Fundamentals Newsletter

Consider Adjusting Your Voluntary Additional Contribution (VAC) Amount for the New Year

January is the perfect time to take a look at your Voluntary Additional Contributions (VAC) and decide whether you want to adjust your contribution rate. Whether you received a pay increase and are interested in putting more into your VAC or you want to reduce your VAC to help make ends meet, re-evaluating your contribution amount at the beginning of each year is a good habit to get into.

With VAC, you can elect to save between 1% and 10% of your reported earnings in an account that currently earns 7.25% interest.* The interest is credited at the end of the year, based on the opening balance at the beginning of the year.

VAC participants recently received their 2020 interest, which was 7.25% of their start-of-the-year balance. The high interest rate, low risk, and compounding interest make this a unique and highly effective savings opportunity available to IMRF members only, to help supplement your retirement savings.

To change your VAC amount or to sign up for VAC, complete this form and submit it to your Employer's Authorized Agent. After the Authorized Agent signs it, he or she can submit it to IMRF through Employer Access, or you can submit it to IMRF through Member Access.

To submit the form in Member Access, sign into your Member Access account, click on Secure Message in the Quick Links column on the right side of the page. Click on Compose New Message. You can then attach the form to your Secure Message.

For information on how to view your current contribution rate, VAC total, and interest, see the Member Access article below.

To learn more about what Voluntary Additional Contributions can do for you, click here.

* The interest rate may change in the future.

In Member Access, you can...

View Your Total Voluntary Additional Contributions and Interest—Recently Updated with 2020 Interest

Log into your Member Access account, and hover your cursor over the My Account tab in the upper left corner. Click on Voluntary Additional Contributions in the second column.

On this page, you can see your current contribution rate and your total Voluntary Additional Contributions (VAC) to date, as shown below. You can also see your total VAC interest, which now includes the interest earned in 2020.

If you do not have a Member Access account, please click here to create one.

To learn more about all Member Access has to offer and how to conduct your important IMRF business using Member Access, click here.

Glass Half Full Workshop Webinar Dates for 2021

Your Glass is Half Full: Understanding Your IMRF Benefits

An IMRF Field Representative will explain how your pension is funded, your benefits as an IMRF member, and the importance of having more than one savings vehicle as you prepare for your eventual retirement.

Webinar dates for first quarter 2021:

Thursday, January 21, 5 pm - 6 pm (central time)

Thursday, February 11, 12 pm - 1 pm (central time)

Tuesday, March 9, 5 pm - 6 pm (central time)

For more information, or to register for a Your Glass is Half Full Workshop webinar, click here.

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