In This Edition
Employers Go Green with Mem
ber Benefit Profiles
This year, 180 employers are going green by electing to provide their employees the annual Member Benefit Profiles (MBPs) online. This means approximately 138,900 VRS members will view their MBPs in their individual myVRS accounts, instead of receiving printed statements.
Online viewing of MBPs saves resources, as well as costs associated with printing and mailing the annual statements. Employers benefit by saving the time associated with distributing the paper documents to members.
Employees can view their 2009 MBPs in their online, secure myVRS accounts by the first week of September. They can print copies whenever needed, including MBPs back to 2006. Online viewing of MBPs helps employees discover the many benefits of creating secure myVRS accounts.
Employers electing to go green will receive an e-mail notice from VRS alerting them that the MBPs are available in myVRS. As part of the e-mail notice, employers will receive a draft e-mail announcement to send to their employees alerting them that their MBPs are available for viewing and printing in their myVRS accounts.
Employers who continue to receive printed MBPs can expect delivery of MBPs in early September.
To help you promote myVRS: Visit the myVRS Communications page available from the Employer Resources section of the VRS Web site.
New Faculty Have 60 Days to Choose Optional Retirement Plan
Faculty of Virginia colleges and universities must elect to be covered under the Optional Retirement Plan for Higher Education (ORPHE) or the VRS defined benefit plan within 60 days after the hire date.
To choose the ORP, the faculty employee must complete the Election to Participate – Optional Retirement Plan for Higher Education (VRS-65) 
28kb within the first 60 days of their hire date and submit it to their respective human resource office. Faculty employees who do not send in the VRS-65 within 60 days from the date of hire will be covered under the VRS defined benefit plan. Employees who want more information can refer to Choosing Your Retirement Plan 311kb, available on the VRS Web site.
Defined Contribution Plans Update
Order 457 Plan Enrollment Kits Online
Employers offering the 457 Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan) can order enrollment kits and other publications online through the Resource Center for VRS Employers. The recently revised 457 Plan enrollment kit includes:
- Planning and Investment Guide
- Plan Features Highlights
- Fund Fact Sheets
- Investment Option Performance
- Enrollment Form
- Beneficiary Form
- Guide to the Web & Information Phone Line.
State agencies ordering the enrollment kit also receive the Guide to Automatic Enrollment 656kb.
To order:
From the Defined Contribution Plans menu, select Resource Center for VRS Employers, and then select Order Publications Online. Follow the instructions on the screen. On your first visit to the site’s online ordering system, enter the username and password provided on the screen. Then you will see a registration page where you will create your own username and password to access the online ordering feature in the future.
Publications and forms ordered online are delivered within three to five days if in stock and seven to 10 days if printing is required.
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Your Turn to Ask
Q: Do any of the recent changes to the Virginia Sickness and Disability Program (VSDP) affect current employees?
A: Most of the changes affect state employees hired or rehired on or after July 1, 2009. However, the change related to successive periods of disability for the same condition applies to all state employees, regardless of the hire date.
Employees who work fewer than 45 consecutive calendar days after returning to work full time, full duty following a period of short-term disability do not have to satisfy another seven-calendar day waiting period if going out again on disability for the same condition. The disability is considered a continuation or recurrence of the prior disability.
Employees who work 45 consecutive calendar days or more after returning to work full time, full duty following a period of short-term disability, however, must file a new claim and satisfy a new seven-calendar day waiting period for short-term disability.
Other changes affect state employees hired or re-hired after July 1, 2009:
- They must complete one year of continuous employment before becoming eligible for disability benefits for non-work related illnesses or injuries. They remain eligible for work-related disability benefits from the first day of employment.
- They must complete five years of continuous employment to be eligible for income replacement at 100 percent or 80 percent of pre-disability compensation during short-term disability. Until the five-year vesting period is satisfied, income replacement is capped at 60 percent of pre-disability compensation for all disabilities, including catastrophic conditions.
These changes are posted as an addendum to the Virginia Sickness and Disability Handbook for Participants 888kb on the VRS Web site.
Learn more about the Virginia Sickness and Disability Program:
Register for the Introduction to VSDP webinar.
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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