FCPS Benefits

Posted on November 19, 2008

Benefits

Important 403(b) Plan Changes Start January 1
Want to Learn New Skills at Your Own Pace? Try eLearnIT!

Register Now for a Preretirement Workshop
FCPS Online Classifieds System Free for Employees

Important 403(b) Plan Changes Start January 1

Due to recent federal legislation, sweeping changes to the 403(b) plan landscape are coming January 1, 2009. These regulations impose oversight requirements, specific documentation, and compliance obligations on plan sponsors well beyond previously defined school system responsibilities.

Active 403(b) participants have received letters via the U.S. Postal Service and by e-mail to help guide decision-making. More details of these changes are available in the material mailed to active participants and online at the HR Benefits web site, http://www.fcps.edu/DHR/employees/benefits/403bchanges.htm.

Below is a synopsis of what you need to know about how this affects you and what actions you are required to take if you are an active 403(b) participant.

FCPS has contracted with TSA Consulting Group (TSACG) to ensure administrative compliance with the new federal plan requirements.
To continue contributing to the plan and deferring income from each paycheck in 2009, you must complete a new salary reduction agreement (SRA) form and submit it to TSACG by early December. Due to payroll processing time constraints, an employee paid biweekly must submit a new SRA to TSACG, and it must be received by December 5; an employee paid monthly must submit a new SRA to TSACG, and it must be received by December 15. SRA forms are being provided via mail (prefilled for approval and signature) and online at https://www.tsacg.com/employee_site/forms/virginia/fairfax_forms.htm. If you do not submit a new SRA, your payroll contributions will stop effective January 1, 2009.
For changes to contributions effective through December 2008, participants should continue to submit SRA forms to the provider, who then will forward them to the Office of Payroll Management under the current procedure until November 26, 2008.
Effective January 1, 2009, all 403(b) salary reductions will be calculated in percentages on all taxable wages (e.g., regular pay, academic and athletic supplements, additional duty pay, stipends, etc.), instead of as flat dollar amounts. As active participants, pre-filled forms you receive in the mail contain a suggested conversion amount for your contribution. The suggested conversion is based on how much you contribute now, your base salary, and the closest whole percentage that amount represents of your salary. It is not intended to advise you on your contribution level, but to help you continue your contributions easily.
Effective January 1, 2009, FCPS will be charging active participants a $9 annual fee to offset the administrative costs associated with both the 457 and 403(b) programs. This fee will be deducted from January payrolls for all participants.

Want to Learn New Skills at Your Own Pace? Try eLearnIT!

The Department of Information Technology’s eLearnIT web site provides, via the Internet, skills development training that is available free of charge to any employee of Fairfax County Public Schools. These courses offer FCPS employees a wide variety of training opportunities designed to enhance critical business, professional, and IT skills.

With eLearnIT you get:

Access to over 2,000 interactive and engaging online courses at a variety of skill levels—online and self-paced for your training development or for use as a quick reference tool.
Admission to “Books 24x7,” a Skillsoft web site that has thousands of up-to-date, searchable books, online, to be used for study and reference. Favorites can be placed on bookshelves for easy access.
24x7x365 availability—your time frame and your Windows computer. You can learn at your own pace, bookmark your place for return later, and download courses for work offline.
Online mentoring—quick answers to your specific questions.

Visit http://www.fcps.edu/MTS/TrainingServices/elearn/ to learn more about eLearnIT. Register now and start learning today!

Register Now for a Preretirement Workshop

The Educational Employees' Retirement Fund of Fairfax County (ERFC) hosts preretirement workshops throughout the school year to help prepare members who are within two years of retirement eligibility. This year’s schedule includes split sessions to address the needs of members in both benefit plan structures: ERFC Legacy (members hired on or before June 30, 2001) and ERFC 2001 (members hired on or after July 1, 2001). Learn more about the specific provisions of the ERFC and VRS retirement plans, as well as the services available to help you determine your own “right time” to retire.

ERFC Preretirement 2008-09 Workshop Schedule

Thursday, December 4, 2008.
Monday, February 2, 2009.
Thursday, March 12, 2009.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009.

Time: 5 -7 p.m.

Location: Robinson Secondary School, recital hall, 5035 Sideburn Road, Fairfax.

Seating is limited and preregistration is required. To register, send an e-mail to ERFCComm@fcps.edu or send a fax to 703-426-3984 and include:

your name.
your employee ID number.
your work location.
your date of hire.
the date of the workshop you want to attend.

Upon request, ERFC can also arrange on-site workshops at your work location for ERFC member audiences of at least 25 guests. For more information, contact the Retirement Office at 703-426-3950, or go to http://www.fcps.edu/ERFC/index.htm.

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 Phung Trinh at phung.trinh@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.