OUTLOOK. Focusing on Retirement Issues for Massport Employees Past and Present

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1 OUTLOOK September 2015 Focusing on Retirement Issues for Massport Employees Past and Present Retiree Self Service is here! IMPORTANT NOTICE Beginning in November 2015, Notices of Deposit will no longer be mailed to retirees and survivors each month. Notices of Deposit will only be mailed in January and July. The MPAERS is happy to announce that a self-service tool is now available for retirees*. Log on to review your pension payment history, beneficiary, 1099R, and contact information. You may also download a form to change your address. To access member self-service, go to select Massport s Pension Plan from the menu bar on the left side and then click on the Member Self-Service link. Online registration is quick and easy. Simply click on the Self Registration button then enter the requested information on the subsequent screens to set up your access. Be sure to bookmark this website for easier access. Demonstrations and/or assistance with registration will be available during our annual affidavit Notary office hours (see page 3). If you are unable to attend any of these sessions and need assistance, please contact Laura Barbosa at (617) or lbarbosa@massport.com. *Self-service is not yet available for active or inactive members. Stay tuned. We ll notify you as soon as the conversion process is complete and access is available. More inside... page 2: SMART Plan/Beneficiary Info Request page 3: 2014 CAFR/Annual Affidavits page 4: COLA Increase/Transitions/Remarriage Penalty Repeal page 5 Jim Costello Retirement page 6: Tech Watch/Calendar Find us online! Simply go to

2 FOR YOUR BENEFIT Peer Pressure If you are not currently enrolled in the SMART Plan, you are definitely in the minority. Massport has one of the best SMART Plan participation rates in the state. As of July, 88% of our members were enrolled in the plan. We attribute this success to the continuous outreach efforts employed by both the retirement staff and colleagues from Empower- Retirement (formerly Great West) in getting the word out to employees. We also believe these statistics are a clear indication that our members understand and recognize the importance of saving for retirement. Massport s Deferred Compensation Match Program Did you know that Massport will match your SMART Plan contributions up to $3,000 per year? Massport first introduced this deferred compensation match back in 2007 and has offered it to active employees ever since. If you aren t currently enrolled in the SMART Plan, we strongly encourage you to sign up! It s a great way to boost your retirement savings and with a contribution of just $58 per week* you are eligible for the full $3,000 match. In addition, because your SMART Plan contribution is pre-tax, your paycheck doesn t get reduced by the full amount of the contribution because you are taxed on less. Contact SMART Plan representative Rich Carty at (857) or rich.carty@empowerretirement.com to sign up or change your current contribution. Rich can also help you determine how much to contribute in order to maximize this benefit according to your personal circumstances. *Assumes fifty two weeks of participation per year. New SMART Plan Representative Please join us in welcoming Rich Carty, Massport s new Deferred Compensation SMART Plan representative! Rich, a Retirement Plan Counselor, has worked with the SMART Plan for the past 2 years. He is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire and previously worked in the Insurance and Home Mortgage industries. Rich finds the most rewarding part of his current position is the variety of counseling services that he provides to participants to assist them in developing strategies to provide adequate income in retirement. Outside of work, Rich thoroughly enjoys travelling and being outside year round, whether it is skiing or golfing. Rich schedules office hours at the Logan Office Center twice a month. Specific times and dates are posted on Massport s portal. To make an appointment please call Rich at (857) or send an to Rich.Carty@ empower-retirement.com. Important Reminder: Beneficiary Information Request As you know, we are in the process of updating member beneficiary information as part of a recent software conversion. We sent out notices to all active and inactive members in October 2014 and again in May 2015 along with member statements requesting additional information with regard to your beneficiaries be provided to us. We thank those of you who responded! To those who have not yet submitted your form, please do so as soon as possible. It is important that the information in your retirement file and on our database is accurate and up-to-date. If you have misplaced your form, have questions, or would like to change your existing beneficiary or beneficiaries, please contact Lynn Fullerton at (617) or lfullerton@massport.com. 2

3 RETIREES CORNER Annual Affidavits Retirees and Survivors: As you know, each year you are required to file an annual affidavit with the Massport Retirement Board. Affidavits were mailed on September 25 th and are due back by October 30 th. For your convenience, our resident Notary, Laura Barbosa, will be available to notarize your affidavit free of charge during certain time periods as shown in schedule below. No appointment is necessary. We look forward to seeing you! The Retirement Board is Affidavit and Retiree Self-Service Schedule Wednesday, September 30th Friday, October 2nd Tuesday, October 6th Thursday, October 8th Tuesday, October 13th Friday, October 16th Monday, October 19th Wednesday, October 21st Tuesday, October 27th Thursday, October 29th required to withhold the retirement allowance of any person who fails to file their annual affidavit. Annual Report Mailed to Members We mailed our 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) to all members, active, inactive, and retired in June. This report contains our financial statements, plan investment and statistical information as well as a report from our actuary and a frequently asked questions section. We have submitted this report to the Government Finance Officers Association s (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting program, a recognition we have earned for the past 15 years. 3

4 Survivor Remarriage Penalty Repealed (For survivors who remarried prior to 7/1/2000) if you receive a monthly survivor benefit from the Massport Employees Retirement System and your benefit was reduced or eliminated because you remarried prior to July 1, 2000, you may be eligible to have those benefits restored due to a recent court decision. Under previous law when the spouse of a deceased member chose to remarry, his or her pension would be reduced or eliminated. While this law was repealed back in 2000 (Chapter 159 of the Acts of 2000), only survivors who remarried after the law went into effect did not have their benefits reduced. This interpretation was challenged and in 2014, the Superior Court determined that the repeal of the remarriage penalty extended to survivors who remarried prior to July 1, 2000 and that benefits to surviving spouses could resume upon proper reapplication, going forward. If you are a survivor and have questions as to whether this might apply to you, please contact the retirement office at (617) Retirees Receive Annual Increase Massport retirees were recently awarded a pension increase adjustment of 3% on a base of $13,000. This represents an increase of up to $32.50 a month and was effective as of July 1, 2015 payable to individuals who retired prior to July 1, We understand how important the pension increase adjustment is for our retired members and survivors, many of whom are living on a fixed income. The board is pleased to grant this 2015 pension increase adjustment to its retirees and survivors. TRANSITIONS We regret to inform you that the following retirees have passed away: Harold Blake Leo Buckley Lillian DiDio James Donegan Carol Gould James F. Harris Cathy Leonard-McLean CONGRATULATIONS The following people retired recently and we wish them all the best for a successful future: Colleen Bessom Tony Bongarzone Paul Breen Brett Burguard Gayle Callis Lenny Christopher Joe Cimmaruta Steve Cwalina Joe Dalton Donna DiLeone Tom Ennis Linda Ferraro Joe Ferruzzi Jim Flaherty Ted Frier John Krajovic Maureen Magaldi Ernest Marzano Betsy Mathews Terry Maylor Mike Modica Dennis Screnci Jane Shang Betsy Taylor Alan Wade 4

5 James P. Costello Retirement Event O n February 5, 2015, the Retirement System and Massport hosted a retirement reception in honor of James P. Costello, former Chairman and Appointed Member of the Massport Employees Retirement Board. Jim previously served for more than 36 years as the Board s Chairman. Prior to his appointment to the Retirement Board, Jim also held the labor seat on the Massport Board of Directors. Jim is currently retired from the Joint Labor Management Committee and serves as a member of the Town of Hingham Retirement Board. We honor Jim for his many years of service to the Authority as well as his lifetime commitment to public service. Many of Jim s former colleagues and friends were in attendance Senator Ken Donnelly 2. Irene Moran, Director of 3. Retirement, with Jim Costello L-R: Jim Costello with wife, Larnie, and Mike Donovan, Suffolk County Superior Court Clerk 4. L-R: John Vitagliano, Fred Salvucci, and Jim Costello 5. L-R: Betsy Taylor, John Vitagliano, Fred Salvucci, 5. Jim Costello, Bob Weinberg, and Tony Jackson 6. Ira Sills, Local 103 Counsel, and Tony Jackson with Jim Costello 7. Retired Chief Administrative Magistrate DALA and former Board 6. Counsel, Dick Heidlage Front Row L-R: Nancy Bournival, Laura Barbosa, Betsy Taylor, and Lynn Fullerton. Back Row L-R: John Pranckevicius, Jamie Hoyte, Jim Costello, Phil Mallett, Irene Moran, Scott Merrill, and Michael Grieco 9. Jamie Hoyte, MPAERS Chairman, with Jim Costello 10. Bob Weinberg, former Massport Chairman 11. John Vitagliano, former Massport Board Member 12. Tom Glynn, Massport s CEO/Executive Director, with Jim Costello

6 TECH WATCH For those of you who have access to the Internet, there is a wealth of information to be found there. In this section we highlight web sites and SmartPhone apps that we have found helpful, informative, interesting or just plain fun. MedCoach Medication tracking at your fingertips Keeping track of your daily medications and vitamins doesn t have to be a chore. With the MedCoach app for your Smartphone, iphone, or ipad you can put away that old plastic pill box and let it do the organizing for you. This app tells you when and what meds you are supposed to take and has other nice features which include doctor, pharmacy and prescription refill information. MedCoach is a free app. To get started, download and install MedCoach from the app store on your device. Once you register, tap on Medications and begin building your medication and vitamin list. Select your medication from the list* then select the proper dosage and tap ok and then you ll be able to set up medication reminders and refill, pharmacy, and doctor information. Pharmacy and doctors information can be imported from your device s address book, if available, or manually typed in. With this information, MedCoach also allows you to connect to your pharmacy for prescription refills by either tapping on the phone number or website. MedCoach provides quick, easy, and immediate access to your medications and vitamins right in the palm of your hand. *If your medication doesn t appear when you start typing, try typing the name using all lowercase letters. CALENDAR September 23 Yom Kippur begins Retiree affidavits mailed 29 Retirement notices of deposit mailed October 9 Quarterly employer match to 457 plan 12 Columbus Day: Massport offices closed Retirement notices of deposit mailed 30 Retiree affidavits due 31 Happy Halloween! November 1 Daylight Savings Time Ends: Set clocks back one hour 11 Veterans Day: Massport offices closed Thanksgiving Day: Massport offices closed December 6 Hanukkah begins at sundown 14 Last day of Hanukkah Quarterly employer match to 457 plan 22 Winter begins 25 Christmas Day: Massport offices closed 26 Kwanzaa begins RETIREMENT BOARD & STAFF Outlook is published quarterly by the Massachusetts Port Authority Employees Retirement System (MPAERS) One Harborside Drive, Suite 200S, Boston, MA 02128, (617) Managing Editors Laura S. Barbosa Irene E. Moran Design Colvin/Williams Design Retirement Board James S. Hoyte Chairman jamie.hoyte@gmail.com Michael A. Grieco Vice Chairman Philip H. Mallett Elected Member (pmallett@comcast.net) John P. Pranckevicius Treasurer-Custodian (ex officio) Betsy Taylor Elected Member (betsytaylor31@gmail.com) Retirement Office Staff Irene E. Moran Director of Retirement (imoran@massport.com) Laura S. Barbosa Retirement Member Services Specialist (lbarbosa@massport.com) Nancy Bournival MPAERS Controller (nbournival@massport.com) Lynn Fullerton Retirement Board Coordinator (lfullerton@massport.com) View past issues of Outlook at