About Your Plan
The Valdosta City School District Retirement Plan offers a variety of funding options, including an annuity and mutual funds.
Available Funding Options
Strategic Value Annuity
HintMutual Fund Select Portfolios
HintMetLife Financial Freedom Select®
HintThe Strategic Value Annuity (SVA), also referred to as the Fixed Annuity, is a deferred fixed annuity that can provide current income at a rate guaranteed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of Brighthouse Life Insurance Company. Some of the key features include:
- Guaranteed, fixed rate of return
- Low exposure to volatility of the markets
- Beneficiary protection
The Mutual Fund Select Portfolios (“MFSP”), a mutual fund platform offered by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (“MetLife”). MFSP allows you to invest in mutual funds by selecting from a list of mutual funds chosen by your employer (or a third party appointed by your employer). This funding option is closed for new enrollments.
MetLife Financial Freedom Select (MFFS) is a variable annuity1 issued by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company to provide a retirement product for employees participating in the Valdosta City School District 403(b) Retirement Plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
You are eligible to participate in your plan effective immediately.
The Internal Revenue Code limits the amount you can contribute in salary reduction dollars each calendar year. The federal general limit is $23,500 for 2025.
If you are age 50 or over, the general limit contribution amount may be increased by an additional "catch-up" contribution of $7,500. After 2025, the general limit and the catch-up contribution may increase each year in accordance with a cost of living adjustment. Elective contributions generally may not exceed 100 percent of your compensation and there is an overall limit on aggregate contributions (including employer and employee contributions) that can be made to your employer's plan. Additional limits on contributions may be applicable for certain "highly compensated employees."
Additional catch-up contributions under a 403(b) plan may be available for employees who have completed at least 15 years of service with certain eligible employers (e.g., schools, healthcare). The additional 403(b) life-time catch-up limit is $15,000, the catch-up amount that can be contributed in any one year may not exceed $3,000, and the catch-up amount for any year further depends on the years of service and the amount of contributions in prior years. Elective contributions generally may not exceed 100 percent of your compensation and there is an overall limit on aggregate contributions (including employer and employee contributions) that can be made to your employer's plan.
If you make Roth contributions, then the general limit and the catch-up limits apply to all salary reduction contributions, whether allocated to pre-tax amounts or after-tax Roth amounts. If you have questions about these limits, please contact your employer.
If you have an existing retirement plan account with a prior employer or a traditional IRA, you may be able to roll over all or some of that account into this plan once you enroll. Or, if you have a retirement plan account with your current employer that you are no longer contributing to and your plan permits, you may consolidate those assets into this new plan as well.
Loans are permitted. The amount you may borrow is limited by rules under the Internal Revenue Code, your employer's plan, and must be repaid within five years unless used for the purchase of a primary residence. All loans will be based on your account balance.
Under Internal Revenue Code limitations, the maximum allowable outstanding loan balance is the lesser of 50% of your vested plan account balance or $50,000. Your remaining account balance secures your loan. Please note, these loan limits apply on a combined basis to the highest loan balance in the past year under all retirement plan accounts with the same employer. Your employer's plan may have additional restrictions. If you have any questions, please contact your employer.
Since your plan is designed primarily to help you save for retirement, the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) has placed restrictions on when money may be withdrawn from your plan account before you retire. Money may be withdrawn from your plan account under the following circumstances, in accordance with your employer's plan document:
• Termination of Employment
• Disability (Subject to IRC requirements)
• Death
• In-Service Withdrawals (As defined by your plan)
• Hardship (Subject to IRC requirements)
Always consult your tax advisor or investment professional about the income tax consequences of any withdrawals. Ordinary federal income taxes generally apply (unless distributed from Roth accounts qualifying for tax-free distributions). State income taxes may also apply. Distributions before age 59½ may be subject to an additional 10 percent tax penalty, unless an exception applies.
For more details regarding fees and charges, please refer to the SVA prospectus, the MFFS brochure and prospectus, and MFSP Facts at a Glance (the links to these documents are above).
For MetLife Financial Freedom Select:
A $30 annual contract/certificate fee is deducted on a pro rata basis. This fee will be waived if: (1) Account balance exceeds $25,000, or (2) purchase payments exceed $2,000 within the last 12 months (fee not deducted from the Fixed Interest Account).
There is an annual Separate Account charge: • B Class: 1.15% • L Class: 1.30% • C Class*: 1.45%
Annual Separate Account charges for American Funds funding options are an additional 0.25%. Additional investment-related fees and expenses will apply to the selected funding options and optional death benefit.
Withdrawal charges2
The following withdrawal charges apply to the amount withdrawn from the account balance based on the age of the contract/certificate issue date.
B Class: 12-year withdrawal charge schedule: 9%, 9%, 9%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0%
L Class: 7-year withdrawal charge schedule: 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 2%, 0%
The fees and charges mentioned above do not include investment management fees and other expenses of the funding options under the contract/certificate. Withdrawal charge schedule may vary by state.
For Strategic Value Annuity:
For participant allocations in the SVA: If Valdosta City School District determines the need for a partial or full surrender of the SVA, such as moving to another retirement service provider, a surrender charge computed as a percentage of cash value may apply and will be deducted as a percentage of the amount withdrawn. In that situation, a market value adjustment may also apply. There are no surrender charges or market value adjustments for withdrawals on participant-initiated transactions on account for your retirement, death, or separation from service. Additional exceptions may apply. See prospectus for details.
8-year Surrender Charge Schedule: 5%, 5%, 4%, 4%, 3%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0%
For Mutual Fund Select Portfolios:
An annual plan administrative fee of 95 basis points (or, 0.95%) on Fund assets in your plan account will be charged to your Mutual Fund Select Portfolios (MFSP) account in quarterly installments. This fee may be offset by Fund compensation MetLife* receives quarterly with respect to plan assets. If this is the case, your MFSP account will be charged the administrative fee and credited with the Fund compensation received by MetLife.
For more details regarding fees and charges, please refer to the SVA prospectus, the MFFS brochure and prospectus, and MFSP Facts at a Glance (the links to these documents are above).