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In this issue:

• From Anthony's Desk
• Retiree healthcare benefits differ from employee benefits
• ORS receives national honor for America Saves effort
• New topics added to video series

From Anthony's Desk

Welcome to your fall 2024 issue of the Proactive newsletter. 

We talk a lot about retirement readiness at the Michigan Office of Retirement Services (ORS). That’s because we want you to be successful today and in retirement tomorrow.  

Our purpose as your trusted partner is to empower you. That’s why we provide information, tools, and services when needed as you navigate your retirement journey. That’s why we strive to serve you in different ways and provide you with more improved experiences. 

Your interactions with us matter and are why we continue working to improve those. Here’s three ways we’re enhancing your engagement experiences with us: 

• Our ORS YouTube channel offerings are now color-coded to more easily find what you care about or need. These include Ask Our Experts, 1½- to 2½-minute segments on varied topics tailored to your career stage and retirement plan; and Retirement 101, a new series launched in July that explains terms and approaches. 
• We have partnered with eMichigan on user studies to further improve our 10 websites and make them more accessible for you. Those improvements will be rolling out during the next few months. 

• Our How do I … ? email outreach campaign seeks to deepen your understanding of your retirement plan and retiree healthcare benefits. Launched in August, the effort runs through January 2025.  

We are here to help you balance current needs with future hopes because we know saving for retirement isn’t easy. We want you to reach your goals and achieve a life in retirement that’s safe and secure.  

Our commitment: We have your back every step of the way along your retirement journey. 

Anthony Estell, executive director
Michigan Office of Retirement Services 

Retiree healthcare benefits differ from employee benefits

New retirees are sometimes surprised to learn their retiree healthcare coverage differs from the coverage they had while employed. The reason? There’s no connection between an employer-based healthcare plan negotiated by the unions and the healthcare plan provided by the Michigan Public School Employees’ Retirement System, which is authorized by the retirement board and the Department of Technology, Management and Budget.  

Since these plans are completely separate from one another, there are some important things to keep in mind as you transition to retiree healthcare benefits:  

• Any amounts paid toward the deductible of your employee healthcare plan will not transfer to your retiree plan. As a new member of the retirement system’s plan, you will be required to meet the plan’s deductible even if you met the deductible of your previous plan. The retirement system’s healthcare plan benefit period is based on the calendar year, Jan. 1 through Dec. 31. The deductible will reset on Jan. 1 of each year regardless of whether you paid your full deductible for the prior year. 

• Services and prescriptions covered by your employee plan may not be covered by your retiree plan, or there may be different cost share requirements. Contact the retiree healthcare plan carriers if you have any questions about your coverage or costs. 

• The retirement system offers multiple healthcare plan options, so retirees can choose the plan that best fits their needs. 

As you prepare for retirement, be sure to educate yourself about your insurance benefits. Review your options. From there, you will find information for each insurance carrier, including phone numbers and websites dedicated to public school retirees.

ORS receives national honor for America Saves effort

The Michigan Office of Retirement Services (ORS) has been named a Savings Champion Award winner by America Saves. 

ORS was celebrated for effectively and actively promoting savings strategies during America Saves Week, which ran April 8-12 during Financial Literacy Month. ORS was among 18 organizations honored out of more than 4,600 participants. 

“In a defined contribution world, you generate retirement income through savings,” ORS Executive Director Anthony Estell said. “And the responsibility for saving falls to our participants. We want to help our participants balance today’s needs with their future goals, so that they can save as much as they can, when they can.”   

For America Saves Week, ORS urged saving for what matters most and highlighted savings strategies that help with retirement savings. Examples include paying down debt (which is a form of saving) and saving automatically, for the unexpected, for major milestones, and at any age.  

During America Saves Week, ORS and the other participating organizations — including the Michigan Education Trust and the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services — helped encourage an estimated $354 million worth of deposits into new and existing accounts. Additionally, 231,000 new accounts were opened and 64,000 increased their automatic saving transfers or deposits into existing savings accounts. 

America Saves Week is part of America Saves, a campaign managed by the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America.

New topics added to video series

In the year since we debuted our first Ask Our Experts video on the ORS YouTube channel, we have covered more than a dozen topics our members and retirees regularly ask about.  

Each video is approximately two minutes long, making them a quick and easy way to learn about different facets of our retirement systems.

In this month’s featured video, Bob from our Customer Service team talks about economic downturns and your pension.

Some of our previous topics include: 

• Snowbird Advice. 
• Clarifying Medicare Benefits. 
• Accessing Your 1099-R Form. 
• 2024 State Tax Withholding Update. 
• Avoiding Phishing and Spam Emails. 
• Saving Early Means More Money. 
• Insurance Eligibility for Children. 
• Accessing miAccount and MiLogin.