Informational Materials Redesigned

According to a recent report from the Governmental Accountability Office, participants are often unaware of the advantages of keeping their money in employer plans like the United Methodist Personal Investment Plan (UMPIP). The General Board has developed new materials and revised existing materials to make our participants aware of the benefits.

Our revamped brochures and other informational pieces feature the value-added services available to participants, such as investment and distribution management services, access to online projection tools and financial counseling at no charge. While participants will receive the new materials at the time of enrollment and in retirement packets, they can also access many of these resources online anytime at www.gbophb.org—click “Resources” in the toolbar at the top of the page, select “Publications & Materials,” then click “Retirement.”

All the materials in the Plan Enrollment Kit have been updated including the Saving, Consolidating, Investing and Financial Planning Services brochures. We also have a new, abridged Are You On Track to Retire? brochure that includes a decision tree, and an updated Ernst & Young Financial Planning Services brochure geared to participants who are nearing retirement.

Please share these new materials with your participants. If you would like to order hard copies, or need new Plan Enrollment Kits that include these materials, contact the General Board at 1-800-851-2201 or send an e-mail to prcwebteam@gbophb.org.

Planning Participant Educational Opportunities

The General Board’s Benefits Education and Plan Sponsor Relations department employs a team of benefits educators, tasked with ensuring participants are well versed in their retirement and welfare benefits and prepared for retirement. One avenue for education is on-site meetings with medium to large plan sponsor groups, but the benefits educators are also available to host webcasts if they are preferred or when visits are not feasible.

Do your participants have questions about the online participant account management website, Benefits Access? We have a presentation for that. Are your participants worried about their readiness for retirement? We have a presentation for that, too.

Webcasts last approximately an hour, and are designed to address the specific needs of the audience. For instance, your group’s presentation may cover:

• UMPIP
• Ernst & Young Financial Planning Services
• Account investment options
• LifeStage Investment Management
• LifeStage Retirement Income
• Retirement planning
• And more

Online retirement education is also available on the General Board’s website. Currently, your participants can learn about Saving for Retirement or Investing Retirement Assets through these self-paced, educational programs.

If you have a group of participants that would benefit from these educational opportunities and would like to inquire about the options available to you as a UMPIP plan sponsor, please contact the Benefit Educator team at BenefitsEducatorGroup@gbophb.org.

How May We Help You? The General Board’s Call Center

As a UMPIP plan sponsor, you probably receive questions from participants related to their UMPIP benefits. Did you know that the General Board has professional teams of telephone representatives available to address participant questions and concerns? Let us answer your participants’ tough questions about the General Board-administered plans and services, such as:

• How do I complete forms (e.g., tax reporting forms, applications for benefits)?
• How do I update personal information and make other data changes?
• What distribution options are available for plan account balances and how do I elect LifeStage Retirement Income?
• How do I model a loan?
• What benefits might I expect to receive at retirement?
• How do I self-direct my investments, and what are the benefits of using the LifeStage Investment Management Service?

Our highly-trained teams are also available to support plan sponsors with administrative tasks, such as:

• Enrolling participants in General Board-administered plans and programs
• Remitting contributions
• Amending UMPIP adoption agreements
• Obtaining participant communication materials and forms

The General Board’s call center is designed to be a resource for you—and for your participants. It is another way we partner with you to care for those who serve. Telephone representatives are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Central time at 1-800-851-2201.

Are You Using Contribution Management Yet?

We introduced a service last year that allows you to remit UMPIP contributions online: Contribution Management. If you haven’t signed up, you should explore this no-charge service. It saves time and money by enabling you to pay contributions online through your bank account. The General Board is mailing a flyer and security form to conferences over the next several months to promote the benefits of using this service. The mailing will also include a security form for signing up users. Look for this mailing in your monthly contribution remittance reminder.

Benefits of Using Contribution Management
Contribution Management allows you to:

• Receive e-mailed account notifications that your monthly contribution remittance reminder is ready for review or that your payment has been submitted
• Update and modify your monthly contribution remittance reminder prior to scheduling payment
• View a rolling 12-month account history
• Choose between using General Board-generated contribution files or manually uploading your own contribution files
• Fix warnings and exceptions that may cause delays before submitting contribution files

Sign Up Today
To sign up for Contribution Management today, submit a Security Administration Form to the Pension Administration Team by e-mail (scanned copy of the signed form) at pateam@gbophb.org or via fax to 1-847-866-5191. After your form is processed, you will receive an e-mail with further instructions.

Please be aware that any individual who is granted access to Contribution Management will be able to view information for all participants in your organization through the Benefits Access Portal.

Additional information about the advantages of using Contribution Management is available in our e-learning presentation Introducing Contribution Management and the Contribution Management FAQs. We hope Contribution Management simplifies your contribution payment process.

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