saving for retirement through the 457 Plan, eligible employees enjoy:

• Tax-deferred savings and tax-deferred growth.
• Reduction in current taxable income.
• Matching employer contribution up to $20 per pay period.
• Wide array of investment options.
• Early start on savings that will maximize retirement income.
• Ability to actively manage their accounts, including increasing deferral levels or changing investment options online.

Using the Retirement Planner, eligible employees can see how participating in the 457 Plan, increasing their deferrals or changing their investment strategy can dramatically increase their retirement income.

Since January 1, 2008, newly hired and re-hired, salaried state employees have been enrolled automatically in the 457 Plan. Deferrals of $20 per pay period begin approximately 90 days after the employment date. Employees do not have to wait, however, to take immediate advantage of tax-deferred savings. They can enroll on the first date of hire by filling out a paper enrollment form.

Eligible employees not yet participating in the 457 Plan may enroll online at any time through the Great-West Retirement Services Web site at www.vadcp.com or by calling the Great-West Local Service Center at 1-804-643-1882, option 2.

Schedule An On-Site Information Meeting

If you would like Great-West to visit your site to present “Introduction to the 457 Deferred Compensation Plan” to your new and current employees, contact the Great-West Local Service Center at 804-643-1882 or toll free 1-866-226-6682, option 2.

Inform VSDP Participants of Important Social Security Advocacy Service

VSDP participants on long-term disability (LTD) also may be eligible for Social Security Disability Income Benefits (SSDIB). Criteria for qualifying for SSDIB are very specific and the application process is comprehensive. Social Security advocacy assistance is available free of charge to VSDP participants. This service, provided by Genex, provides a representative who will personally assist the employee with the application and, if necessary, the appeal process.

An employee may use private representation when applying for SSDIB; however, the employee is responsible for paying the cost of the private representation. Also, VRS will not reimburse the employee for these services. In addition, if the employee elects to use private representation, Unum, the VSDP program provider, will offset an estimated SSDIB award amount from the LTD benefit until the disability application is approved or denied by Social Security.

Your Turn to Ask

Q: Must a member apply in order to receive the health insurance credit in retirement? I don’t want any of my eligible employees to miss out on it.

A: The health insurance credit provides eligible members with a reimbursement to assist with the cost of health insurance premiums. The credit is added to the monthly retirement benefit. The credit is a dollar amount set by the General Assembly for each year of service. The credit ends upon the member’s death and cannot exceed the amount of the individual health insurance premium.

If VRS is deducting the health insurance premium from the employee's retirement benefit, the employee does not need to apply for the health insurance credit. If VRS is not deducting the health insurance premium or if the employee has eligible health insurance coverage in addition to their employer-sponsored coverage, the employee must complete and send the Request for Health Insurance Credit VRS-45 75kb to VRS. The credit will be added to the monthly retirement benefit.

Eligible members on long-term disability through the Virginia Sickness & Disability Program can obtain the form from Unum, the VSDP third-party administrator. The credit is added to the long-term disability benefit.

Under certain circumstances the service must be certified by the employer in order for the member to receive the health insurance credit.

Learn More About Health Insurance Credit.