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1099R Tax Statement
As a reminder, Retirees will receive two 1099R tax forms. One from Frederick County Government for payments issued through September 1, 2020, and one from Wilmington Trust for payments issued October 1 through December 1, 2020. Both 1099R forms will be postmarked by January 31, 2020.
USPS is experiencing unprecedented volume increases and limited employee availability due to the impacts of COVID-19. Please allow extra time for the delivery of these forms. If you have not received your 1099R by February 20, 2021, please contact the appropriate agency to request a reprint. We appreciate your patience.
Please keep in mind, if you turned 59 ½ in 2020, normally you will receive two 1099R’s. This year you will receive three 1099’s. One for the distribution code of 2 – early exception and one for the distribution code of 7 – normal retirement.
If you do not receive your 1099R from Frederick County Government and/or have any questions regarding the form, please contact Bob Goff at RGoff@FrederickCountyMD.gov or (301) 600-1625.
If you do not receive your 1099R from Wilmington Trust, please contact Retirement Focus at (833) 771-1496.
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Frederick County Government is dedicated to providing you with the highest level of service and has recently partnered with Retirement Focus managed by Findley, Inc. (“Retirement Focus”) and Wilmington Trust to support the participants of our retirement plans. While Frederick County Government will remain the Plan Sponsor of the Retirement Plan, effective October 1, 2020, the service and administration of your retirement benefit payments will be maintained by Retirement Focus.
Effective with your October 1, 2020 payment, Wilmington Trust will begin issuing monthly payments on behalf of the plan. You will no longer receive payments from Frederick County Government. With this change, you do not have to take any action. We have provided answers to many of the most common questions HERE
To assist you with your initial login and an introduction to the self-service tools now available, please refer to the Retirement Focus User Guide.
We anticipate a smooth transition during this change, but please feel free to contact Retirement Focus should you have any questions or concerns at 833-771-1496.
Please note that pension information is specific to the Frederick County Employees Retirement Plan and does not apply to county employees who participate in the State of Maryland Retirement System.
For 457b Plan participants, after you retire you can deal directly with Empower's Retirement Solutions Group at 877-534-4569 . Retirement Solutions Group helps participants with:
* Savings and investing strategies
* Managed Accounts service
* Account consolidation and distribution
Retirement Plan Committee Information
IMPORTANT 2021 BENEFITS REMINDERS
From the United States Postal Service: USPS IS EXPERIENCING UNPRECEDENTED VOLUME INCREASES AND LIMITED EMPLOYEE AVAILABILITY DUE TO THE IMPACTS OF COVID-19. WE APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE.
Enrollment forms are fillable and require a digital signature. Instructions are located here: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/signing-pdfs.html If you are unable to put your signature in, please just put your initials next to the date on the same line. You may also print the forms and complete by hand. Forms should be submitted to benefits@frederickcountymd.gov
Should you have questions concerning retiree health and dental benefits, please feel free to contact Human Resources via email or call 301-600-1190.
Newsletter (Adobe PDF format)
The Retire Flyer Jan 2020
The Retire Flyer Jul 2019
The Retire Flyer Apr 2019
The Retire Flyer Jan 2019
Pay Dates
The pay date for the January 1, 2021 benefit payment will be Friday, January 1, 2021. Please note that due to the bank holiday it will not be available until Monday, January 4, 2021.
Amendment #1
Ad Hoc Cost of Living Adjustment for FY2020 - Should the County Executive approve an amendment to the Frederick County Employees Retirement Plan (the "Plan") that (1) provides for a one time cost of living adjustment to retirees’ benefits, which will be phased in over a period of three years, up to a maximum of five percent (5%) of the retirees’ monthly benefit payment, depending on the period in time when the Participant’s retirement occurred, and (2) requires that the Retirement Plan Committee (the "Committee") evaluate the adequacy of cost of living adjustments every three years to assess the impact of inflation on retirees’ benefit payments, and forward this amendment to the County Council for their consideration?
Frederick County Council to consider an additional Cost of Living Increase (COLA) for Retirees. During 2018 the Frederick County Retirement Plan Committee reviewed several options to provide an additional COLA for existing Retirement Plan participants. Ultimately the Committee made a recommendation to the County Executive to provide a one-time additional COLA with a tiered structure that extends a greater benefit to the longer term retirees. This new one-time COLA would be in addition to the 1% compounding COLA already provided by the Plan. This tiered structure, which would be provided over three years beginning with Fiscal Year 2020 (July 1, 2019), is shown below in Table 1.
The County Executive supports this one-time tiered and phased in COLA. Since this requires a Plan Amendment it has been submitted as a Bill to the Frederick County Council. The proposed bill will also require that future additional COLA adjustments be evaluated at least once every three years following the adoption of this Plan Amendment and in conjunction with the actuarial valuation of the Plan. This should ensure that any future COLA will be considered on a more frequent basis.
The Bill to Amend the Retirement Plan to add this new COLA for existing retirees will be introduced to the County Council on January 15, 2019, The Council will hold a Public Hearing at Winchester Hall regarding the Bill on February 5, 2019.* Retirees who are interested in this Bill and COLA can see a copy of the bill on the County’s Web site under the Human Resources Page - Retiree Information & Resources. Retirees that have questions about this Bill can contact Robert Goff in Human Resources at 301-600-1625 or Michael Marschner, the Retiree member of the Plan Committee, at 301-600-1133.
You can now update your address and contact information, direct deposit information, tax withholding and more through the Retirement Focus portal.
Log in to your account at www.RetirementFocus.com or call a Retirement Focus Representative at 833-771-1496.
To assist you with your initial login and an introduction to the self-service tools now available, please refer to the Retirement Focus User Guide.