You can start an annuity as early as age 55 regardless of the number of years of service you have. You must also have terminated employment from the YMCA.

To qualify for a lifetime annuity, you must have more than $5,000 in either the Retirement Plan or Savings Plan. To combine an annuity from both Plans at the same time, you must have more than $5,000 in each Plan.
 

While you are still employed at a participating YMCA you do not have to begin your annuity at any specific age. Once you are no longer employed at a participating YMCA, you must begin receiving benefits no later than April 1 of the year following the year you reach age 70½ or the year you stop working for the YMCA, whichever is later.
 

As you get closer to retirement, the most important thing to do is to develop a retirement budget for yourself. This way, you can determine how much it's going to cost for you to be the retiree you want to be. Once you know how much you'll need to be spending, you need to make sure you have enough income to cover your expenses. This income will come from a combination of your YMCA Retirement Fund annuity, other pensions and retirement benefits, Social Security, and personal savings. Then, you need to make sure you're saving enough so you can reach this goal.

You also need to make sure you have enough retirement income in reserve to take care of inflation in retirement.
 

When you decide to start an annuity, you must notify the Fund at least 60 days in advance. Please call our Customer Service Department at 1 800-RET-YMCA and they will send you the forms.
 

Generally, you'll want to file your retirement paperwork at least 60 days prior to your retirement date. Once the Fund receives your final contribution from your YMCA, you'll receive your first retirement check. Usually, retirees will receive that check by the 15th day of the month in which they retire. After that, you'll receive your retirement payment on the first business day of the month.
 

Your annuity is calculated based on your age and account balances at retirement, the annuity option you select, and the interest rate that is used to convert your account balances into an annuity.

The Annuity Estimate Calculator can help you plan for your retirement. It will project how much your benefits will be given certain assumptions you can make. You can also call the Customer Service Department at 800-RET-YMCA and request an Annuity Estimate.
 

While there may be some basis in a purely financial sense to consider doing this, remember that your retirement income is based not just on the amount you accumulate in your accounts but also on your age. As you delay retirement you increase the amount you receive in your monthly check. A sound strategy would be to make your retirement decision based on whether you will be able to generate the income you need to be retired.
 

When you plan for retirement, you need to worry about two things: "will I have enough income in retirement" and "how do I deal with inflation after retirement." Even if you plan to replace 85% or 90% of your income at the time you retire, you also need to have additional sources of income that you can begin at different times during retirement in order to help deal with inflation.

The Retirement Fund sponsors two plans: The Retirement Plan and Tax-Deferred Savings Plan. If you choose, you can annuitize each Plan at a different time. You may also want to use Social Security benefits as another source of income that you can begin after retirement.
 

You may use up to 90% of your Retired Death Benefit to increase your monthly annuity. Any amount you do not use will remain as a death benefit for your beneficiary(ies).
 

The Savings Plan cannot accept rollovers from a life insurance policy. However, you may roll over certain amounts from qualified plans, tax-deferred annuities, deferred compensation governmental plans and Traditional IRAs. It also accepts SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRA plans that were established at least two years ago by the employer for the employee. The Savings Plan does not accept Roth IRAs or IRAs containing after-tax contributions.
 

Yes, the Fund offers several Joint & Survivor Annuity options, which provide a monthly income for your survivor after you die.
 

You pay taxes on the contributions the YMCA made in your name. The YMCA contributions were all tax-deferred so this is the first time taxes will be paid on this money. The interest your money has earned while in the Fund will also be taxed.

If you made after-tax contributions, you will not be taxed on these contributions again. For example, if you were in the Plan under a YMCA/Employee Shared Agreement, your contributions were made after tax so your annuity will not be taxed on this money. The Fund calculates the portions of your annuity check that are taxable and not taxable, according to IRS rules. Each year the Fund will report this information to you.

The IRS requires that your already-taxed contributions be distributed over your life expectancy which is calculated using their official tables. When you retire, your first annuity check will come with an explanatory leaflet titled, Retirement Benefits and U.S. Income Tax.

NOTE: This is not tax advice, but a statement of how your accounts are taxed. If you need advice, give this information to your accountant or other tax professional.
 

Whether you are hired by any YMCA in the future is entirely at the discretion of the employing YMCA. However, a pre-arranged strategy to collect retirement benefits while still employed is a violation of the Plan's rules.

If you are employed by a YMCA after retirement, you can again participate in the Retirement Plan based on your compensation at that time. Your retirement annuity will not be suspended if you become re-employed by a YMCA after retirement.

In 2006, the Pension Protection Act (PPA) was passed by Congress, authorizing the practice of "Phased Retirement." The PPA provides that a retirement plan may permit distributions to employees who are at least 62 years of age and have not yet terminated employment. Fund Management and the Board of Trustees are reviewing the pros and cons of permitting this kind of retirement and are monitoring pension industry trends.
 

Only individuals employed at a participating YMCA may make contributions to the Fund.
 

Yes. As long as you are at least age 55 and no longer working for the YMCA, you can choose to begin your lifetime annuity at any time, regardless of how long you have been away from the YMCA. However, you must either start your annuity or take a withdrawal by April 1 of the year after you reach age 70½.