We are pleased to offer the Schwab Personal Choice Retirement

Transcription

1 State of California Savings Plus Brokerage Account Managing Your Own Investments Through a Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account (PCRA) All information contained in this booklet was current as of the printing date. The Plan Administrator reserves the right to amend any of the procedures or plan provisions outlined in this booklet or in the official Plan Document. Such changes may be enacted without prior announcement or the express consent or agreement of plan participants. The official Plan Document will govern if any contradiction arises between the terms of the official Plan Document and this booklet. We are pleased to offer the Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account (PCRA) a self-directed brokerage account available through Savings Plus. A Schwab PCRA allows you greater flexibility with your Savings Plus investments by giving you the freedom to select and manage your portfolio from a much larger universe of mutual funds, individual stocks, bonds, and a variety of other investment choices. This booklet will help you answer two important questions: 1. Is a PCRA right for me? We provide a simple question and answer format so you can weigh the factors and make a more informed decision. 2. If so, how can I make a PCRA work for me? Specifically, this booklet explains: How to enroll in a PCRA How to transfer funds to and from a PCRA The investment choices available in a PCRA How Schwab can help you with transactions in a PCRA NRM-3958CA (11/2006) State of California

2 About the PCRA This section provides an overview of the PCRA to give you a frame of reference for making your retirement investment choice. What is a PCRA? What are the enrollment requirements? How is a PCRA different from our core fund options? How is a PCRA different from a typical brokerage account? A Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account (PCRA) is one of the investment choices offered by Savings Plus. The PCRA is made available through Nationwide Retirement Solutions, Inc., the third-party administrator for Savings Plus, and Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC), the brokerage services provider. You can choose a PCRA as well as any of the core funds in Savings Plus for your investment choices. The term core funds refers to the fund choices currently offered in Savings Plus. You must choose at least one core fund in addition to a PCRA. Information on the core funds is available on the Savings Plus Web site at You may open a PCRA if you have a 401(k) and/or 457 account with Savings Plus. If you participate in both the 401(k) and 457 plans, you may open a PCRA for each plan. If you have two PCRA accounts, the assets in each account cannot be inter- mingled. In other words, you may not transfer money back and forth between the two PCRAs. You must retain $2,500 or 50% of your total account balance, whichever is less, in your Savings Plus core account. Savings Plus may adjust the minimum total account balance that you are required to maintain in core funds as a condition of your participation in a PCRA. The main difference between a Savings Plus core account and a PCRA is that core account funds are managed by professional portfolio managers whose sole job is to monitor and analyze the performance of the underlying securities in which they choose to invest. With a PCRA, you manage your own investments. You have the freedom to plan the strategy, do the research, watch the performance, evaluate the progress, make adjustments, and initiate changes as needed. You are solely responsible for selecting and managing your PCRA investments. While Savings Plus core funds are selected by Savings Plus through a competitive bid process, investments available through the PCRA, while deemed to be appropriate for retirement, are not selected by Savings Plus nor are they monitored by Savings Plus. Unlike a typical consumer brokerage account, you can invest tax-deferred income in a PCRA (after transferring the funds from your Savings Plus core account). Another major difference concerns the fees and commissions charged for trade orders in your PCRA. Please contact Schwab through the Web site at com or by phone at PCRA (7272) for more information about Schwabʼs fees and commissions. You will receive a commission schedule from Schwab in your PCRA Welcome Kit. 2

3 What investments are available through a PCRA? What information is available to help me learn about and select different investments? How do I place trades in a PCRA? Are loans, withdrawals, and distributions available from a PCRA? You can choose your investments from more than 3,200 mutual funds, including Schwabʼs Mutual Funds OneSource funds with more than 2,400 funds available that have no loads or transaction fees, 1 most individual stocks listed on every major U.S. exchange (including over-the-counter stocks), exchange-traded funds (ETFs), bonds, and a variety of other investments. Refer to Choosing Investments in the PCRA for a complete list of allowed investments. The key to reaching your financial goals for retirement is the ability to make informed choices now. Schwab provides you with the information and resources to help you make more informed decisions along the way. Once you open a PCRA, you gain access to information that may help you make more informed investment decisions. Visit Schwab online at for help allocating your assets among broad investment categories, based on the investment time horizon and tolerance for risk you provide, or contact Schwabʼs dedicated PCRA Call Center at PCRA (7272) for assistance with trades and brokerage account questions. You may access your PCRA at Schwab and place trade orders when it is convenient for you, day or night. 2 Place trade orders: On Schwabʼs Internet site at Via Schwabʼs touch-tone phone service TeleBroker, voice recognition service Schwab by Phone, or by calling the dedicated PCRA Call Center at PCRA (7272), Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). By calling to reach a TTY-trained Schwab representative; TTY services are available Monday through Sunday, 6:00 a.m. to 12 midnight ET. All withdrawals are processed through your core account. PCRA balances may not be directly accessed for loans, emergency or hardship withdrawals, or distributions. To have your PCRA assets considered in a loan or withdrawal request, you must first move PCRA balances into your sweep account the Schwab Money Market Fund 3 and then transfer those funds into your Savings Plus core account. Once the trade settles in your PCRA, the proceeds are invested in your sweep account where they are available to transfer to your core account. Once they are in your core account, you can call Savings Plus at to initiate a loan or request a withdrawal form. See How to Get Your Money if You Need It for important guidelines on withdrawals. 1 Schwabʼs short-term transaction fee will be charged ) bought through Schwabʼs Mutual Fund OneSource on redemptions of funds (except SchwabFunds service (and certain other funds) with no transaction fee and held for 90 days or less. If you pay a transaction fee to purchase a fund, you will pay a transaction fee when you sell it as well. Schwab reserves the right to change the funds we make available without transaction fees and to reinstate fees on any funds. Schwab receives remuneration from participating fund companies. 2 Access to electronic services may be limited or unavailable during periods of peak demand, market volatility, systems upgrade, maintenance, or other reasons. 3 An investment in the Schwab Money Market Fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency. Although the fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it is possible to lose money by investing in the Fund. 3

4 Is a PCRA Right for Me? With that brief introduction, you can now ask yourself the following five questions to help you evaluate if a PCRA may be an appropriate investment choice for your retirement plan account. Are you looking for additional investment choices for your retirement account? With a PCRA, you can choose from an expanded selection of mutual funds, individual stocks, bonds, and a variety of other investments to help you create a personalized retirement plan portfolio. Are you interested in researching, picking, and maintaining your investments? Although choosing how to invest within your core retirement account requires some time, self-directing your own invest ments takes more time time to do the research; time to identify and choose from the broad array of investment choices that are available and that fit your investment strategy; time to monitor their performance; and time to make the investment changes you choose. Through Schwab, you have access to a variety of resources for information and guidance. To be most successful, however, you should have a sound familiarity with investments, a developed personal interest in keeping up with the market and its trends, and the ability to stay focused on your long-term goals. Are you willing to incur additional trading and maintenance costs for an expanded investment choice? With a PCRA, you will need to manage your investment expenses just as carefully as your returns. Schwabʼs standard commission schedule, provided in the PCRA Welcome Kit, applies to funds and securities purchased or sold through a PCRA. Discounted commissions are available for trades placed through Schwabʼs electronic channels online at or by utilizing Schwabʼs automated phone services. Are you comfortable with risk? All investments have some degree of investment risk. Your level of expertise and the amount of research information available on an investment will help you to develop and manage a high, moderate, or low risk strategy. An investmentʼs past performance should not be considered an indication or guarantee of its future results. It is up to you to choose the investment vehicles that best meet your objectives and match your risk profile. Savings Plus is not responsible for monitoring or evaluating the investment choices that are available through a PCRA. Investments such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Securities (including mutual funds) sold by Schwab are not obligations of or insured by the FDIC or any other government agency. Investment balances may fluctuate so that when securities are sold, they may be worth more or less than when they were purchased. No assurance can be 4

5 given that the principal amount of PCRA investments will be preserved. Savings Plus is not liable for any loss that results from your investment choice(s) under the PCRA. 5 Choosing a PCRA Can you stay invested for the long term? A PCRA, like any retirement plan investment, is a long-term commitment that seeks to build replacement income for the future. A PCRA may not be appropriate if you anticipate the need to get to your money often, as frequent purchases and sales may result in excessive trading costs. If you answered yes to these questions, a PCRA may be right for you. With access to Schwabʼs numerous resources to help you make and execute investment decisions, a PCRA may make sense for the experienced and savvy investor who: Is looking for flexibility from a greatly expanded array of investment choices Enjoys taking a greater role in selecting and monitoring investments to create a personalized retirement plan portfolio Is comfortable with risk within a long-term strategy If you are that kind of person, please read on. 5

6 How to Get Started How to open a PCRA 1 Opening and funding a PCRA is easy. Hereʼs how: Complete and sign the following forms: A Schwab PCRA Participant Limited Power of Attorney (LPOA) application for each plan from which you wish to transfer money to your PCRA (your 401(k) Thrift Plan or your 457 Deferred Compensation Plan or both). The LPOA gives you the authority to place trade orders in your PCRA. The Savings Plus Program 457 Deferred Compensation Plan and 401(k) Thrift Plan Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU discloses rules of participation in the PCRA through your Savings Plus account. These forms are provided in this enrollment package and on the Savings Plus Web site at 2 How to fund your PCRA Send the forms to Nationwide Retirement Solutions. Allow ten business days for normal mail delivery and processing time. As soon as your PCRA is set up, Schwab will send you a PCRA Welcome Kit containing: Your PCRA account number An outline of Schwabʼs services and capabilities Information on how to place trade orders and choose investments A PCRA Pricing Guide and other regulatory meterials for your account Before you may place trade orders in your PCRA, you must transfer the funds you want to use to fund your PCRA from your Savings Plus core account. You can transfer money to your PCRA from one or more core investments by using your telephone keypad: call the Savings Plus Voice Response System (VRS) at and follow the prompts. You can also gain access to your Savings Plus account via the Savings Plus Web site at or you can contact a customer service representative, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Pacific time (PT). You may transfer a flat dollar amount or a percentage of the core account balance from your designated core fund(s). Transfer requests that are received by 1:00 p.m. PT on days when the New York Stock Exchange is open will be effective that day. It will take just a few minutes. Thatʼs it! The transfer of assets to the PCRA requires one day to be accomplished, during which time your assets will be out of the market (i.e., assets are not invested for this period of time). Direct contributions to your PCRA are not allowed. 6

7 Currently, you are required to retain $2,500 or 50% of your total account balance, whichever is less, in your Savings Plus core account. Savings Plus will notify you if this requirement changes. Remember, funds are not transferred directly between core funds and the investments in your PCRA or vice versa. It is a two-step activity; you must initiate each step separately. Step 1. Transfer the necessary funds from your core account to your PCRA, where the money is automatically invested in a Schwab Money Market Fund (sweep account). Step 2. Initiate a trade order (using the money in the Schwab Money Market Fund) to purchase an investment within your PCRA. Conversely, when you need to move money back to your core account, you must first place the dollars in the Schwab Money Market Fund and then initiate the transfer back to your core account. Only settled funds are eligible to be transferred back to your core account. The timetable below shows when everything would typically become effective if you request a fund transfer from a core account to your PCRA by 1:00 p.m. PT on a day when the New York Stock Exchange is open. Transaction Money is moved from a core fund to a cash in transit status. Fund transfer to a PCRA is effective and funds are automatically invested in a Schwab Money Market Fund. You may place trade orders within your PCRA. Effective Same day 2nd business day 3rd business day 7

8 Choosing Investments in a PCRA What investments are available? When you open a PCRA, you may transfer some of your Savings Plus assets into any of the following types of investments: American depository receipts of foreign corporations* Brokered certificates of deposit Collateralized mortgage obligations Commercial Paper Common and preferred stock* Convertible bonds* Convertible preferred stock* Corporate bonds Exchange Traded Funds Government bonds and other securities issued or guaranteed by the United States of America Limited Partnerships* Listed options (limited to writing covered calls and buying puts against long positions) Mutual funds, including more than 2,400 funds with no loads or transaction fees through the Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource service Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)* Securities of any agency or instrumentality of the United States of America Taxable open and closed-end mutual funds Taxable unit investment trusts *Must be listed on an approved exchange or market, which includes the New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange, National Market System sponsored by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System (NASDAQ), National Quotation Bureau n/k/a Pink Sheets LLC, and any other exchange registered as a National Securities Exchange under Section 6 of the Securities Exchange Act of The following investments are not permitted within a PCRA: Non-allowed investments include all common and preferred stocks, convertible bonds, convertible preferred stocks, foreign securities, and REITs and limited partnerships that are not listed and traded on approved exchanges or markets. Additional non-allowed investments include: Bank deposit products Collectibles (art, antiques, etc.) Commodities and commodity futures Direct participation plans Foreign currencies Insurance products (fixed and variable annuities, life insurance contracts) Municipal bonds 8

9 Precious metals Real property Short sales Trust deeds Tax-free open and closed-end mutual funds Tax-free unit investment trusts Unlisted options, option purchases (exception: buying puts against long positions and writing covered calls), and writing uncovered call or put options Any other investments that are not on the list of allowed investments How to decide which investments to choose When you are mailed a Schwab PCRA Welcome Kit (after your account is opened), you will receive information on a variety of resources available to help you make investment decisions. For example, you will find information on: Investments available in your PCRA Electronic and automated account access How to place trade orders at your convenience Services to maximize your investment earnings For more information on these and other numerous resources, please refer to the PCRA Welcome Kit provided by Schwab or visit the Schwab Web site at www. schwab.com. 9

10 Investing in and Managing a PCRA About trading within a PCRA You can place trade orders (buy/sell) for any of your investments in a PCRA at any time. Please be aware that PCRAs are considered cash up front accounts. This means that for buy orders, you must have sufficient cash in your PCRA to complete the trade at the time you place the order. Margin trading is not allowed in retirement accounts. For sell orders, you must have the securities in your PCRA to complete the trade at the time you place the order. Schwab then places the sale and automatically invests your proceeds in a Schwab Money Market Fund. The money is held in this fund until you make another investment or transfer funds back to your core account. Notes: The securities held in a PCRA may be subject to initial and subsequent investment minimums. For example, many mutual funds may have initial investment minimums of $1,000. There may be other applicable fees, depending on the investments you choose. Although Schwab is known for its competitive low commissions, you can reduce those commission costs even further by using Schwabʼs automated and electronic services. For more information, refer to the Schwab commission schedule and the mutual fundʼs prospectus. Trade-away trades (trades that are placed by another broker and settle at Schwab) are not allowed. How to trade within a PCRA To trade within a PCRA, you can: Go online at Access Schwabʼs touch-tone phone service TeleBroker, voice recognition service Schwab by Phone, or by calling the dedicated PCRA Call Center at PCRA (7272), Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET. Call to reach a TTY-trained Schwab representative; TTY services are available Monday through Sunday, 6:00 a.m. to 12 midnight ET. More details about trading and trading options within a PCRA are provided in the PCRA Welcome Kit mailed to you by Schwab after you open your PCRA. How to track your PCRA investment performance You will be provided with easy-to-understand tools to help you monitor your investments. From Schwab, you will receive: Monthly brokerage statements detailing your PCRA activity and performance Trade confirmations that are mailed whenever you place a trade order in your PCRA, or sent electronically at your election 10

11 Online access to the last 24 months of activity in your PCRA at Access Schwabʼs touch-tone phone service TeleBroker, voice recognition service Schwab by Phone, or by calling the dedicated PCRA at PCRA (7272), Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET. Call to reach a TTY-trained Schwab representative; TTY services are available Monday through Sunday, 6:00 a.m. to 12 midnight ET. From Nationwide Retirement Solutions, you will receive: Written confirmation of transfers between your Savings Plus core account and your PCRA Quarterly Savings Plus participant statements reflecting the total balance of your Savings Plus account, including the market value of your PCRA 11

12 How to Get Your Money if You Need It There may be occasions when you need to obtain the money you have saved for retirement. Here are a few factors you need to be aware of if you are contemplating a withdrawal: You may apply your PCRA balance toward a total qualified 401(k) Thrift Plan/457 Plan loan amount or hardship withdrawal or toward a 457 Deferred Compensation Plan unforeseeable emergency withdrawal request. However, loans and withdrawals can be taken only from your core account. If necessary, you will need to transfer appropriate PCRA assets back to the core account to process a loan or emergency withdrawal (see How to transfer money from your PCRA to your core account ). If you request a distribution from your Savings Plus account, you must maintain $2,500 or 50% of your total account balance, whichever is less, in your Savings Plus core account plus you must have sufficient assets to cover the next three months of projected distributions. You will be notified by Nationwide Retirement Solutions in writing up to three months before your first scheduled distribution in the event that assets need to be transferred from your PCRA back to your Savings Plus core account to meet this requirement. You will be notified if this requirement changes. If you fail to transfer the required balance by seven days before the scheduled distribution, the plan administrator is authorized to automatically liquidate assets from your PCRA account sufficient to cover the amount needed for the upcoming 12 months of distribution. This liquidation will occur seven days before the effective date of your scheduled distribution, and the proceeds will be transferred to the Savings Pool Fund. You pay all fees and expenses associated with forced liquidations. The liquidation will be processed in the following order: 1. Assets will be liquidated first from the Schwab Money Market Fund (sweep account) 2. Assets will then be liquidated from Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource fund(s) held for more than 90 days, redeeming shares first from fund(s) with the highest balance 3. Assets will then be liquidated from Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource fund(s) held for less than 90 days, redeeming shares first from the fund(s) with the highest balance 4. Assets will then be liquidated from any other mutual fund(s) not mentioned above with the highest balance 5. Assets will then be liquidated from equities, redeeming shares first from equities with the highest number of shares How to transfer money from your PCRA to your core account If you do not have sufficient assets in your core account to process a withdrawal or 401(k) loan request, you will need to transfer some funds from your PCRA to your Savings Plus core account. This transfer may necessitate selling some investments in your PCRA. 12

13 After you place a trade order, the settlement times vary for different Schwab investments. Settlement time refers to the amount of time required before funds are available for use. This time period will affect the availability of funds for transferring back to your core account. When the trade settles, the proceeds will be invested in a Schwab Money Market Fund. From there, you can transfer the money to your core account by calling Savings Plus at and following the prompts. For procedures and details on withdrawals and loan requests, refer to the Savings Plus Summary Plan Description. How is the PCRA affected by a QDRO? How to close your account There are rules governing how your PCRA is affected by a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). A QDRO is a court order that creates or recognizes the existence of the alternate payeeʼs right to receive all or a portion of the benefits payable to a participant under a retirement or savings plan. If the QDRO is approved by the plan, and the participant has funds in the PCRA, the alternate payee may choose to maintain those investments by completing a PCRA enrollment form. If the participant does not complete a PCRA enrollment form, the appropriate amounts will be liquidated and redirected to the alternate payeeʼs core account. The liquidation will be processed in the same manner as referenced earlier in this section or as instructed in the QDRO. Participants pay all fees and expenses associated with QDRO transactions; the fees will be deducted from the proceeds of the liquidation. If you are ready to close your PCRA, contact Schwab to sell your PCRA holdings. Once the trade has settled and the money has been invested in the Schwab Money Market Fund, you must then transfer this money back to your core account by using the Savings Plus Voice Response System, accessing your Savings Plus account online, or speaking with a customer service representative Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. PT. This transfer is not automatic and must be initiated by you. 13

14 Taking the Next Step Contact checklist Open a PCRA Make transfers between the PCRA and core account(s) Make transfers within the core account(s) Place trades within your PCRA We hope this handbook has given you an informative over view of the Schwab PCRA, its advantages, and how it works. A PCRA may be best suited for Savings Plus participants seeking greater investment flexibility, choices, and control of their retirement account. Through our association with Schwab, you have access to a brokerage account that provides investment flexibility and state-of-the-art transaction and information capabilities. If you feel a PCRA is right for you, the next step is easy. Simply complete and submit the required enrollment forms included in this package using the return envelope provided. Your beneficiary(ies) for the PCRA will be the same as you designated for your Savings Plus core account. If you have further questions about the PCRA or the types of services and resources available through Schwab, please contact the Schwabʼs dedicated PCRA Call Center at PCRA (7272). If you have additional questions about how the PCRA works as a part of Savings Plus, please refer to the chart below to identify whom you would contact. Obtain your PCRA balance Obtain your entire plan balance (core investments plus PCRA)* Obtain PCRA investment information Request a loan or withdrawal Ask retirement plan questions Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. Savings Plus Program (888) 393-PCRA (7272) (866) If you want to: Take advantage of additional Schwab services *Information about your PCRA will be current as the most recent New York Stock Exchange closing. 14

15 Glossary of Terms The following are common-use definitions for technical terms used by Savings Plus. These definitions do not represent legal or formal definitions. Assets The value of your Savings Plus core investments and your Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account (PCRA) investments. Broker/Dealer An organization licensed to buy and sell investment products on behalf of investors. Charles Schwab is the broker/dealer for the Savings Plus PCRA option. Business Day Any day that the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open. Core Funds The investment choices Savings Plus offers to all participants. Distribution A payment from Savings Plus. The payment may be from the 401(k) Thrift Plan or the 457 Deferred Compensation Plan. A distribution cannot be made directly from the PCRA, so PCRA assets must first be transferred to the core account. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) The U.S. government agency that insures certain types of savings accounts against loss. Investments such as mutual funds, stocks, and bonds are not insured by the FDIC or any other government agency. Fiduciary An individual or organization responsible for making sure that a benefit plan is administered in the best interest of plan participants and beneficiaries. Load Commissions paid to a broker/dealer on the sale or purchase of mutual funds. Liquidation The sale of investment products for cash. Mutual Fund An investment company that pools assets of many investors to invest in accordance with the fundʼs stated investment policies as set forth in its prospectus. Generally, a mutual fund offers an unlimited number of shares and will buy back shares on any business day. Prospectus The legal document that describes the investment policies of a mutual fund and provides important financial data, including fees, and other essential information. Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) A court order that creates or recognizes the existence of an alternate payeeʼs right to receive all or a portion of the benefits payable to a participant under a retirement or savings plan. Sweep Account A money market fund (Schwab Money Market Fund) that accepts and holds money redirected from Savings Plus core funds until the money is used to purchase investments in the PCRA. It is also used for a settlement account when a participant decides to sell a PCRA investment(s) and wants the proceeds transferred back to the core account. Trade The sale or purchase of investment products (mutual funds, stocks, bonds, etc.). Trustee A financial organization (usually a bank) that is responsible for the safekeeping and management of participantsʼ assets. J.P. Morgan Bank, N.A. is the trustee for Savings Plus. 15

16 a p e x d i n n g SPP SASPP y o u r r e t i VINGS PLUS PROGRAM r e m e n t h o r i z o n s State of California Department of Personnel Administration th Street Sacramento, CA Savings Plus Program Web site: The third-party administrator for Savings Plus is Nationwide Retirement Solutions. The self-directed brokerage account, PCRA, is provided by Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC). Schwab Web site: Dedicated PCRA Call Center: PCRA (7272); Monday Friday 9:00 a.m. 7:30 p.m. ET TTY: ; Monday Sunday 6:00 a.m. 12 midnight ET 16 NRM-3958CA (11/2006)