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Our goal for each issue of Employer Update is to provide the information you need about VRS to do your job. Please take our survey and let us know how we’re doing.
New Higher Ed Faculty Have 60 Days to Select a Retirement Plan
Incoming faculty members who are eligible to elect coverage under the Optional Retirement Plan for Higher Education must choose their retirement plan within 60 days of their start date. If they do not choose a plan within their election window, they will be covered under the Hybrid Retirement Plan or the applicable VRS defined benefit plan if they have previous vested service.
Once you enroll employees as new hires in myVRS Navigator, VRS will send a letter instructing them to log in to or create a myVRS account to compare options and choose a plan. Remind employees to review their options and make a retirement plan choice in myVRS. Their choice is irrevocable.
Visit the Employers section on the ORPHE website for instructions on how to acknowledge participants’ elections in myVRS Navigator.
Build Your Knowledge of Specific VRS Benefits
Benefits Series courses offer a more in-depth look at VRS benefit offerings. These courses will provide the context and details you need to administer and counsel employees on specific VRS benefits.
In the upcoming months, VRS will cover the following:
- Health Insurance Credit – 2-3 p.m., Tuesday, August 18
- Purchase of Prior Service – 10-11 a.m., Thursday, October 1
- Life Insurance – 2-3 p.m., Tuesday, October 20
Promote Retirement Education Seminars
VRS will hold several on-site Retirement Education Seminars across the state this fall. Designed for members within five to 10 years of retirement, these half-day sessions feature presentations from experts on the following topics:
- VRS benefits.
- VRS defined contribution plans.
- Social Security.
- Expenses in retirement.
- Estate planning.
- Healthcare options, including Medicare.
Sessions are open to any VRS member, and registrations open soon on the Education and Counseling webpage:
- Blue Ridge Community College, Weyers Cave, August 19, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
- Russell County Conference Center, Lebanon, September 15, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
- James City County Recreation Center, Williamsburg, September 15, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Northern Virginia Community College Pender Building, Fairfax, September 23, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Orange County Public Safety Building, Orange, September 29, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
If you have questions, contact the VRS Retirement Outreach team.
