How to Read My Statement of Benefits - Alternate Payee

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Summary

A sample form of the statement of benefits for an alternate payee.

Navigate the Form

A sample form of the Statement of Benefits is divided into parts with details to help you understand the information. Click on a section to navigate to or scroll down to each section. After you finish a section, click on "Back to Top" to navigate to a new section. Follow along on your own Statement of Benefits. If you do not have your own to look at, download the sample above.

Name & Address and IRS Codes

Name & Address: Make sure you receive important information about your WRS account by keeping your contact information up to date. See the Change My Address page for steps to change information.
IRS Codes: The WRS falls under Internal Revenue Service Codes 401(a) and 403(b). The WRS is a defined benefit pension plan; it is neither a 401(k) nor a 457(b). See the WRS Retirement Benefit page for more information.

Section 1 and Section 2

Section 1 – Earnings and Service: This section does not apply to Alternate Payee accounts.
Section 2 – Years of Creditable Service: This section shows your former spouse's or domestic partner’s creditable service that was transferred to your alternate payee account. This includes military service, if applicable. Service is broken down into three types: "Before 2000," "After 1999," and "After Act 10." Your former spouse or domestic partner may have service in one, two, or all three types, depending on when and how long they worked under the WRS. See the WRS Retirement Benefit page for more information.

Section 3

Section 3 – Employee-Required Contributions: This section shows the cumulative employee-required contributions in your account. This amount does not include the matching employer contributions (see Section 9 for your total account balance). Your interest rate is shown in this section.
Non-taxable portion of employee contributions (Investment in Contract): Since July 2011, most employee contributions are made on a before-tax basis and are not taxed until you receive a WRS benefit. Your Investment in Contract is shown at the bottom of this section. It is your share of the amount of after-tax employee contributions paid by your former spouse or domestic partner. The non-taxable portion of your WRS benefit will be based on this amount.

Section 4 and Section 5

Section 4 – Additional Contributions: This section shows the current balance of your share of any voluntary additional contributions your former spouse or domestic partner, or their employer, made to their WRS account before the decree date. The decree date is the effective date used to divide the WRS account.
Additional contributions always receive the effective rate of interest.
If your former spouse or domestic partner was approved for a Long-Term Disability Insurance (LTDI) benefit before the decree date, the LTDI supplemental contributions are included as Core Employer Additional Contributions. Your Core balance includes your share of the LTDI supplemental contributions as of the decree date. See the Additional Contributions page for more information.
Investment in Contract: Employee additional contributions are made on an after-tax basis. After-tax employee additional contributions are the Investment in Contract amount. The non-taxable portion of your WRS benefit will be based on this amount. Note: Before 2009, some employees made before-tax additional contributions (tax-deferred). Those and all employer additional contributions are fully taxed when the WRS benefit is paid.
Section 5 – Primary Beneficiary Designation(s): This section shows who receives any death benefit payable when you die. Your statement only shows your primary beneficiary designation(s) added after 1988. Secondary and tertiary beneficiaries are not listed, but are on file with ETF. If you do not have one on file or you turned one in before 1988, you will see a message like the one in the example. Changes in your personal situation like marriage, divorce, or termination of a domestic partnership do not change your beneficiary designation. You must file a new designation form to change your beneficiary. See the Designate a Beneficiary page for more information.

Section 6 and Section 7

Section 6 – Separation Benefit: This section shows the amount available if you are eligible to receive a separation benefit. A separation benefit includes employee contributions, additional contributions (if applicable), and earned interest. It does not include employer contributions. If you choose this option, you will lose the employer contributions (if vested) and your account will be closed.

You may take a separation benefit under one of two circumstances:
- Your former spouse has not yet reached minimum retirement age, or your former domestic partner has not yet reached normal retirement age.
- Your account is not vested.

Section 7 – Death Benefit: The amount shown is the minimum death benefit payable to your beneficiary(ies). It will be paid if you die before your WRS benefit begin date. Once your WRS benefit begins, any death benefit is based on the benefit payment option that you selected. See the Death Benefits page for more information.

Section 8 and Section 9

Section 8 – Formula Benefit Data: This section shows the data ETF uses to calculate your formula retirement benefit. See the WRS Retirement Benefit Calculations page for more information.
Your former spouse's or domestic partner's three highest years of WRS earnings. The years do not need to be three years in a row, nor the three most recent years of earnings.
Your former spouse's or domestic partner’s final average monthly earnings (FAE). The FAE is calculated by adding the total earnings in the three highest years, dividing that amount by the total service credited for those three years, then dividing by 12.
If your account was invested in the Variable Trust Fund, a Variable excess or deficiency amount is shown. This represents how much more or less is in your account because of your Variable participation when compared to your account value if you had never participated in the Variable Fund. See the Variable Fund page for more information.
Section 9 – Money Purchase Balance: Your monthly money purchase retirement benefit is calculated by multiplying your total money purchase balance (including interest) by the money purchase factor for your age on your benefit begin date. Your benefit will be based on this balance, unless the formula calculation (using data in Section 8) is higher. You are eligible to apply when your former spouse is age 55 (age 50 if your account includes any protective service that is not purchased). If your account is from a former domestic partner, you are eligible to apply when they are normal retirement age. See the WRS Retirement Benefit Calculations page for more information.

Section 10

Section 10 – Retirement Benefit Projections: No projections are shown for alternate payee accounts. Contact ETF to request a retirement benefit estimate 6 to 12 months before you plan to apply for a retirement benefit.