CUSTOMIZE YOUR RETIREMENT STRATEGY


GuideMe is a guidance tool made available to participants through their MyPlanConnection account. This tool allows participants to input general information – including their own risk tolerance and outside assets – and helps customize an investment strategy that maximizes their chance of reaching their retirement goals.


How to use GuideMe:  Simply log into your MyPlanConnection.com account and select the "GuideMe" feature located on your dashboard (if you have not yet enrolled, this option will be presented to you upon enrollment):


As you familiarize yourself with your MyPlanConnection.com account, you may have already noticed that your Projected Retirement Analysis allows you to update "What's Behind the Numbers." This feature of our site gives participants the ability to personalize their retirement projections. Certain values may already be populated here based on data provided through the participant's payroll files. Data collected from payroll files help enable us to set up assumptions, such as projected retirement age and life expectancy. Any changes made to this page will be immediately reflected in the "Projected Retirement Income."


Retirement Income Target: This figure refers to the percentage of your current income that you expect you will need at retirement. 


Social Security Monthly Benefit: By default, "Calculate Benefit" will be selected, allowing estimated Social Security benefits to be automatically calculated for you and factored into your retirement projections. To customize your Social Security monthly benefits, select "Use Estimate" and enter your value. If you wish to omit Social Security from your retirement projections, enter $0.00 for the "Use Estimate" field.


Legacy at Death: If a participant expects to leave money to, for example, their children after they have passed, they can enter a value for "Legacy at Death." Our system will then recalculate their retirement benefits to account for this value.


Outside Assets and Pensions: These features enable participants to add things such as IRA balances (outside assets) and pension assets in their calculations, if they so desire.





CHANGE YOUR SAVINGS RATE


For active employees:  Making changes in your payroll contributions is made simple by our online portal, even after you have already enrolled in your plan! Click here for instructions to change your contributions. *Savings rate changes typically take 1-2 pay periods to be reflected in your pay, and some plans have additional time restrictions on how often these changes may be made. Feel free to reach out to a member of our Participant Services team if you need any clarification on your plan’s specifications!




MANAGE YOUR INVESTMENTS


Locate your Current Investment Elections:  From your MyPlanConnection.com account, select "My Account" (located on the upper-right) and then "My Investments." 


Locate your Rate of Return:  Your Rate of Return will become available after you have been active for one full quarter, and will be included on your Quarterly Statements. Once available, you may also view your Rate of Return from your MyPlanConnection.com account by selecting "My Account" (located on the upper-right) and then "My Rate of Return."


Locate your Investment Menu:  From your MyPlanConnection.com account, locate "My Plan" (located on the far-right of your screen) and select "Plan Investments." Click through the colored tabs towards the top to view your Plan's available investments.

  • You can view a Fund Fact sheet (overview of a fund including the fund's investment objective, risk level, costs, past performance, and holdings details) by selecting the "F" located to the left of each individual fund name. 
  • If available, you can view a Prospectus (contains details on the fund's objectives, investment strategies, risks, performance, distribution policy, fees, expenses, and fund management) by selecting the "P" located to the left of each individual fund name.
  • Cash Accounts:  Since a Cash Account (ex: Money Market) is a bank account rather than an SEC-registered mutual fund, it has no expense ratio or prospectus. The rate of return may vary with market conditions and is subject to periodic adjustment.




Need help making a specific change to your investment portfolio? We've got answers!...



CHANGE FUTURE ELECTIONS:  (For active employees)  Changes your future elections without moving your current holdings.

  1. Log into your MyPlanConnection.com account
  2. Select "Manage Account" (upper-right)
  3. Select "Change Future Investments" and click the desired tab
    • Go With The Flow: Default investment option
    • Cruise Control (Target Date): Based on retirement date
    • Cruise Control (Target Risk): Based on risk comfort
    • Take the Wheel: Full investment menu
  4. Enter the desired Allocation % for each desired fund.
    • Make sure the Total adds up to 100%.
  5. Select "NEXT" (bottom-right)
  6. You will be asked: "Would you also like to rebalance your existing holdings based on these investment elections?"
    • If 'Yes,' the rebalancer will do trades in the existing account funds to mimic the same %s as the new future contributions.
  7. Enter your email twice at the bottom of the screen and click "SUBMIT."



REBALANCE YOUR PORTFOLIO:  If you already have your future elections set up exactly as you want them, the rebalancer will do trades in your existing account funds to mimic the way your future contributions are set. (The general objective is to realign balances that may be out of sync with current investment percentages due to market fluctuation.) *Automatic Rebalancing will trigger recurring trades based on the criteria you input, whereas Manual Rebalancing is a one-time trade.


  • Automatic Rebalancing (not available for all Plans):
    1. Log into your MyPlanConnection.com account
    2. Select "My Account" (upper-right)
    3. Select "My Investments"
    4. Click "Change Rebalance Schedule" (if available, this will appear on the top-right)
    5. Fill in the required fields and click "NEXT"
      • Example: If you entered 10% in the 'rebalance threshold' cell, if any of your elections exceed 10% of your overall account balance, your portfolio will automatically be rebalanced such that the fund %s mimic the way you currently have your elections.
    6. Click "SUBMIT."


  • Manual Rebalancing:
    1. Log into your MyPlanConnection.com account
    2. Select "Manage Account" (upper-right)
    3. Select "Rebalance Portfolio"
    4. Click "REBALANCE"
      • This is a one-time trade and will NOT automatically rebalance.
    5. Enter your email twice at the bottom of the screen and click "SUBMIT."

      *Most trades take 2-3 business days to settle.



FUND TRANSFER:  A one-time trade that moves your current holdings, without impacting future elections. *Unlike 'Conforming to Target %,' a fund transfer enables participants to pick and choose which fund(s) they perform trades on, rather than having to sell & repurchase EVERY fund. Click here for a step-by-step tutorial on performing a fund transfer, or follow the steps below: 

  1. Log into your MyPlanConnection.com account
  2. Select "Manage Account" (upper-right)
  3. Select "Transfer Funds"
  4. Perform a Market Timing Rule Test, if appropriate.
    • To determine if a transfer may violate any market timing rules, select the investments you wish to run the test for. Next, select the 'Continue' button. Any potential market timing violations will be displayed on the screen. For further information, view the market timing rules associated with the investments available in your plan.
  5. Enter the percentage of each fund that you would like to transfer out of in the "From" column.
  6. Enter the percentage of each fund that you would like to transfer into in the "To" column.
  7. Select "NEXT" (bottom-right)
  8. If applicable, read/acknowledge that you have read each Prospectus and then click "NEXT."
  9. SUBMIT your request.

    *Most trades take 2-3 business days to settle.



CONFORM TO TARGET %:  Allows you to enter target percentages (which may be different than your future allocations) for one individual trade, without having to adjust your future allocations. Conforming Holdings to Target % sells the investments a participant is in (even if they still want the same % in that investment) and then repurchases them at whatever that day's price is. *If you only wish to move SOME of the current balance from select funds rather than performing trades on ALL funds, a Fund Transfer may be a more suitable option for you.

  1. Log into your MyPlanConnection.com account
  2. Select "My Account" (upper-right)
  3. Select "My Investments"
  4. Click "Conform Holdings to Target %"
  5. Perform a Market Timing Rule Test, if appropriate.
    • To determine if a transfer may violate any market timing rules, select the investments you wish to run the test for. Next, select the 'Continue' button. Any potential market timing violations will be displayed on the screen. For further information, view the market timing rules associated with the investments available in your plan.
  6. Enter the desired Target % for each fund you wish to transfer.
    • Make sure the "New Target" Total adds up to 100%.
  7. Click "NEXT."
  8. You will be asked if you would like to Update Election Percentages (to match your transfer target percentages).
    • If 'Yes,' your future elections will be updated as shown.
  9. If applicable, read/acknowledge that you have read each Prospectus and then click "NEXT."
  10. SUBMIT your request.

    *Most trades take 2-3 business days to settle.





ADDITIONAL FEATURES


Locate additional Retirement Planning Resources:  As you familiarize yourself with your online account, be sure to take a look at the "My Retirement" and "Plan Education" tabs, located at the top of your dashboard. Each tab is loaded with helpful information to help you plan for your future!