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In this issue:

• From Anthony's Desk
• Awareness campaign delivers details about your retirement plan
• Small Steps campaign yields long‑term impacts
• PA 250 of 2023 reminder
• Your questions answered

From Anthony's Desk

Our purpose at the Michigan Office of Retirement Services (ORS) is to empower you for a successful today and a secure tomorrow.

Our role is to be your trusted partner for your retirement goals and needs. Serving you responsibly is what we strive to achieve.

That’s why we are proud to share our recognition as 2024 Plan Sponsor of the Year in the Government Defined Contributions (with $1 billion or more in assets) category from PlanSponsor.

Awarded at the 2024 PlanSponsor National Conference on June 5, the honor centers on our eight-year-old Small Steps auto-escalation retirement savings program. The key achievement noted is plan participants who stayed in the program the past six years saw their average income replacement increase 33 percentage points.

This is our latest in a series of honors:

• ORS is one of eight organizations out of 1,764 to gain 2024 Best in Class 401(k) Plan honors from PlanSponsor.
• ORS earned the Public Pension Standards Award for funding and administration from the Public Pension Coordinating Council for the 21st consecutive year.
• For the 32nd consecutive year, ORS was awarded a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association.
• ORS, with Voya Financial, received the 2023 Leadership Award for our Women & Retirement campaign from the National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators.

We want you to be able to retire with dignity and the benefits you’ve earned after a career of public service. What matters to us are the results for you: More of you are taking the actions today that can lead to a secure retirement in the future. One small step at a time.

Anthony Estell, executive director
Michigan Office of Retirement Services

Awareness campaign delivers details about your retirement plan

A five-month campaign is under way to inform you about your retirement plan.

The first installment of “How do I …?” will be emailed to you in July and will include information about which plan you are enrolled in, among other things.

Through October, watch for more information from ORS by email, in Proactive, and via our social media channels — Facebook, Instagram, and X — about:

• Voya Financial webinars and appointments for State of Michigan 401(k) and 457
• Updating your beneficiary.
• Healthcare in retirement.
• How much to save for retirement, healthcare costs, college, and staying the course.
• Making the most out of your retirement plan.
• Knowing if you’re on track for retirement, major milestones, and other goals.

A reminder: Please be sure to keep your email updated with your employer so we can get all this information to your correct address.

Small Steps campaign yields long‑term impacts

Automatic enrollment and annual increases are the small steps that help you grow your retirement savings.

Small Steps is the State of Michigan (SOM) program that helps raise your financial awareness and better prepare you for the uncertainties of retirement. Administered by Voya Financial for the Michigan Office of Retirement Services (ORS), Small Steps increases elective contributions to your Defined Contribution (DC) Plan retirement savings account by 1% each year until you reach the gross income contribution rate of 15%. The latter percentage is the amount many financial experts say is necessary to meet retirement income needs.

The ongoing success of Small Steps is the prime reason why the State of Michigan 401(k) Plan gained 2024 Best in Class 401(k) Plan honors – one of eight recognized nationally – from PlanSponsor. In addition, ORS is 2024 Plan Sponsor of the Year for Government DC plans with $1 billion or more in assets, an honor announced June 5 in Chicago.

The benefits Small Steps provides as a part of the ORS automatic enrollment program for DC, Pension Plus, and Personal Healthcare Fund participants are impactful. Since 2019 with Small Steps, about 4,900 employees increased to the 15% target rate; and another 3,300 did so on their own by boosting their contributions at a faster rate.

The bottom line: More employees are now saving more towards and are better prepared for their retirement.

PA 250 of 2023 reminder

Beginning July 1, 2024, the default retirement plan for new Michigan public school employees will be the Pension Plus 2 Plan. This is a result of Public Act 250 of 2023, which became law last November.

New employees can choose between two retirement plans:

• The Defined Contribution (DC) Plan, which is a savings plan only.  
• The Pension Plus 2 Plan, which pairs a pension with a savings plan. 

New employees have 75 calendar days from the last day of their first pay period to elect their retirement plan. If they don’t make their election within 75 days, they are placed in the default plan. New employees cannot change plans once they’ve made their election or the deadline passes.

For new employees whose first day of work was before July 1, 2024, the default plan remains the DC Plan.

For information on retirement plan options, check the PickMiPlan website. New employees will continue to make their retirement plan election in miAccount. They can also check their miAccount to see how many days they have left to make their election.

PA 250 of 2023 does not change the pension and retiree healthcare benefits of those already retired, nor does it change the benefits or requirements of existing retirement plans.

Your questions answered

Hear answers to commonly asked questions in about two minutes when you view the ORS video series, “Ask Our Experts.” In our video this quarter, Nicole gives guidance on “Avoiding Phishing and Spam Emails.” If you have an idea for an “Ask Our Experts” video you’d like to see, send it to ORS-Outreach@michigan.gov and we may feature your question in a future video.