Benefits Handbook

You may be able to start payment of your Retirement Plan benefit during employment pursuant to the Phased Retirement Program (PRP). Generally, the payment form you elect for your Retirement Plan benefit payments under the PRP will also be your payment form under the Retirement Plan when you terminate employment (or when you must start payment after you attain age 70-1/2 during employment, if applicable). This means that the annuity form you elect for PRP will be your available annuity form for your grandfathered BEP benefit. However, as under the current BEP provisions, you may make or change any single sum election for your grandfathered BEP benefit until you terminate employment, and any such election or change made within 12 months of the commencement date for your grandfathered BEP benefit will be subject to the applicable rules described under the heading "How Grandfathered BEP Benefits are Paid."

You can learn more about the PRP by reviewing the section of this Benefits Handbook that describes the Retirement Plan. Any participant who is expected to meet the PRP eligibility requirements in time to qualify for participation can find out more about the program by visiting the PRP Resources page on Colleague Connect. In fact, the PRP Resources page has been accessible beginning in late May of 2022 to any participants who have not yet met all participation criteria (e.g., attaining age 62), provided that they eventually will be able to satisfy the requirements by the latest Benefit Commencement Date under the program, i.e., August 1, 2026). Prior to an extension to the PRP, the latest Benefit Commencement Date in the PRP was August 1, 2024. An extension to the PRP was announced in May of 2024, including that any additional extensions are not anticipated. The PRP Resources page grants access to the Phased Retirement Program ("PRP") Employee Brochure, which includes answers to many frequently asked questions, as well as other useful information. Go to Phased Retirement Program Resources.