SMART NEWS Summer: August 2013 The Bi-monthly eBulletin of the Massachusetts Deferred Compensation SMART Plan Highlights of this issue include: . Message from the Executive Director . Your Online Account Access: Working For You! . Coming Soon: SMART Plan Enhancements . Has Your Email Address Changed? . Auto Deferral Increases . Rejoin the SMART Plan . SMART Plan Representative Spotlight . 5 Things we're Excited About . Join the Plan . New Online Resource: Retirement Income Control Panel . SMART Plan Participant Testimonial . SMART Plan Fun Fact . SMART Plan Fallen Phrase . SMART Plan Trivia . We Want to Hear From You Message from the Executive Director, Deferred Compensation Introducing The Retirement Income Control Panel We are pleased to announce that the SMART Plan will now offer our participants an exciting and innovative new tool to help ensure you remain on track to reach your retirement goals. The Retirement Income Control Panel (RICP) will provide participants with a projection of how their SMART Plan account balance might translate into monthly income in retirement. This projection is based on your current account balance, rate of deferral, years to retirement and pre-and-post retirement assumed rates of return. To see what your projected retirement income might be, login to your SMART Plan account today. If you do not have an online ID, to access and view your account please contact a SMART Plan representative at (877) 457-1900. We will continue our work to enhance the Plan and provide you with industry best practices in order to give you the most ideal opportunity to reach your retirement savings goals. David Lynch, Executive Director Your SMART Plan [Account] Online Access: Working For You! Are you a SMART Plan participant? Do you already have an online account? If not, you're missing out on some of the exciting new features and tools found on the website. Your SMART Plan website (www.mass-smart.com) offers information, tools and resources to help you save and reach your retirement goals. Explore the new Retirement Income Control Panel, online investment education articles, seminars and more by signing up for online account access today! To register your online account, just go to www.mass-smart.com and click on "Let's Get Started" under ACCOUNT ACCESS. Follow the steps to create your online account. If you do not know or do not have your PIN, click on the "Forgot Username or PIN" link on the home page or call (877) 457-1900. Still need help with your online account access? Call the SMART Plan Customer Service Center at (877) 457-1900 to request your TEMPORARY password. Coming Soon: SMART Plan Enhancements The SMART Plan will be making three new asset classes available to Plan participants in 2013. Emerging Markets Equity, Emerging Markets Debt and a Real Return Investment Strategy will be available through the Plan's target date funds. Our goal in adding these new asset classes is to provide additional diversification and an incremental total return opportunity within the target date funds. The Real Return strategy will be available both as a diversifier within the Target Date Funds as well as a stand-alone option within the Plan's core investment line-up. Has Your Email Address Changed? Update Your Online Account Don't miss out on important news or updates. Submit your personal email to be added to our mailing list to continue to receive future email issues of the SMART NEWS eBulletin and SMART Newsletter. Email us at smartplan@tre.state.ma.us Auto Deferral Increases One important part of your retirement savings strategy is your savings deferral rate. For many participants it can be hard to keep track of. Your SMART Plan can help you make this step easier by allowing you to set up auto deferral increases on your account. Just visit the SMART Plan website, click on the Transaction tile and set up an annual increase to your contribution amount with a few easy steps: . Click on Change Paycheck Contribution . Select Scheduled Increase and click Continue . Complete the fields and click Continue . Review the summary of your auto deferral elections and click Submit Visit www.mass-smart.com to take advantage of this enhancement. SAVINGS TIP Starting to save for retirement early in your working years and annually increasing your deferral may give you the best chance of growing your retirement nest egg. Rejoin the SMART Plan Are you Taking Advantage of the Massachusetts Deferred Compensation SMART Plan? If you have stopped contributing and would like to rejoin the SMART Plan. The Massachusetts Deferred Compensation SMART Plan is proud to be the trusted partner for your retirement savings. We understand that our responsibility as plan administrators begins with you, the participant, and helps to make a difference in your life in a practical and personal way. The SMART Plan continues to enrich the lives and futures of thousands of active employees and retirees who have successfully started their retirement journeys. This success can be measured by the testimony of one of our proud program participants: "My advice is: join the SMART Plan right away and then just slowly increase contributions over the years. That way, when your 25 years go by, like mine did, in the blink of an eye, that money will be there for you." Rick W., Lieutenant, Mass State Police Rejoin the SMART Plan today!! By taking action now you improve your chances of attaining a comfortable and secure retirement. Our investment lineup offers flexible investment funds that satisfy the changing needs of our participants. Contact your local Account Representative today or visit us online at www.mass-smart.com to reactivate your account and get back on track to save for your retirement. SMART Plan Representative Spotlight - Retiree Advocate SMART Plan Representative Linda Graham, Senior Account Executive, Western Massachusetts Territory [Photopgraph of Linda Graham] Linda Graham is our SMART Plan Retiree Advocate specifically assigned to work closely with retired Plan participants or employees who are nearing retirement. Linda is a Key Retirement Plan Counselor for the SMART Plan with more than 17 years of experience working with state and local government employees to help them reach their retirement goals. As the Retiree Advocate, Linda is available to help active and/or retired participants effectively plan for their future and understand issues like distribution options and long-term investing. Linda is currently hosting a series of retirement-focused educational seminars throughout the state (see seminar schedule on page 3). She holds a FINRA Series 6 and 63 securities registrations, as well as the CRCP designation. If you are retired or within five years of retirement, please feel free to contact Linda Graham via e-mail at Linda.Graham@gwrs.com or by calling (877) 457-1900. 5 Things we're Excited About Whether you are a current member or not, participating in the Massachusetts Deferred Compensation SMART Plan offers many advantages and savings avenues to help you better prepare and meet your retirement income goals. The 1 new available option and 4 soon-to-be-available additions are specially designed to: provide a personalized snapshot of your retirement savings journey; offer more built-in diversification; and to help reduce risk related to market volatility and inflation [across the SMARTPath Retirement Funds]. . Retirement Income Control Panel (RICP) . Emerging Market Bond (coming soon) . Emerging Market Equity (coming soon) . Real [Inflation Adjusted] Return Strategy (coming soon) . 457 Roth (coming soon) If you have any comments, ideas or feedback, please email us at smartplan@tre.state.ma.us. Join the Massachusetts Deferred Compensation SMART Plan today! Whether you've been employed for years or are a new state or municipal employee, put the SMART Plan to work for you. Learn how the SMART Plan can help you plan and reach your retirement goals and dreams. Our knowledgeable and qualified Retirement Counselors and Customer Service Representatives are ready to assist you by answering your questions and getting you started on your retirement path. Enroll online at www.mass-smart.com or call (877) 457-1900 to speak with a Plan Representative. New Online Resource: The Retirement Income Panel A new, powerful retirement planning tool is available on your SMART Plan website. Brought to you by the Advised Assets Group, the Retirement Income Control Panel will help you quickly and easily see if you're on track toward your retirement goals. (footnote 1) This tool will show participants their projected retirement income in retirement based on their current account balance, factoring in several assumptions such as average rate of return pre-retirement and post-retirement, taxes and current rate of deferral. By clicking on the tool, you can tailor the results by: . Your annual salary; . Your retirement age; and . The percentage of income you want to replace. You can also choose other income sources beyond the assets in your SMART Plan account so that your projected monthly amount is customized for you. Should you have any gaps with your retirement income goals, you'll be provided with recommendations on how to close them. What will your retirement income projection be? Find out soon by logging onto your SMART Plan website to check out the Retirement Income Control Panel. [IMage of the Retirement Income Control Panel] For illustrative purposes only. (footnote 1) The Retirement Income Control Panel is provided as an educational tool for the participant's private use to assist in analyzing the various impacts of his or her savings and investment decisions. It is not intended to provide financial planning or investment advice. All information provided by the Retirement Income Control Panel is hypothetical and for illustrative purposes only. The accuracy of these results or their applicability to the participant's individual circumstances cannot be and is not guaranteed. The Retirement Income Control Panel is brought to you by Advised Assets Group, LLC (AAG), a registered investment advisor and wholly owned subsidiary of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, under a licensing agreement with your retirement plan service provider. All rights reserved. Advised Assets Group, LLC is a federally registered investment adviser and wholly owned subsidiary of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company and an affiliate of Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company of New York, White Plains, New York. More information can be found at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. SMART Plan Participant Testimonial "I had a problem with my payroll deductions. I contacted the liaison at the Treasurer's office regarding my problem and their response was very professional and courteous; my problem was resolved promptly. I was very happy and impressed with the consideration and efficiency shown by the SMART Plan staff in assisting me with a happy resolution. " Alice D., Dept. of Conservation & Recreation SMART Plan Fun Fact - Did you know? THE SMART PLAN ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT REACHED A MILESTONE $6 BILLION IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2013 WHEREVER YOU ARE IN YOUR CAREER, REMEMBER THE SMART PLAN CAN HELP YOU MEET YOUR RETIREMENT GOALS! SMART Plan Fallen Phrase See if you can solve the fallen phrase below! [Image of puzzle] Answers to the puzzle will be posted pre-login on our website www.mass-smart.com, SMART NEWS eBulletin SMART Plan Trivia What number of participating SMART Plan participants has an account balance greater than $100,000? A. 1,235 B. 9,975 C. 2,418 D. 882 ** The answer to this question is compiled from plan statistics as of 3/31/2013. Answers to the trivia question will be posted pre-login on our website www.mass-smart.com, SMART NEWS eBulletin We want to hear from you! Have a testimonial you would like to share and have featured? Have questions or feedback? Please email us at smartplan@tre.state.ma.us. Thank you! Please forward this Bulletin