2024 HR/FINANCE CONTACTS FOR BEA AND IEC RETIREES

BENEFITS

BEA retirees with a Benefits question but you are not sure whom to contact: INL has set up a benefits-dedicated phone number you can use to reach a human or leave a voice message: 208-526-5500. A benefits-dedicated email box has been set up to which you can send a message, beabenefits@inl.gov. The e-message is read and directed by a human to the appropriate HR POC who can answer your inquiry.

IEC retirees with Benefits questions: Contact Jenni Ackerman at 208-533-3772 or send her an email at jenni.ackerman@icp.doe.gov if you have a IEC Benefits question.

RETIREE PASSING

BEA or IEC INL contact for retiree’s family: INL has set up a dedicated phone number (208-526-3453) for your family to inform Finance and Benefits of your passing. Your family member will receive help answering their questions and guidance with any needed paperwork. Be sure to include this information in your important papers.

OTHER CHANGES YOU MIGHT NEED TO MAKE

Change to your USPS mailing address and phone number: INL has set up a website with the forms needed to make these changes. These forms are mandatory for legal purposes. You can find them at https://inlcareers.inl.gov/retirees .If you change your address or phone number, alert HR of those changes via written notification. Here is an additional resource to check if you need to make any of the changes mentioned https://inlretirees.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Benefits-Finanace-important-facts.pdf .

IF YOU ELECTED LIFE INSURANCE COVERAGE WHEN YOU RETIRED

General questions about life insurance should be directed to your HR point of contact.

Remember, when you retired, the insurance policy was a benefit you had to elect to take and pay for monthly from your pension check. If you have no monthly life insurance premium deduction from your INL monthly pension payment, you DO NOT have this insurance coverage. If you did elect this coverage, the life insurance carrier is Prudential Insurance.  They can be reached at
1-800-562-9874, and INL’s group number is 44274.

Be sure to contact the insurance carrier if you need to change beneficiaries on your policy. Also include life insurance contact information in your important papers so the person handling your estate has clear guidance on this policy.

When you need to contact Human Resources (HR) we suggest that you:

• First send an email to beabenefits@inl.gov that clearly states your question – be sure to include your full name, email address, and phone number in the email text.
• You will receive an email response from an HR specialist detailing the answer within one (1) full business day (this does not include weekend days).
• If you have not received an email response after a minimum of one (1) full business day, call the POC’s phone number and leave a voicemail message.  In that voicemail explain that you have sent an email detailing your question.

Sending an email worked perfectly for an IREA board member when they had a question. In one business day they received clearly written guidance in the body of the email and an attachment containing the needed data!!

Finance details:

Northern Trust now handles INL finance for retirees who receive a monthly pension payment. Contact information for Northern Trust follows:

The Northern Trust Company

Benefit Payment Services

50 South LaSalle Street, W-38

Chicago, Illinois 60603

Phone: 312-557-9700

Northerntrust.com/bppweb

Retirees with the pension plan can manage their personal information on file with Northern Trust such as:

• Mailing address
• Banking Information
• Federal Tax Withholding
• State Tax Withholding
• Access Paystubs
• Access Tax Forms

Background on Northern Trust: INL retirees should have received a letter in early March of 2021 from the INL Benefits and Accounting Manger outlining a change in how INL Retirement Plan benefits will be paid starting on May 1, 2021. The reason for this letter is that the existing pension software used by INL has become outdated and INL considered it more efficient to retain a secondary service provider rather than obtaining new software and continue as in the past. As stated in the letter the services will be provided by Northern Trusts Benefit Payment Services. This division of Norther Trust presently provides payment services for US and Canadian companies for defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans, and non-qualified plans issuing over 1.4 million payments per month. There have been questions from retirees concerning any impact this will have on their retirement checks.

The new system used by Northern Trust will allow on-line access to individuals retirement account information, payment’s history and tax forms. This information will be available upon enrolling in the Benefit Payment Participant Web Passport at the web page “northerntrust.com/bppweb” after May 1. The web page allows one to update addresses, tax withholding (including State tax withholding that was not available in the past), bank information, and to request forms. Retiree benefits will be paid by Electronic Funds Transfer (ETF) if the retiree had opted for that in the past. If a check was mailed to the retiree in the past this will continue with Northern Trust. Included with every check will be a form that will allow changes for address, direct deposit information, and tax withholding although one can still access the Northern Trust web page and change personal information. Representatives are also available twenty-four hours a day to answer questions from plan participants at the numbers listed below. Once you have received your first payment you can access the web page to register. The page will require you to know when you received your first payment and what the amount was in addition to other personal information.

INL Benefits and Accounting has cautioned retirees to review their retirement benefits after receipt of the first payment from Northern Trust, occurring on May 1, 2021, to ensure that it has not resulted in changes to previous elections. The letter stated there may be some changes to withholding due to calculation differences.  To contact Northern Trust Company the address and telephone number given below should be used:

The Northern Trust Company

Benefit Payment Services

50 South LaSalle Street, W-38

Chicago, Illinois 60603

(312) 557-9700

Toll free telephone numbers for Northern Trust are:

• (866) 252-5395 for general inquiries concerning payment information
• (888) 259-6835 for assistance related to enrolling in the web or password resets.IEIEC