REVISED 1/1/2015
TOURO INFIRMARY
403(b) TAX-SHELTERED ANNUITY PLAN
THROUGH
METLIFE
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Touro Infirmary wishes to encourage all employees to plan for their financial future. With this in mind, Touro Infirmary is pleased to be a partner with you by offering eligible participants the ability to participate in a 403(b) Tax Sheltered Annuity (TSA) Plan (also referred to as the “PLAN”).
(1)WHAT IS A 403 (b) TAX-SHELTERED ANNUITY (TSA) PLAN?
It is a government approved, tax-favored retirement savings program for certain non-profit organizations that permits you to voluntarily defer eligible compensation before taxes.
(2)WHO IS CONSIDERED AN ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE?
All employees are considered eligible to participate in the “PLAN” on a voluntary deferral basis.
(3)WHEN CAN I JOIN THE PLAN?
Employees may enroll in the “PLAN” on their first day of employment, or at any time thereafter.
(4)HOW DO I JOIN THE PLAN?
Educational enrollment sessions are offered at Touro each month and presented by Julian H. Good, Jr., CLU, ChFC to assist you with the enrollment material. You are required to complete an enrollment form which authorizes Touro Infirmary to reduce your eligible compensation by an amount that you choose, and to deposit that amount into your “PLAN” account. You have several options to enroll;
- You may attend an enrollment session (session dates are posted on inside.touro banner or for further information you may contact HR @ 897-8340.
- You may scheduled an individual appointment by contacting Julian Good directly at (504) 224-2793 or
- You may access an Enrollment Packet on inside.touro.com under Human Resources / Benefits Information or obtain a packet by contacting Human Resources @ 897-8340.
(5)HOW MUCH MAY I CONTRIBUTE TO THE PLAN?
You may elect to contribute a fixed amount or percentage of your eligible compensation. Touro Infirmary deposits that amount into your “PLAN” account. The amount you select is a personal decision (subject to federal tax limits). Your contributions are not subject to federal and state income taxes and will accumulate on a tax-deferred basis until withdrawn from your account.
Participants may voluntarily contribute up to 100% of eligible earnings not to exceed $18,000 for the calendar year 2015.
For those participants who are Age 50, or who attain Age 50 by the end of the plan year, a special “catch up” provision will apply. The additional elective amount will be $6,000 for the calendar year 2015.
Therefore, for those participants who are or who have attained Age 50 by the end of the plan year, the total voluntary deferral amount limit will be $24,000 for the calendar year 2015. All other participants are limited to $18,000/year.
Note: An additional special increased limit is also provided for employees who have completed 15 years of service no matter how old they are currently (“15 year cap expansion” option). Any employee who wishes to explore this option should contact Julian H. Good, Jr., CLU, ChFC. Since each employee’s employment and contribution history is different, individual consultation is required.
(6)CAN I CHANGE MY CONTRIBUTION LEVEL?
Yes. The change will take effect as soon as administratively feasible.
(7)WILL TOURO INFIRMARY MAKE A MATCHING CONTRIBUTION TOTHE PLAN?
For eligible employees, Touro Infirmary will provide a 50% matching contribution up to the first 4% of an employee’s eligible compensation (all W-2 earnings) saved under the “PLAN”. The match is based on an employee’s work status as of the last pay period of the calendar year.
*Flex employees are not eligible for the Touro matching contributions into the TSA account.
In order for you to become eligible for Touro matching contributions, you must meet the following criteria:
- You must participate in the plan
- You are twenty-one (21) years old
- You are credited with a minimum of 1,000 Hours of Service during the calendar year
- You are employed on the last day of the calendar year as a full-time or part-time employee only. (Flex employees are not eligible)
The Touro matching contribution will be made once per year in the first quarter of the following calendar year. It is deposited into the “PLAN” account in accordance with your current account allocations.
(8)WHEN DO I BECOME VESTED IN TOURO’S MATCHING CONTRIBUTIONS?
Eligible employees are 100% vested in matching contributions to the 403(b) plan immediately.
(9)DO I OWN ALL OF THE MONEY IN MY ACCOUNT?
You own the entire value of your account under the “PLAN” including the matching contributions provided on your behalf by Touro Infirmary.
(10)ARE THE EARNINGS IN MY ACCOUNT TAXABLE?
The investment earnings credited to your “PLAN” account are not currently taxable until distributed. Distributions will be subject to taxation as ordinary income in the year(s) that you receive them.
(11)WHAT HAPPENS IF I STOP MAKING CONTRIBUTIONS?
You may terminate a salary reduction at any time with 30 days notice. You are not penalized because you stop making contributions. You may resume contributions at any time in the future.
(12)WHEN MAY I RECEIVE DISTRIBUTIONS FROM THE PLAN?
You will be eligible to receive distributions from your account without penalty when you are eligible to retire, or if you become totally disabled.
If you terminate employment with Touro, your account can remain with MetLife, be withdrawn, or rolled over to certain types of retirement plans (see #14). If funds are withdrawn before you reach age 59 ½ (or early retirement at age 55) you may be subject to an IRS penalty.
If a certain financial hardship due to an unforeseen emergency occurs (as per IRS guidelines), you may be eligible to withdraw funds without an IRS penalty. In service withdrawals may be taken by eligible participants upon reaching age 55.
All distribution requests must be approved by the Human Resources department at Touro Infirmary.
(13)IS THERE A LOAN PROVISION?
You may borrow from the “PLAN” subject to the “PLAN” provisions and IRS restrictions.
Note: If you borrow from your “PLAN” account, you may not make another contribution until 6 months have passed (from the loan date). All loan requests must be approved by the Human Resources department at Touro Infirmary.
(14)CAN I ROLLOVER OTHER PLAN FUNDS TO THE TSA ACCOUNT?
Yes, as permitted with the passage of H.R. 1836 Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 EGTRRA. The Act increases portability of retirement plan assets by expanding the rollover rules, and generally allows rollovers to and from the following types of plans:
- Traditional IRAs (funded with deductible contributions)
- 403(b) Tax Sheltered Annuities
- Eligible Section 457 Governmental Plans
- Other Qualified Plans (401(k), SEP IRA, Profit Sharing Plans, etc.)
You may rollover funds from a SIMPLE IRA into your Touro Infirmary 403(b) “PLAN” only after you have participated in the “PLAN” for at least two years.
Participants may voluntarily rollover existing funds from traditional IRAs, 403(b) Plans, 401(k) Plans, SEP IRA Plans, Profit Sharing Plans, etc., into their MetLife “PLAN” account at any time. You may wish to consult with your tax advisor prior to transferring assets.
As of January 1, 2010, rollovers of plan assets may be deposited into Roth accounts as well (under the Tax Increase Prevention & Reconciliation Act of 2005). You should consult with your financial advisor before doing so.
Julian H. Good, Jr., CLU, ChFC is available to discuss any of these options with you.
(15)WHAT ARE MY INVESTMENT OPTIONS?
All investment options offered through the MetLife Enhanced Preferred Plus Tax Sheltered Annuity (“PLAN” account) will be available to eligible participants.
Information regarding these investment options may be obtained by reviewing a current prospectus available online at metlife.com.
(16)DO I HAVE INTERNET ACCESS TO MY ACCOUNT?
Individual account access is available to all participants once you have registered with eService via the metlife.com website.
Note: The Tax Sheltered Annuity you have with MetLife is called the
Enhanced Preference Plus Account (EPPA).
HOW TO REGISTER:
- Go to metlife.com home page
- On the right hand side of the page, near the top, you’ll see a box that says “Customer Login”. Right next to that you’ll see “Register Now”. Click on it then follow the prompts. .
- When you get to the question “What type of MetLife account or policy do you have?”, pick the option “Account/policy purchased directly from MetLife or an agent/broker”. Then continue to follow the prompts.
Note: If you have any problems registering, call the MetLife eSERVICE
Help Desk at 866-363-8669.
IF YOU ARE ALREADY REGISTERED:
- Go to metlife.com home page
- On the right hand side of the page, near the top, you’ll see a box that says “Customer Login’. Enter your user name and password, then login.
How to obtain EPPA Performance Data:
- Go to metlife.com home page
- Click on “Investments” (along the top of the page)
- Click on “Annuities”
- Look for “Variable Annuity Prospectuses, Performance & Reports” (gray box, along the right-hand side of page, towards the bottom). Right below that, click on “View MetLife’s variable prospectus and performance information”
- Near the top of the page, where it says “Select a variable annuity from the list below”, click on “Enhanced Preference Plus Account”
Once you are registered, you will be able to do the following:
- obtain a daily valuation of your account
- transfer funds among all available investment options as often as once per day
- change the investment allocation on future contributions as often as once per day
- obtain current performance data on all investment options
(data produced monthly)
- download current prospectus information
- obtain a descriptive summary of all eligible investment options
- obtain a transaction history
Note:If you have an outstanding loan balance, you will not be able to
transfer funds among investment options or change the investment allocation on future contributions, via the website, until the loan balance is completely repaid.
Rev. - 1.01.2012, 03.15.2013, 12/10/2013, 11102014