The following is provided by the Human Resources Office.

Learn about retirement benefits at TRS sessions

Employees who are considering retiring on or before January 31, 2017, are invited to attend information sessions hosted by the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) between March and July at TRS headquarters, 1000 Red River St.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday sessions are at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. and are limited to 10 members. Saturday morning sessions also are offered; the two simultaneous sessions are limited to 20 members.

See TRS retirement session dates and times (pdf).

Sessions fill fast, so employees are urged to sign up for their preferred session as soon as possible. Register online through the MyTRS website or call TRS at 1-800-223-8778 and speak to a benefit counselor.

For questions regarding ACC benefits, contact HR Benefits staff at [email protected].

Verify unreported pre-Sept. 2011 service with TRS by Sept. 1

ACC employees who are TRS members and worked in an eligible position prior to September 1, 2011, but did not make TRS contributions on that service must verify the service by September 1.  After this date, TRS will not accept verification of unreported service for work before September 1, 2011.

Before completing the verification process, employees are encouraged to use the unreported service calculator on the MyTRS website to calculate the estimated cost of purchasing the service. Purchasing service credit can be costly, so obtaining this estimate can help employees decide whether it is worthwhile to proceed with the service verification.

If employees opt to verify their unreported ACC service, they must submit a TRS Form 22I to ACC’s HR Payroll staff to confirm the service is eligible. The completed form is submitted to TRS, which determines the cost of buying the service credit. The process can be lengthy, so employees should not delay if they have eligible service.

In 2011 the Texas Legislature established a five-year deadline for verifying unreported service. Any unreported service ― including substitute service, and/or unreported compensation paid before September 1, 2011 ― must be verified no later than August 31. Future unreported service must be verified within five years, or it will be lost.

For questions about the process, contact TRS at 800-223-8778.

TIAA-CREF is now TIAA

ACC employees who have a retirement or savings plan with TIAA-CREF will notice some changes from the financial services provider.

In addition to its shortened name (TIAA), the firm has redesigned its website to have less jargon, more useful content, and helpful tools to make saving and investing simpler. Explore the redesigned website’s features and learn more at TIAA.org.

19 receive tuition reimbursement awards through spring lottery

The Human Resources Office accepted spring semester tuition reimbursement requests February 8-12. Reimbursement recipients were selected through a lottery on Friday, February 19.

ACC awarded more than $29,000 to 19 recipients. Designations of those receiving awards were:

Classified – 3
Prof-tech – 5
Full-time faculty – 9
Adjunct faculty – 2

Click here to view the lottery drawing.

Reimbursement requests for summer semester classes will be accepted in June.

For questions, contact Nicole Bell at 512-223-7997, or [email protected].

March Deer Oaks EAP newsletters

View the following articles in the March Employee Enhancement Newsletter (pdf) from Deer Oaks, ACC’s Employee Assistance Provider:

• Your Guide to Healthy Sleep: Parts 1-3
• Online seminar info: “Let’s Sleep on It”
• Snippets: Calcium is Okay; So How Does Exercise Help the Heart?
• Clinician’s Corner
• How To: Choose and Open a Personal Savings Account

Read about these topics in Deer Oaks’ Supervisor/HR Newsletter (pdf):

• Learn to Build Trust in the Workplace
• Five Times to Avoid Email
• Ask Your EAP!

Featured discounts for March

Find spring deals on the ACC Advantage Discount Program website. A few examples:

• Join Costco as a new member and receive coupons for free products and other savings.
• Switch to Sprint and save 50 percent compared with many other wireless rate plans; activate a new account and get a $100 reward card.
• Save up to 41 percent on select laptops, tablets, desktops, and accessories from Lenovo.

ACC celebrates recent retirees

ACC celebrates the following retirees. Retirees are recognized at Board of Trustees meetings for their years of service to the college.

Name	Department	Years with ACC
Charles Lavender	Network Services	18.5
Charla Merrel	College Operations	12.5

 

Tags: benefits, employee discounts, hr connection, retirees, TIAA, trs, tuition reimbursement

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