December 20 Is Deadline to Reenroll for 403(b) Retirement Savings Plan

Effective September 1, FCPS is now working with three vendors—Great-West Retirement Services, TIAA-CREF, and VALIC (retained)—to offer best-in-class mutual funds and annuity products while ensuring competitive fees and quality customer service. As of January 1, 2010, payroll contributions can no longer be directed to 403(b) accounts with ING, Lincoln Financial Group, MetLife, CitiStreet, Horace Mann, Financial Directors, USAA, or Kaplan Financial. Contracts with these vendors will end on December 31, 2009. Your options as a result of these changes are as follows:

• If you are participating in the 403(b) accounts and would like to continue in 2010 without interruption, you must reenroll by December 20, 2009. Great-West Retirement Services, TIAA-CREF, and VALIC will offer easy and convenient online enrollment. 
• If you do not want to contribute in 2010, no action is required. Your deductions will cease automatically.

Current VALIC participants must reenroll by December 20, 2009, to continue contributions without interruption in 2010. VALIC's existing contract will overlap with the new contract during the months of September through December, such that investment options under VALIC’s current contract and new investment options are available as of September 1.

FCPS continues to partner with TSA Consulting Group (TSACG), as it complies with the new IRS 403(b) regulations, to help FCPS employees with certain transactions, such as loan applications, hardship withdrawals, rollovers, transfers, exchanges, and distributions.

For more details about your 403(b) plan and online vendor enrollment, go to http://www.fcps.edu/DHR/employees/benefits/403b.htm.

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Employee Assistance Program Available to FCPS Staff Members

The employee assistance program (EAP) is a service available to FCPS staff members in need of help with personal and/or family problems. The program provides short-term confidential counseling and makes referrals (as appropriate) to outside providers, community resources, and support groups. EAP can help with life issues such as stress, depression, anxiety, grief, marital and/or family relationships, and alcohol or drug abuse.

To access the program, call the Office of Equity and Compliance at 571-423-3050 and leave a confidential voice message indicating your interest in EAP services. An EAP request form will be sent to you to complete. You may return the form by mail or by fax. After your completed form is received, a specialist will contact you to schedule an appointment.

For more information, go to http://www.fcps.edu/DHR/employees/oec/eap.htm.

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Register Now for a Preretirement Workshop

The Educational Employees' Supplementary Retirement System of Fairfax County (ERFC) hosts preretirement workshops throughout the school year to help prepare members who are within two years of retirement eligibility. Each workshop outlines the provisions of both ERFC benefit plan structures—ERFC Legacy (provided to members hired on or before June 30, 2001) and ERFC 2001 (provided to members hired on or after July 1, 2001—as well as the primary retirement benefits provided by the VRS, plus a review of FCPS health care insurance options in retirement. 

ERFC Preretirement Workshop Schedule for the 2009-10 School Year

• Tuesday, November 10, 2009.
• Tuesday, December 8, 2009.
• Tuesday, February 9, 2010.
• Tuesday, March 9, 2010.
• Tuesday, April 6, 2010.

Time: 5-7 p.m.

Location: Lake Braddock Secondary School, 9200 Burke Lake Road, Burke.

Seating is limited and preregistration is required. To register, go to the ERFC web site at www.fcps.edu/ERFC. For more information, contact the retirement office at 703-426-3900.

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FCPS Online Classifieds System Free for Employees

(Note: If you are trying to access the classifieds from your home computer, you will need to use VPN, because the classifieds are located on the FCPS intranet.)

The FCPS Online Classifieds system—which is for employees only and as such can be found on FCPSnet (the FCPS employee intranet) at http://commapps.fcps.edu/classifieds—is a free way for employees to post ads for personally owned items that they are seeking to buy, sell, or give away, such as electronics, real estate, items for children, fitness and sports equipment, furniture, pets, cars, and tickets. It's also a great tool to help an employee look for someone to share a ride to work, find a roommate, or rent real estate.  

Due to server restrictions, electronic photos cannot be uploaded along with postings. Feel free to include information in your posting that a picture is available by e-mail upon request. For answers to some other frequently asked questions, go to http://commapps.fcps.edu/classifieds/FAQ.cfm.

Ads for employee-owned businesses or school or workplace fund-raisers will not be accepted. A complete list of rules of use can be found at http://commapps.fcps.edu/classifieds/Policy.cfm.

The FCPS Online Classifieds system is completely self-service and allows users to post new ads or update or renew existing ads at any time. Highlights and security features of the FCPS Online Classifieds system include:

• A user must log in using his or her existing FCPS network user name and password.
  
• A user must agree to the posted conditions before submitting an ad. A user cannot use his or her FCPS phone number or e-mail address as a listed point of contact.
  
• Active ads are searchable by date, category, and keyword.
  
• Ads will be reviewed by the system administrator before they are posted online. Ads will be approved or denied within two to three business days or as soon as resources allow. An automatic e-mail will be sent upon approval or denial to a user who includes a personal e-mail address as part of his or her contact information.
  
• A user who includes a personal e-mail address as part of his or her contact information will receive an automatic e-mail reminder before the ad is set to expire.

For more information, contact Andy Grunig at andy.grunig@fcps.edu. If you encounter a technical problem, contact Adam Zahn at adam.zahn@fcps.edu.

Send Your Success Stories

Have you used the FCPS Online Classifieds to buy or sell anything or to rent a room or a house, or do you have any other FCPS Online Classifieds success story you would like to share? Send your stories to andy.grunig@fcps.edu.

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