Service and Age Requirements: In order to be eligible for retirement benefits an employee must earn 10 full years of service credit. Up to ten years of North American Division qualifying service credit between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2014 shall be counted for vesting and minimum eligibility thresholds.
Normal Retirement Age: A participant who has terminated full-time denominational employment shall be entitled to begin receiving retirement benefits in a monthly amount starting on the first day of the month in which he/she attains normal retirement age according to the following schedule:
Through the year Year of Birth Normal Retirement Age
2002 1937 or earlier 65
2003 1938 65 and 2 months
2004 1939 65 and 4 months
2005 1940 65 and 6 months
2006 1941 65 and 8 months
2007 1942 65 and 10 months
2008-2019 1943-1954 66
2020 1955 66 and 2 months
2021 1956 66 and 4 months
2022 1957 66 and 6 months
2023 1958 66 and 8 months
2024 1959 66 and 10 months
2025 1960 and later 67
Provisions of the DC Plan: Contributions are pre-tax dollars. The university will contribute 5 percent of employee’s salary or wages including vacation, sick pay, and overtime pay. Employee can contribute up to IRS Code limits. If the employee is willing to contribute at least 3% of his salary or wages, Southern will provide a match of an additional 3% for a total of 8%.
Changes in Contribution: Once enrolled, employees are permitted to change the amount of their contribution on the Salary Reduction Agreement/Beneficiary Designation form at any time.
Transitional Enhancement: Employees eligible to begin receiving benefits from this plan may be eligible for a transitional enhancement. The single life annuity for service prior to January 1, 2000, will be added to a single life annuity based on an estimate of the Adventist Retirement Plan employer-provided accumulation using actual employer basic and match contributions, and actual quarterly performance of the Socially Screened Moderate allocation model as defined by the Adventist Retirement Plan, irrespective of the allocation model selected by the employee and converted to an annuity using inflation and investment return assumptions currently in place by the Plan’s actuary. If that combined monthly benefit is less than the single life annuity would have been had the employee completed his/her career under this plan, this plan will “top up” the single life annuity with a transitional enhancement by the amount of the estimated loss.
Investments: The Plan is designed to provide employees with an array of suitable investments to assist them in meeting their retirement objectives. The investments provided fall into general categories designed to accommodate employees who have no investment experience to those who are more knowledgeable. Among the investment options are mutual funds which are screened for social, ethical and religious values.
Investment elections can be made as follows:
Call VALIC’s Client Service Line 1.800.488.2542, then press “0” to speak with a Client Service Professional or ask for the Advice Line. You can make your investment selection online at VALIC.com/adventist and also view the wide array of educational materials available.
Early Retirement: An employee, who has attained age 59 ½ may retire at any time prior to his/her normal retirement age. A reduction in retirement benefits shall apply in accordance with NAD Z35 05-1. Benefits shall be reduced permanently by .5 percent for each month an employee’s age is less than the normal retirement age (see above) or for each month service credit is less than 40 years, whichever yields the greatest monthly benefit. In cases where the employee qualifies for early retirement prior to January 1,
2000, but does not retire until later, no reduction in benefits due to early retirement shall apply.