In This Edition

1. Track Active Bills Related to VRS Benefits Online
2. Help Employees Save, Reduce Debt and Build Wealth
3. Meet the Employer Support Team
4. Update on Defined Contribution Plans Transition to ING
5. Your Turn to Ask

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Track Active Bills Related to VRS Benefits Online

The 2009 session of the Virginia General Assembly convened on January 14. While VRS does not provide comments or calculations for pending legislation, you can get the summaries and check on the status of active bills by visiting our Legislation page.

Help Employees Save, Reduce Debt and Build Wealth

America Saves Week is a great time to remind employees of the need to save, reduce debt and build wealth for a secure retirement. Remind them of the opportunities and educational resources available to VRS members:

• Tell them how to use myVRS to get information about their VRS accounts to estimate the amount of their retirement benefit online.
  
  
• Encourage them to use the myVRS retirement planner to get a realistic idea of their income and expenses in their first year of retirement. This information helps them know how much additional money they might need to save to reach their retirement goals.
  
  
• Encourage them to participate in the Commonwealth of Virginia’s 457 Deferred Compensation Plan and Cash Match Plan or other available employer-sponsored savings plan, if eligible. Employees build up tax-deferred savings quickly and conveniently through payroll deduction. If they already participate in a savings plan, encourage them to consider increasing the amount they are contributing.
  
  
• Remind them of resources available free of charge from VRS, including retirement education seminars and group counseling sessions.
  
  
• Advise them to read the Member Bulletin, Preretirement Planning Guide, Handbook for Members and other publications to stay informed about their VRS benefits and changes to them.

The third annual America Saves Week is February 22 – March 1, 2009. Find out more at the America Saves Web site.

Meet the Employer Support Team

(This is the first of a series of articles to appear on employer resource teams at VRS.)

Can’t find the answer to your question regarding a VRS benefit or procedure? A quick call to the VRS Customer Contact Center can give you the information you need. Employer calls coming into the VRS Customer Contact go directly to a member of the Employer Support Team who can give you prompt and reliable service.

Members of the Employer Support Team are specialists dedicated to handling employer calls. They undergo comprehensive training in all aspects of VRS benefits and administration. They answer questions about:

• VRS policies and procedures
• Benefit administration
• Payroll reporting
• Online applications, such as myVRS
• Maintaining and updating authorized employer contacts
• VRS forms and publications

“Our goal is to handle incoming employer calls quickly and efficiently and to provide a one-stop source of information,” says Customer Contact Center Director Connie Reed. “When an employer calls or sends an e-mail, we promptly respond to their inquiry or put them in contact with a VRS staff member who can best assist them with a particular issue.”

Learn more about the Employer Support Team.

Update on Defined Contribution Plans Transition to ING

Participants in the following Commonwealth of Virginia’s defined contribution plans can log in to their accounts and make transactions from the VRS Web site at www.varetire.org:

• 457 Deferred Compensation and Cash Match Plans
• Optional Retirement Plan for Political Appointees
• Optional Retirement Plan for School Superintendents
• Virginia Supplemental Retirement Plan

By selecting Account Log-In from the Defined Contribution Plans tab on the home page, participants are taken to the log-in page. From there, they enter their login preferences and PIN numbers to:

• Check their account balances.
• Manage their investments and transfer money among funds.
• Change their contribution amounts.
• Monitor their funds’ performance.
• View, download and print account statements.
• Download forms.
• Download their account data to Quicken and Microsoft Money.
• Set up or maintain their plan beneficiary and personal information.

Visitors to the site do not have to log in to their accounts in order to browse the site for general plan information.

Participants in the Optional Retirement Plan for Higher Education (ORPHE) also can access plan information by selecting their plan from the Defined Contribution Plans menu at www.varetire.org. ORPHE participants will continue to access account information through their respective providers, Fidelity Investments or TIAA-CREF.