HR Note - November 2008

Important Information about the Valencia 403(b) Retirement Savings Plan

All full-time and part-time faculty and staff, excluding students, are eligible to participate in the 403(b) plan. If you are unfamiliar with a 403(b) plan and how it works, see HR Notes #83 to explain its benefits. The Benefits website contains instructions and forms to start a 403(b) plan and can be found at www.valenciacc.edu/HR/benefits.asp.

As you may have heard, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has revised regulations for 403(b) plans such as tax-sheltered annuities and mutual fund custodial accounts. The new regulations, which take effect January 1, 2009, will require us to modify our existing policies and procedures. We have established a Benefits Review Committee consisting of representation from all categories of employees at Valencia to assist us in reviewing our procedures and developing a plan of action to comply with the new regulations.

In addition, the Human Resources Council, which represents all of Floridas community colleges, has chosen the following companies to serve as the 403b providers effective January 1, 2009:

Investment Fairs will be scheduled in the future so that employees will have an opportunity to talk with the new 403b companies and their representatives. It is our intent to make the transition to the new 403(b) plan as seamless as possible for our employees. However, there will be changes to the plan that may affect some.

Watch for additional correspondence to keep you abreast of the progress and to advise employees of any action they may need to take. This information will also be posted to the Benefits website at www.valenciacc.edu/HR/benefits.asp.

We appreciate your cooperation as we move through the process of maintaining IRS compliance for our plan.

Please distribute this bulletin to all full-time and part-time employees within your department. If they should have questions regarding the above information, please direct them to contact Human Resources at x8033.

HR Notes # 88
November, 2008
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