EBRM

Employee Benefits & Retirement

Overview
EBRM Highlights
EBRM Feature Functionality
EBRM Module Content Coverage

 

The Avue Employee Benefits and Retirement Module (EBRM) is a solution specifically developed for the Federal sector. For employees, EBRM provides comprehensive retirement counseling and processing, and benefits information and processing. For the staff professional, EBRM provides a comprehensive set of tools and professional support for use across the spectrum of Federal benefits and retirements counseling and processing.

 

EBRM Highlights

Real Time Benefits Statement

The real-time benefits statement component of EBRM provides each employee with a personalized statement of their benefits, including up to date information about:

  • Current and Projected Retirement Benefits
  • Life Insurance (FEGLI) Benefits
  • Health Insurance (FEHB) Benefits
  • TSP Projections / Annuities
  • Social Security Benefits
  • Disability & Death Benefits
  • FERS Annuity Supplement
Calculators

EBRM includes a number of estimators and calculators to enable employees to perform “what-if” scenarios concerning their retirement benefits manipulating, for example, factors such as retirement annuity, high-3 average salary, TSP annuity, TSP projected account balance, and severance pay.

Transactions

Through EBRM, the employee can perform all open season and non-open season transactions for FEHB, FEGLI, and TSP. The employee has the ability to make any of the transactions that may be available, as well as stop pending transactions prior to the effective date. The employee receives the completed corresponding Standard Form (SF) as a receipt for the transaction.

Retirement Counseling and Processing
 

EBRM support the agency by providing retirement counseling and processing functions ranging from responding to employee inquiries, to retirement estimate preparation (including various complex estimates), employee counseling on retirement options, eligibility determinations, completion of deposits/redeposits, military deposits, disability retirements, death-in-service, and special cases, FEHB, FEGLI, TSP, Social Security and Medicare. 

EBRM has a “profile centric” design. From the employee’s profile (e.g., name, date of birth, and retirement coverage) staff professionals can use any of the numerous tools to quickly calculate retirement estimates, compute service computation dates, create average salaries, and accomplish many other tasks. Because the Avue Operating System includes all relevant data, there is no need for manual data entry with respect to the employee’s profile.

Any estimates or reports that are generated in EBRM can be published directly to the employee’s account. The system also enables employees to make specific requests regarding retirement and benefits directly to the benefits counselor.

 
Information Library

For staff professionals, EBRM contains comprehensive reference library of information relating to Federal benefits, covering CSRS, CSRS Offset, FERS, FEHB, FEGLI, TSP, and Social Security topics. This library is organized by topic area and can also be searched by keywords.

Forms

EBRM can produce all forms required for retirement, FEHB, FEGLI, and TSP.

 

EBRM Feature Functionality

  • Real-time benefits statements provide each employee with a personalized statement of their benefits
  • Employee can perform all open season and non-open season transactions for FEHB, FEGLI, and TSP. The employee has the ability to make any of the transactions that may be available, as well as stop pending transactions prior to the effective date.
  • Full and Part-Time Retirement Annuity Estimates
    • Optional
    • Involuntary/Early
    • Deferred
    • Disability
    • Survivor Benefits
    • Special Groups (Law Enforcement Officers, Firefighters and Air Traffic Controllers)

  •  Other Retirement Computations
    • Deposits/Redeposits
    • FERS Annuity Supplement
    • Post-1956 Military Service Deposits
    • Part-Time Service Proration Factors
    • AFA
    • Retirement Coverage Determination
    • Severance Pay
    • Lump-sum Annual Leave Payment

  • Service Computation Dates
    • Leave/RIF SCD
    • TSP SCD
    • Retirement SCD

  • Social Security Estimates
    • Old-Age Benefits
    • Amount of CSRS Offset
    • Windfall Elimination Penalty (WEP)

  • Average Salary Computations
    • High-3 Salary
    • Breaks in Service
    • Less Than 3-Year Period
    • Part-Time Employment
    • Reemployed Annuitants
    • Excess LWOP
  • TSP Tools
    • Single/Joint Life Annuities
    • Installment Payments
    • Loan Calculator

 

EBRM Module Content Coverage

  • Basic agency employment information concerning pay, benefits, employee rights and responsibilities.
  • Basic eligibility provisions under both the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS) and the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) for all retirement options.
  • Making deposits and re-deposits for counting service for which retirement deductions were not made.
  • Creditable civilian and military service for retirement purposes.
  • Insurances (FEHB, FELGI, LTC, FSA, etc)
  • Annual and Sick Leave
  • How age and service requirements for Voluntary Early Retirement Authority differ from the requirements to retire optionally.
  • How retirement benefits are computed – including understanding and identifying the factors/formulas that affect annuity computations for early, voluntary, deferred retirements (including VSIP).
  • Advantages and disadvantages in deciding whether or not to retire early
  • Consequences of not electing survivor benefits at time of retirement
  • How severance pay is computed including age adjustments
  • Continuance of health and life insurance after separation/retirement, including requirements to continue FEHB for family member and how Temporary Continuance of Coverage and Conversion work.
  • Eligibility for Social Security benefits and how a federal pension may affect them.
  • How Medicare coordinates with Federal health benefits, which insurance will be primary and which will be secondary.
  • Options that exist to receive monies in the employee’s TSP account, including the tax consequences of withdrawing money from TSP.
  • Eligibility and applying for Unemployment Compensation.
  • Financial planning and how to plan, including
    • Tax implications of IRAs and investment options
    • Spending and estimating expense
    • Living wills and durable power of attorney
    • Estate planning and trusts and their impact on the family
    • Practical skills For managing life and career adjustments