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A1V_Greene County_1 GREENE COUNTY DEFINED BENEFIT PLAN General Employees Version Date: 05/15/2023 ---PAGE BREAK--- DEFINED BENEFIT PLAN Summary of Plan Provisions WHAT IS A DEFINED BENEFIT PLAN? A defined benefit plan is the most popular type of primary plan offered by local governments in Georgia. It is considered the most traditional type of retirement plan, and may be used alone or in conjunction with other types of plans and Social Security to provide income for participants at retirement. This type of plan is called a “defined benefit” plan because the retirement benefits you will receive are set, or “defined” by the terms of the plan. Typically, the benefit amount is based on a formula that takes into account your salary and years of service in the organization. The plan provides a fixed benefit payment for life, or you may choose from several other payment options that will determine the amount of your benefit. Based on the payment options offered and selected, payments may also extend to your beneficiary after your death. In conjunction with a defined benefit plan, your employer may also provide a secondary or supplemental retirement savings plan. Commonly referred to as a deferred compensation plan, or 457(b) plan, employees may contribute a portion of their pay, before taxes are deducted, into an individual investment account controlled by the employee. It is designed to provide another retirement savings avenue. Of course, with these opportunities to save for your retirement also comes responsibility. You are strongly encouraged to take full advantage of available retirement plans provided by your employer. It may mean the difference between a comfortable retirement and a meager one for you and your family. PLAN HIGHLIGHTS Benefits in addition to Social Security Lifetime benefits Optional types of benefit payments for more effective retirement planning Death benefits may be available Can be used in conjunction with a retirement savings plan ---PAGE BREAK--- GREENE COUNTY DEFINED BENEFIT PLAN For General Employees WHEN CAN I BECOME A PARTICIPANT IN THE PLAN? Eligible General Employees, as defined by the plan, who work at least 32 hours per week, become a participant in the plan on January 1 following 3 Years of service. WHEN WILL I BE VESTED IN MY BENEFIT? Plan participants have a vested benefit after 5 years of Vesting Service. Vesting Service is years, months, and days of service, as adopted by the county. WHEN CAN I RETIRE? Your Normal Retirement Date is the date you are eligible to receive full benefits under the plan. This is the later of age 65 or 5 years of Vesting Service. ---PAGE BREAK--- Example: benefit of $893 payable at normal retirement 1 year early – the benefit is approximately $804 per month (10% reduction) 3 years early – the benefit is approximately $655 per month (27% reduction) 5 years early – the benefit is approximately $536 per month (40% reduction) 1.25% of Final Average Compensation Plus $36 The total is multiplied by years of Credited Service Example: $40,000 Final Average Compensation and 20 years of Credited Service 0.0125 multiplied by $40,000: $500 Plus a flat dollar amount of $36: $36 Total $536 Multiplied by 20 years of Credited Service $536 x 20 = $10,720 annual benefit or $893 per month HOW MUCH WILL I RECEIVE IF I RETIRE ON OR AFTER MY NORMAL RETIREMENT DATE? The following benefit formula is used to calculate the benefit payable at your Normal Retirement Date: Final Average Compensation – The average of your compensation received during the 60 highest paid consecutive months out of the last 120 months prior to termination of employment with the county. Years of Credited Service – Years, months, and days of service, as determined by the county, used to calculate your benefit. IS THERE AN EARLY RETIREMENT OPTION? Unreduced: You may be eligible to retire without any reductions at the later of age 50 or 25 years of Vesting Service. Reduced: You may be eligible to retire on a reduced basis at the later of age 60 or 10 years of Vesting Service. This benefit will be actuarially reduced because you will receive the benefit over a longer period of time. The reduction factors range from approximately 10% for 1 year early retirement to approximately 40% for 5 years early retirement. ---PAGE BREAK--- RETIREMENT Approximately two months prior to your retirement, contact your Human Resources Department and complete the proper paperwork. The Jurisdiction will forward the completed forms to ACCG Retirement Services for processing. DEATH BENEFIT Your Human Resources Department should be notified of the death of any active or former employee. If there is a death claim, the Jurisdiction will assist the beneficiary in completing the forms, which will be sent to ACCG Retirement Services for processing. WHAT HAPPENS IF I TERMINATE EMPLOYMENT BEFORE I'M ELIGIBLE FOR RETIREMENT? If you terminate employment prior to your Early Retirement Date or Normal Retirement Date and you are vested, you will receive either: your benefit when you reach your Normal Retirement Date; or a one-time lump sum voluntary benefit if the value of your benefit is less than $10,000. You will receive an automatic lump sum benefit if the value is less than $1,000. With the lump sum benefit, no additional benefit will be paid from the plan. HOW DO I ACCESS MY PENSION INFORMATION? To review your account, visit www.ACCGRetirement.org and select “Access your Pension Account” on the homepage, or go to mypension.accgretirement.org. When you log in for the first time, you will need to register for the site (click on “Site Registration”) using basic identification information to: • Establish a username and password • Update contact information • Set up your personalized Security Questions WHO DO I CONTACT TO APPLY FOR A BENEFIT? ---PAGE BREAK--- ARE THERE ANY DISABILITY BENEFITS? Prior to applying for disability from the plan, you must receive the Social Security Disability Award Letter (“Award Letter”), which declares you totally and permanently disabled. You may be eligible to receive a disability benefit from the plan if, on the date specified in the Award Letter, you are an active employee and have at least 10 years of Vesting Service with the county. The plan administrator may require you to submit evidence of continued eligibility for disability pension at any time. If you qualify for disability, your first check is payable the effective date of the first Social Security Disability benefit, or the first of the month following your termination date. Your disability benefit is calculated the same way as your retirement benefit. When you reach your normal retirement date, your disability benefit from the plan will terminate, and you will start receiving your retirement benefit. ARE THERE ANY BENEFITS FOR MY BENEFICIARIES? Most, but not all plan participants, will be able to provide some level of benefits for their beneficiaries. Beneficiaries are governed by the plan. It is very important to keep your beneficiary designation up-to-date. Please contact the county when you need to change your beneficiary. FOR RETIREES 1. When you apply for your retirement, you may elect a form of benefit payment that will provide a benefit to your beneficiary after your death. 2. If you start receiving your retirement benefit immediately after terminating employment, you may qualify for the lump sum death benefit that is payable to your beneficiary after your death. This is not a life insurance policy and may be taxable to your beneficiary. The amount of death benefit is equal to a multiple of 50 times your pension benefit, with a maximum benefit of $15,000. FOR ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS If you die while still employed by the county, in most cases there is a death benefit equal to 100 times your benefit projected to normal retirement date. FOR TERMINATED PARTICIPANTS If you are vested in your benefit when you terminate employment from the county, and die prior to receiving your retirement benefit from the plan, your beneficiary will receive a lump sum benefit equal to 50 times your pension benefit projected to normal retirement date, with a maximum benefit of $50,000. FOR DISABLED PARTICIPANTS If you are receiving a disability benefit from the plan, and die prior to your normal retirement date, your beneficiary will receive a lump sum payment equal to 50 times your disability benefit, with a maximum benefit of $50,000. ---PAGE BREAK--- WHEN I RETIRE, WHAT PAYMENT OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE? Selecting a payment option is key to your retirement planning. When you begin to seriously consider retirement, please log into your Pension Account at www.ACCGRetirement.org and run an estimate to review what you may receive as of the date you are considering for retirement. You will be asked at that time to provide the date of birth of your survivor beneficiary, if applicable. This is required to calculate all the various options available. These calculations will help you choose the option that best suits your needs at retirement. Please contact your Regional Client Manager if you have questions about your retirement options. You can locate your Regional Client Manager by visiting our website at ACCGRetirement.org and select the "Participants" tab and select the "Find your Representative" option. OPTION LIFE ONLY (Normal form of payment) Paid for your lifetime only. There is no provision for paying benefits to a survivor beneficiary after your death. OPTION TEN YEAR CERTAIN AND LIFE Paid for your lifetime, but also guaranteed for at least ten years. If you die before the end of the certain period, the remainder of the payments for the certain period will be paid to your beneficiary. OPTION JOINT AND SURVIVOR You will receive a benefit paid to you for your lifetime. Upon your death, your survivor beneficiary will receive an amount in accordance with the option you chose at retirement. However, if your survivor beneficiary dies before you, there will be no additional payments after your death. • 100% Joint and Survivor – The survivor beneficiary will receive the same amount you had been receiving • 75% Joint and Survivor – The survivor beneficiary will receive three-quarters of the amount you had been receiving • 66b% Joint and Survivor – The survivor beneficiary will receive two-thirds the amount you had been receiving • 50% Joint and Survivor – The survivor beneficiary will receive one-half the amount you had been receiving OPTION JOINT AND SURVIVOR WITH POP-UP The same as Option except: If your survivor beneficiary dies before you, your benefit will increase to the Option Life Only. This level of benefit payment will be paid for the remainder of your lifetime. OPTION LUMP SUM One-time lump sum benefit based on the current value of your benefit, if is less than $10,000. ---PAGE BREAK--- HOW DO I OBTAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION? If you have any questions, please call ACCG Retirement Services at (770) 952-5225 or (800) 736-7166, or e-mail [EMAIL REDACTED]. The information in this summary is intended only as a general outline of the plan and not a complete description. For an exact statement of your rights, you must refer to the ACCG Defined Benefit Plan Document on which your plan is based. All issues arising in the administration of the plan will be addressed by the plan trustees consistent with the plan and Trust Agreement. ACCG Retirement Services is the retirement services division of ACCG, Georgia’s county association. More than 150 jurisdictions and local government employees in Georgia trust their retirement services needs to ACCG Retirement Services. ACCGRetirement.org Questions: Contact ACCG Retirement Services at [EMAIL REDACTED] or (770) 952-5225 / (800) 736-7166 Field Services Manager Greg Gease (706) 860-3252 [EMAIL REDACTED]