It's easy to get so caught up in our work, focusing on others and enjoying life today that we forget about retirement. Especially when we're young, retirement seems so far off, we sometimes say, "I'll get to that later." But "later" has a way of sneaking up on us!
That's why The Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church provides the UMPIP. This program allows you to take personal control over your retirement savings and provides you with one important piece of your overall retirement portfolio.
Who is eligible?
If you're a lay employee of the TAC Fiscal Office and work more than 20 regularly scheduled hours per week, you're eligible to participate in the UMPIP. The TAC contributes a percentage of your annual compensation base to your UMPIP after you've completed one year of service.
How the UMPIP works
The UMPIP is a defined contribution (DC) retirement plan and is subject to the rules for Internal Revenue Code 403(b)(9) retirement plans.
-
Complete the UMPIP Contribution Election Form and forward to the TAC Fiscal Office to make personal UMPIP contributions.
-
You contribute to your UMPIP account through convenient payroll deductions. You can specify a flat dollar amount or a percentage of your pay up to IRS contribution limits. You can also roll over money into your UMPIP account from most retirement plans and IRAs. You are immediately 100% vested in all contributions to your account.
-
You decide whether to pay income tax on your contributions now or when you withdraw the money from your account by selecting from the following contribution options: Before-Tax Contribution, Roth Contribution or After-Tax Contribution.
-
You direct how your account is invested among Wespath's various investment fund options.
-
You can monitor your contributions by setting up your personal account in Wespath’s Benefits Access at https://my.benefitsaccess.org/login or you can speak to a representative at 1-800-851-220 between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. CT, Monday through Friday.
-
You can take hardship withdrawals and loans from your account if necessary.
-
Generally, if you withdraw money from your account before age 59½, you will owe a penalty in addition to any regular income tax you may owe.
-
You can take a lump-sum distribution of your account, a partial lump sum or cash installments.
Unsure about investing?
You don't have to be a Wall Street insider to make sound investment decisions.
-
Active participants, surviving spouses and terminated and retired participants (retirees with an account balance greater than $10,000) can receive valuable investing and financial planning guidance from EY Financial Planning Services (formerly Ernst & Young) at no charge. Just call 1-800-360-2539 between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.
-
LifeStage Investment Management Service is a free investment tool that makes investment recommendations based on your age, risk tolerance and other factors.
The importance of saving for your retirement
Even if you participate in a pension plan, you should be investing in the UMPIP for your future.
-
People are living much longer and have more active lives in retirement than they used to—which also means they need more money for retirement than they used to.
-
Virtually all pension plans (including ours) are designed with the assumption that you'll also save for retirement on your own.
-
By the time you retire, Social Security benefits may not cover as much of your expenses as you think.
-
The sooner you begin saving, the longer your account has to grow through the compounding of investment earnings. The following table illustrates the effects of time, contribution amount and compounding.