MMC Benefits Handbook
Limited Time Benefit Offer in 2017
Terms of the Limited Time Benefit Offer in 2017
If you were eligible for the Limited Time Benefit Offer in 2017 (Offer), you had the option to voluntarily elect to receive your Accrued Benefit as a single sum or an immediate monthly annuity effective October 1, 2017. If you were eligible, you received a communication not more than 90 days prior to October 1, 2017 which described the terms of the Offer and included information with respect to benefit amounts you might have been eligible to receive as well as instructions on how to apply for a benefit under the Offer.
To elect a benefit under the Offer, you needed to submit an election form and all required documentation in good order during the Special Election Period. The Special Election Period began on July 17, 2017 and ended September 15, 2017. If your election was made online, it needed to be submitted by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on September 15, 2017, or if you chose to use a paper form, it needed to be postmarked no later than September 15, 2017. However, if your address of record as of September 12, 2017 was in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Texas, or the United States Virgin Islands, your election needed to be submitted by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on October 4, 2017 if your election was online, or if you chose to use a paper form, it needed to be postmarked no later than October 4, 2017.
If you submitted an election form and all required documentation was in good order by September 15, 2017, you had until September 30, 2017 to either revoke your election or change the form of payment you elected.
If you were eligible for the Offer but did not submit your election form and all required documentation by the end of the applicable Special Election Period, your monthly benefit will commence pursuant to the Marsh & McLennan Companies Retirement Plan's standard provisions. See "When Benefits Commence" for details.
You were eligible for the Limited Time Benefit Offer if you:
- were a former Participant who terminated employment before January 1, 2017,
- had a vested benefit in the Plan and were not yet receiving your Plan benefit, and
- had a benefit with a lump sum Present Value as of October 1, 2017 that did not exceed $139,021.00.
You were not eligible for the Limited Time Benefit Offer if you were a Participant who:
- was receiving your monthly Plan benefit as of July 1, 2017,
- had terminated on or after January 1, 2017,
- had been rehired by a participating company or non-participating company and were an active employee on or after January 1, 2017,
- was on a leave of absence, Long Term Disability or Short Term Disability on or after January 1, 2017,
- had a Plan benefit that was linked to a benefit accrued before January 1, 2005 under a non-qualified plan, such as the Marsh & McLennan Companies Benefit Equalization Plan and Marsh & McLennan Companies Supplemental Retirement Plan or had accrued non-qualified benefits under an acquired company's plans, such as the Johnson & Higgins Pension Excess Benefit Plan or the Sedgwick Excess Retirement Plan,
- had attained age 70-1/2 in 2016 or earlier,
- had a Plan benefit, either as a participant or as an alternate payee that was subject to a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) before the end of the Special Election Period,
- had a Plan benefit as the survivor of a deceased participant on or before July 1, 2017,
- had a valid lien on your Plan benefit as of July 1, 2017,
- had a benefit attributable to the Sedgwick Retirement Plan with a lump sum present value that was $20,000 or less on July 1, 2017,
- had a vested Accrued Benefit under the Plan whose Present Value as of July 1, 2017 was less than $1,000, or
- elected to commence your Plan benefit effective August 1, 2017 or September 1, 2017 and did not affirmatively cancel such election prior to the Benefit Commencement Date you selected.
Benefits Available Under the Offer Commencing October 1, 2017
The benefit options available to you under the Offer were contingent upon your marital status and your age on October 1, 2017 as follows:
If you were not yet age 55 on October 1, 2017 and were married, you had the following benefit options under the Offer:
- a lump sum payment of the Present Value of your Accrued Benefit
- a 50% contingent annuity with your Spouse named as the designated survivor
- a 75% contingent annuity with your Spouse named as the designated survivor
- a single life annuity
You needed to obtain your Spouse's written, notarized consent before you could elect either a lump sum payment or the single life annuity form of payment.
If you were not yet age 55 and did not have a Spouse on October 1, 2017:
Calculation of pre-age 55 annuity benefit:
If you were not age 55 on October 1, 2017 and elected an annuity benefit, your monthly benefit amount was your Accrued Benefit at your Normal Retirement Date, actuarially reduced to reflect your actual age at commencement. The reduction that was applied was:
- 0.05% per month for each month between ages 65 and 55 (a 60% reduction), plus
- an additional reduction based on Internal Revenue Service – specified actuarial factors under Code section 417(e) for each month that your commencement date precedes your 55th birthday
Calculation of pre-age 55 lump sum benefit payment:
If you were not age 55 on October 1, 2017 and elected a lump sum payment, your lump sum payment represented the actuarial value of your single life amount commencing at your Normal Retirement Date.
If you were age 55 or older and had a Spouse on October 1, 2017:
- a lump sum payment of the Present Value of your Accrued Benefit
- any form of benefit payable under the Plan (See "How Benefits are Paid" for details.)
If you did not elect a contingent annuity naming your Spouse as the designated survivor, you needed to obtain your Spouse's written, notarized consent.
If you were age 55 or older and did not have a Spouse on October 1, 2017:
- a lump sum payment of the Present Value of your Accrued Benefit
- any form of benefit payable under the Plan (See "How Benefits are Paid" for details.)
Calculation of Annuity at age 55 or older but before your Normal Retirement Date:
If you were age 55 but had not attained your Normal Retirement Date prior to October 1, 2017 and elected an annuity benefit, your annuity amount was your Accrued Benefit as of your Normal Retirement Date reduced pursuant to the Plan's early reduction factors as applicable to your date of birth, the date you left the Company, and your age when you left the Company.
Calculation of Lump Sum Payment at age 55 or older but before Normal Retirement Date:
If you were age 55 but had not attained your Normal Retirement date before October 1, 2017 and elected a lump sum payment, your lump sum payment was the actuarial present value of your single life annuity commencing at age 65.
Calculation of Lump Sum Payment after Normal Retirement Date:
If you attained your Normal Retirement Date before October 1, 2017 and elected a lump sum payment, your lump sum benefit amount represented the actuarial present value of a single life annuity commencing on October 1, 2017.
Death Benefit Under the Offer
Death Before the Payment of a Lump Sum Distribution:
If you were not married and your death occurred prior to the distribution of lump sum payment, the lump sum payment was paid to your estate. If you were married and your death occurred prior to the distribution of your lump sum payment, the lump sum payment was distributed to your Spouse.
Death Prior to October 1, 2017 if You Elected an Annuity:
If you elected an annuity and your death occurred prior to October 1, 2017, a death benefit will be payable to your Eligible Survivor, if any. See "Death Benefits" for details.
Timing of Payment:
- If you elected a lump sum payment under the Limited Time Benefit Offer, your payment was made on or about October 1, 2017 or as soon as was administratively possible after October 4, 2017. If you took your benefit as a lump sum payment, you will have received your entire Accrued Benefit from the Plan and are no longer eligible for any additional benefits under the Plan.
- If you elected an annuity under the Limited Time Benefit Offer, your monthly benefit commenced effective October 1, 2017.