Inside ERS [Summer 1998]

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Summer 1998

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Inside ERS

For those of you who have signed up for direct deposit, a message from our payroll department: Thank:""''-' Thank you! Thank ye'-' You are saving the Retirement System about $3,600.00 a month (that's $ 43,200.00 a year) in postage alone. And that doesn't include the cost for purchasing the checks and envelopes, the printing charges, or the wages of the staff needed to process the checks for mailing.

So why aren't some of you on direct deposit yet? Here are some of the reasons we have heard.

1)

11 /

want to see how much rm getting each

month. 11 Each person on direct deposit is sent a

letter every time there is a change in the monthly

amount they receive. The letter shows a

breakdown of the new check amount. You will

normally receive a letter in January, June, and

July (the months for Cost-Of-Living-Adjustments

and any change in health insurance premiums). If

you haven't received a letter, there has not been a

change.

2)

11 /

want to see my check and take it to the bank

so I know it's deposited. 11 A quick call to your bank

or a visit to one of your bank's ATM's will give

you the same result. And I can think of much

better excuses to get out of the house.

3)

11 /

have my Social Security check direct

deposited each month, and I like to cash my ERS

benefit check for spending money. 11 You can still

write yourself a check or withdraw the amount of

your ERS benefit from an ATM. (See Number 2.)

4) "I don't have a checking account." Beginning in January 1999, all Social Security checks will be

sent to your bank account. If you don't have an account, Social Security is going to send your pension to a bank "its choice, and you will :__ 7e to go to that bank to get your money.

5)

11 /

don't like 'THE GOVERNMENT' telling me

what to do!" Sometimes I didn't like my parents

telling me what to do either, but every once in a

while they did come up with a good idea. Direct

deposit provides the fastest, surest, and most

secure way to send your benefit check. If your

check is lost in the mail, you have to wait six

working days before we can even start the

process for replacing it, a process that can take

up to two weeks to complete. Direct deposit just

gives you one less thing to worry about during

retirement.

On page 3 of this newsletter there is a form to begin direct depositing your benefit check from this office. If you are not having your check sent to your bank already, please complete it and send it to the address listed on the form.

ATM's
Karin Miller of the Associated Press reported that many older people don't know how to use an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). If this is your reason for not using an ATM, ask someone at your bank to show you how to use one. If they can't or won't, consider: 1) changing to a bank that will actually meet your needs, and 2) asking a trusted family member or friend to help you out. (Just make sure you keep your secret code a secret.) ATM's are fast, convenient, and the perfect way to get emergency money from your bank account.

USE ONLY IF YOUR CHECK IS NOT BEING SENT TO THE BANK ALREADY

Direct Deposit of Net Monthly Benefit

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SS#------'/_ _/_ _ _ HOME PHONE#(_ _) - - - - - - - CURRENT HOME ADDR!=SS:

number city

street state

apt.# zip

IMPORTANT Check box ifthis is a NEW address.
D

Please READ special stipulations on the reverse side before signing this agreement

I authorize the Employees' Retirement System to electronically deposit my net monthly benefit into my bank account. I have read and I understand the stipulations on
the reverse side of this form, and I also understand that the following conditions apply:
ERS is authorized to adjust any entries made in error. This arrangement remains in effect until I cancel or supersede it in writing to ERS. I agree to immediately notify ERS of any change in my home address. Failure to abide by these conditions can jeopardize deposit of my monthly benefit.

Signature

Date

A1TACH VOIDED CHECKHERE
''!Qmpln~Z1 ~tirmenf~~zim Two NORTHSIDE 75 SUITE 300 ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30318-7778

This account is the following: (check one)
D CHECKING ACCOUNT
D SAVINGS ACCOUNT

a e4
Jud: +:=o,., Laugh>
My face in the mirror isn't wrinkled or drawn,
My house is not dusty, the cobwebs are gone,
My garden looks lovely, and so does my lawn,
I think I shall never put my glasses back on.
Submitted by Ms. Martha Ausburn
I found these quotations and thought I'd pass them along. ;:'.,_T)
I am different from Washington; I have a higher, grander standard of principle. Washington could not lie. I can lie, but I won't. Mark Twain
Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. Will Rogers
The art ofmedicine consists ofamusing the patient while nature cures the disease. Voltaire
Gluttony is not a secret vice. Orson Welles
I always keep a supply of stimulant handy in case I see a sno..~,._e - which I also keep

INSIDE ERS
handy.WC. Fields
The New England conscience doesn't stop you from doing what you shouldn't; it just keeps you from enjoying it. Cleveland Amory
Mae West: For a long time I was ashamed of the way I lived. "Did you reform?" Mae West: No; I'm not ashamed anymore.
Alas, I know if! ver became truly hu:::-.:__~.:Je, I would be proud of it. Benjamin Franklin
His imagination resembled the wings of an ostrich. It enabled him to run, though not to soar. Lord Macaulay
Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much. Oscar Wilde
Rudolph Johnson Director
Jim Larche Deputy Director
Inside ERS is published by the Employees' Retirement System for
the retirees of Georgia State government
Frank Perriello Editm and The Phantom Bulldog

1.Emplntret.!i' 1!.etirtmtnt ~U.!ittm
Two Northside 75, Suite 300 Atlanta, GA 30318

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