Retirement Monitor - April 2022

In this issue: Timely and Accurate Employer Reporting; Local Government Employees' Retirement System Contribution Rates Effective 7/1/22 What Can Your Employees Do in ORBIT? Reminder: NC 403(b) Program Discontinuance Empower Retirement Acquires Prudential Payroll Why Advance Care Planning is so Important & How to Do It

Table of Contents

 

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Graphic with the words "All in a Day's Work and the NC Total Retirement Plans logo

 

Timely and Accurate Employer Reporting

Employee and Employer contributions are due via the monthly Contribution Summary Instructions (CSI) by 5:00 p.m. on the 5th business day of the month along with the Monthly ORBIT payroll report. If the 5th falls on a weekend, contributions are due the following business day by 5 p.m. This schedule information is also located on our website.

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Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System Rates Effective 7/1/22

LGERS employer contribution rates effective July 1, 2022, are posted to the Retirement Systems’ website:  LGERS-Employer-Contribution-Rates-Eff-July-1-2022.

Beginning this year, the rates are being posted publicly rather than mailing individual letters to every employer, to improve efficiency and transparency, and reduce costs. The table is ordered by five-digit employer code, but is also searchable (by employer name) within a browser, or by downloading the PDF and using “Edit”->”Find” in Adobe.

The specific rate(s) paid by each employing unit will include the “base rate” from the table above, and other adjustments that are specific to the unit.

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What can your employees do in ORBIT?

View Account History, including service summary and contribution summary by year.

Maintain Personal Information

  • Update phone number
  • Update mobile phone number
  • Update personal email address

Maintain Beneficiaries
Beneficiaries can be updated in real time.
The Retirement Systems encourages a beneficiary check-up at least once a year and when there is a life-changing event.

Use Tools and Calculators

  • Create a Custom Benefit Estimate
  • Request an Account Balance Statement
  • Apply for Retirement Online
  • Create a Transfer Benefit Estimate
  • Create a Service Purchase Estimate

Generate Pre-Filled Forms

  • Once logged in to ORBIT, members can visit the FORMS page and, once selected for download, the requested form will auto-populate with the members’ information.
  • Forms are accessed on the ORBIT webpage by clicking FORMS in the top right navigation.

Reach A Counselor

  • Members can send a message through their ORBIT account directly to our Member Services team. This is the most efficient way to contact the Retirement Systems and automatically verifies the member.

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Reminder: NC 403(b) Program Discontinuance

If you are an employer offering the NC 403(b) Program among your retirement plan options, you will need to decide whether you will continue offering your 403(b) plan following the discontinuance of the NC 403(b) Program, or if you will terminate your plan.

Notify Empower, formerly Prudential, of your plans
Once you have made a decision on your retirement plan offering moving forward, you must complete the Employer Selection Form and email it to Empower by May 31, 2022.

We have received some decisions and completed forms. Thank you to ALL employers for being proactive and working through the NC 403(b) Discontinuance.

Key dates and next steps

Milestone Milestone date/additional information
Provide Empower with a completed Employer Selection Form By May 31, 2022, your completed Employer Selection Form must be returned to Empower.
Date the NC 403(b) Program will be frozen to “new deferrals” and new enrollments Unless you terminate your plan or transfer your assets sooner:
  • After the payroll period ending June 30, 2022, no further contributions will be accepted.
  • After June 30, 2022, employees can no longer enroll in the NC 403(b) Program.
Participant account balance transfers

By September 30, 2022, all money will need to be removed from the NC 403(b) Program.
 

  • The plan termination date (for employers terminating their plan) must be no later than August 1, 2022.
  • The asset transfer date must be no later than September 30, 2022 (for employers continuing their plan).

Program’s discontinuance date

 The NC 403(b) Program will be discontinued on December 31, 2022.

 

For more information

Since you are the plan sponsor, the Department of State Treasurer and Empower will work with you throughout the year to support you in this transition. We are here for you!

Please take time to view NC 403(b) Discontinuance FAQs, the Employer Webinar and decision tree slides:

  • If the NC 403(b) Program is the only investment provider you currently offer participants in your 403(b), click here;

OR

  • If the NC 403(b) Program is one of several investment providers you currently offer participants in your 403(b), click here.

We encourage you to reach out to your Prudential Retirement Education Counselor with any questions or call 866-627-5267.

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Empower Retirement Acquires Prudential

Effective April 1, 2022, Empower officially acquired the full-service retirement business of Prudential. Empower is now the plan administrator for the NC Plans. The official press release can be found here and you can click here to review important information associated with the transition.

Business as Usual
It is business as usual, and your employees should not experience any changes with their retirement account(s). Throughout the coming months, participants will start to see the Empower logo on the login website, statements, required notices, confirmations, forms, and educational materials.

If you have any questions about the transition, please reach out to your Empower Retirement Education Counselor or call 866-627-5267. You can also reference this FAQ document.

 

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The Department of State Treasurer is hosting a Total Retirement Planning Conference. The program is 2 hours in length. Failure to plan for the possibility that injury or illness may render us unable to handle our own financial and health affairs can result in unexpected, unwanted, cumbersome, fraught, and unsatisfactory results--to the individual, family, and to their community. Just how easily that can happen will be detailed in this session, which also will cover how State employees (and soon-to-be retirees) can avoid the unexpected, including guardianship.

Led by two (2) attorneys, this session will detail not just the whys but also the how of advance care planning and durable (financial) powers of attorney, providing NC government employees not only a guide to better help themselves but also their families, friends, and community.

We will highlight Retirement Readiness and explore the resources available to help you plan for retirement.

This interactive online web conference will provide you with the tools to successfully navigate the Road to Retirement Readiness, while also providing an orientation for new members, pre-retirement planning information for members closer to retirement, and educational information for personnel officers and others who handle retirement matters.

Special guest speakers Misty Piekaar-McWilliams, Legal Services Developer for NC Division of Aging & Adult Services, & Ann Elmore, NC Department of the Secretary of State Advance Health Care Directive Registry.

Register here:  https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5889823628084909837

 

View myNCRetirement Employer Training & Webinars

View myNCRetirement Webinars & Events for Employees

View NC Supplemental Retirement Plans’ Events for Employers

View NC Supplemental Retirement Plans’ Events for Employees

 

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