System Instructions
Simply enter your Social Security Number and your personal identification number (PIN) to have access to current information about your 401(k) plan.
The PIN you are assigned initially is the six-digit representation of your date of birth. For example, if your birth date is June 3, 1964, your PIN would be 060364. You can change your PIN by selecting the appropriate option from the AIMS main menu. If you customize your PIN, please record it for future reference.
After entering your Social Security Number and PIN, you will be greeted with confirmation of the plan name you are entering, and the date your account's value was last updated.
You will then be offered a menu of options from which to choose.
- See current account balances and investment elections,
- Make changes to your investment elections for future contributions,
- Perform fund-to-fund transfers or realign your existing balance,
- Perform account balance projections to age 65,
- Change your personal identification number.
The Account Inquiry System will help you answer many of the questions you may have about the status of your retirement plan account.
How much is my account worth at this time?
This is the 'Current account balances' option. With this selection you can see the total value of your account, the total vested value, the total amount by money source (i.e. employee deferral, employer match, etc.), and the total amounts in each of your chosen investment options (in dollars or shares).
How do I change the investment of my future contributions?
You can change the manner in which your contributions from future paychecks are invested. Select option two from the main menu, and you will be asked to enter the percentage of your contribution that you want put into each of the investment options available in your plan. If your plan options allow, you will be given the chance to make these changes and simultaneously realign your existing balance to match those same percentages. The total of your election percentages must equal 100%.
What if I want to invest my existing balance differently?
There are two ways to change the distribution of your current account balance. Choosing option three from the main menu will lead to both methods. You can realign your total balance by telling AIMS how much of the balance you want placed into each of your plan's investment options. As each investment is presented, you will be asked to enter the percentage of the total that should be in the option. The manner in which you choose to reinvest your existing money does not necessarily have to match the way you future contributions are distributed. If you choose to perform an account rebalance, and your plan options allow, you will be given the opportunity to simultaneously change the distribution of future contributions to match the realignment percentages. Your realignment percentages must total 100%.
What affect can long term contributions to an investment plan have on my retirement?
At retirement from our full time employment, most of us will have to depend solely on Social Security and our personal savings for continued financial resources. The effect of contributing to your company's retirement plan over a long period of time can be truly astounding! Use the retirement balance modeling option in AIMS to approximate the savings you might experience by the time you reach the age of 65. After answering a few 'what if' questions, you can learn how fast your participation in the plan can grow. No one can guarantee you will receive the estimated amount, but the illustrations will demonstrate the importance of long term savings and investment in the plan offered by your employer.
The second way to change the investment of your existing balance is to perform a transfer from one investment option to another. You make these fund-to-fund transfers by moving up to 100% of one option, to one or more of the remaining in investments.
