Member News

Jen’s life is busy. As a middle school earth science teacher and mother of two – a future track star and an aspiring thespian – her schedule is jam-packed with lesson planning, attending sporting events and driving to and from auditions.

However, she’d like to spend more time on planning her financial future and using the resources available through her VRS membership.

That’s the reason Jen has penciled some time on her calendar to review her annual Member Benefit Profile, or MBP. This printable annual statement can serve as a checkpoint to help all VRS members view their benefits and plan the next steps on the journey to a comfortable retirement.

Whether your schedule is like Jen’s, or even busier, follow her lead and schedule some time to review your MBP before the year’s end. See when you’ll be eligible to retire and decide whether you will need to adjust your savings strategy to reach your target income.

What’s Covered in Your MBP

You may already use myVRS or Defined Contribution Plan Account Access to monitor your retirement savings and account balances throughout the year. Your MBP provides a snapshot of your retirement and benefit information as of June 30. It includes a target income analysis that will assist you in making decisions today that will help you reach the amount you need to live comfortably in retirement. See if additional savings could help you bridge the gap and consider other benefits you may be eligible for, such as life insurance and the health insurance credit.

Your MBP provides your:

• Projected monthly benefit amount at your earliest reduced and unreduced retirement age.
• VRS member contribution account balance.
• Defined contribution account balance, if applicable.
• Life insurance coverage amount (if eligible).
• Future income projections.
• Eligibility for other retirement benefits, such as the health insurance credit.

Find your MBP in myVRS. Log in and locate My History in the menu, then select Annual Statements.

Hit Your Target Income in Retirement

Most retirement planning experts recommend setting at least 80% of your current earnings as the benchmark for what you will need during retirement to maintain a reasonable standard of living. The customized retirement income analysis in your MBP measures your retirement income estimate against 80% of your current compensation.

Viewing your MBP may prompt you to set a resolution for the new year, such as increasing contributions to a supplemental savings plan or increasing voluntary contributions if you’re in the Hybrid Retirement Plan.

You can also use these personalized tools to help you plan:

• myVRS Benefit Estimator. Create estimates of your retirement benefit based on different benefit payout options or retirement dates.
• myVRS Retirement Planner. Set your income-replacement goal and estimate your income upon retirement. Include your estimated VRS benefit or one you create through the Benefit Estimator. Add income from a spouse, part-time job or other sources of retirement income. Build in retirement expenses such as taxes and health insurance. Use the assumptions the planner provides for many of these factors or enter your own figures. You can also see the impact of increasing contributions to any retirement savings plans in which you participate.

Log in to your myVRS account and start planning a better tomorrow, today!