Q: How can I check the status of my retirement account?

A: You can check the status of your account at any time by logging into www.mmbbaccounts.org.

• How to login to www.mmbbaccounts.org:
  
  To enter the Web site, you will need to log in by entering your Social Security number and your personal PIN (Personal Identification Number). Your PIN must be six numbers. The system does not accept letters or a combination of numbers less than or greater than six. If you have forgotten your PIN, the log-in screen includes an option that lets you request your PIN be sent to you via the mail.
  
  If you have not yet registered, you will need to enter your Social Security number and request a PIN. Your temporary PIN will be sent to you in the mail. When you log in with your temporary PIN, you will be asked to create a personal PIN. Your PIN must be six numbers. The system does not accept letters or combination of numbers less than or greater than six.
  
  
• How can I check my balance?

  Checking your balance is easy. Once you log in to the site, you will be taken to your personal MMBB Retirement Plan home page. Your account balance is summarized on the upper right column of your personal MMBB Retirement Plan home page. The account balance is updated daily.

  
  
• How can I find more detailed information about my investments?
  

  It is easy to find information on how your investments are allocated across MMBB's eight investment choices, In the main section of your personal MMBB Retirement Plan home page, you will find a section titled "Your Plan(s)." Click on the words "Your Plan(s)" and you will open a page that provides a gateway to an extensive amount of information on your investments.

  The large column in the middle of the page gives you account balances for the Retirement Plan, Tax-Deferred Annuity and The Annuity Supplement. It also lets you "Take Action" to look at the account details, change how future contributions are allocated across MMBB's eight investment choices, transfer existing funds, and request a loan. Just click on the arrow next to the box labeled "Select Action" and choose the action you want to take.

  The pie chart on the right side of the page tells you how your Retirement Plan assets are distributed among MMBB's eight investment choices. The specific dollar amounts invested in each of the eight funds are listed below the pie chart. You can see similar data for your TDA and TAS accounts if you have them.

  
  
• How can I change the way my money is allocated across MMBB's funds?

  The Account Details page tells you whether you are actively contributing to the account, the account balance, information on loans, withdrawals, and how the funds are allocated. After logging into the site, click on "Your Plans" in the middle column of your personalized MMBB investment home page. When the page opens, click on the plan you want to change.

  On the left side of the page you will see a menu of options. By clicking on the different menu options, you can find more specific information about your current investments. The "Actions" option allows you change your investment options for future contributions as well as transfer money you have already invested between funds.

  Please note that these are two different actions. Changing how you allocate money you invest in the future will not change the allocation of funds you have already invested. Likewise, changing the allocation of current funds will not change how future funds are allocated.

  We recommend that you confirm that the changes have been saved. To do that, log out of the site, then log back in to check your changes.
  

Q: I plan to retire in the next few years. How will the current stock market decline affect my ability to retire?

A: Many people are asking this question. With the market decline, many people are seeing a mismatch between the value of their assets and the income they think they will need in retirement. While the question may be the same, the answer will be different for everyone.

• The first question is how and where do you plan to live in retirement? What will it cost you each month to support those goals? MMBB has calculators on our Web site to help you think through this question.
• The second question is what income you expect to receive in retirement. This includes Social Security, your MMBB annuity and any other sources of income you and/or your spouse may have.
• By comparing these two numbers, you will have an idea whether you will have sufficient money to reach your goal. This will also help you think concretely about ways to decrease your expected costs or increase your anticipated income. The closer you get to retirement, the more critical is this calculation.

There is no doubt that the challenges facing our economy -- and their impact on the stock market -- are unprecedented. We understand that this is making it more difficult for many people to retire when and how they had planned. The extent to which the markets will rebound before you retire is impossible to say. For some people this may mean delaying retirement completely or working part time in order to supplement their retirement income. Others may choose to adjust their plan so they can retire on schedule.

That said, MMBB is committed to doing everything we can on your behalf to make the most of any market rebound. Based on history, MMBB believes that the markets will recover. Our chief investment officer, in coordination with our professional finance committee, continually updates our portfolio to maintain diversification consistent with professional standards of pension fund management

Secondly, MMBB will continue to review the annuity fund so we know that it can meet the needs of our members into the future. In nearly 100 years, MMBB has never missed a payment -- and we won't start now.

Third, the MMBB variable annuity is designed to protect you on the downside while providing you the benefits of stock market gains. The MMBB annuity cannot decline more than 5% a year. This year, for instance, while the stock market declined about 40%, the MMBB annuity only declined 5%. The MMBB annuity helps assure that the income for which you plan will be there.

Q: How do MMBB funds differ from a savings account?

A: MMBB is not a bank. We are a defined contribution retirement plan. The money contributed to your MMBB retirement account is invested for the long term.

While savings accounts and MMBB funds are both investment vehicles, there are major differences between them.

A savings account is generally maintained at a bank or savings and loan institution. The bank loans your money out to other people or businesses and pays you interest for making your funds available to others.

MMBB has eight funds with different investment strategies. The Money Market Fund most closely approximates the risk and return profile of a savings account. One difference between the Money Market Fund and a savings account is the variety of investments included in the Fund. The Money Market fund holds high-quality, short-term securities such as bank deposits, certificates of deposit, U. S. Treasury bills, and short-term corporate paper. While this diversification adds strength—a decline in any one investment can be cushioned by the others—there is more exposure to risk.

Q: What are the benefits of savings accounts as investment vehicles?

A: As an investment vehicle, there are two major benefits of savings accounts. First, savings accounts have the lowest risk of any investment vehicle. Savings accounts in institutions backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) are insured up to $250,000 through December 31, 2009. Second, the return will be positive regardless of the volatility of the stock market. As we’ve seen in the last few months, however, savings accounts do carry risk; even banks can fail.

Q: What are the downsides of savings accounts as investment vehicles?

A: The major downside to savings accounts as investment vehicles is their low rate of return. Interest rates for savings accounts are currently around 2%. While that may be a good return in the short-term, other investments generally outperform savings accounts over the long-term and do a better job allowing you to keep pace with or exceed increases in the cost of living. Finally, interest from a savings account is considered as income and subject to taxes; contributions you your MMBB accounts are only subject to income tax when you withdraw it.

Q: What is MMBB doing to respond to the downturn in the stock market?

A: In response to the volatility in the stock market, MMBB:

• Remains disciplined and focused on our long-term strategy. We seek long-term asset growth that enables us to expand the value of the retirement benefits we provide to you. Historically, recessions have been followed by economic expansions. Expansions generally last longer than the recessions. To take maximum advantage of the market upturn, we maintain a constant presence in the stock market.
• Constantly reviews our asset allocation and benefit from “rebalancing.” As the stock market declines, equities make up a smaller proportion of The Balanced Fund portfolio than intended and bonds make up more. To keep our asset allocation consistent with our long-term plan, we sell some of our bonds in order to purchase equities. In this way, we sell bonds when they are relatively high and purchase equities when their cost is relatively low. Over the long-term, rebalancing allows us to buy low and sell high.
• Searches for good investments that are undervalued (selling at bargain prices) or that offer good growth potential. The general decline on Wall Street has driven down the stock price of many good companies. MMBB’s investment managers use a variety of strategies to identify attractive investments and invest in them on our behalf.

Q: How should I change my investment allocation?

A: This is a question only you can answer. The current market turmoil may have caused you to rethink your tolerance for risk. If so, MMBB can help you ask the right questions to determine the amount of risk with which you feel comfortable. Only you can decide how to invest your money in order to meet your investment goals with a tolerable amount of risk.

Before changing your investment allocation, consider the following issues:

• Take a long-term perspective. It does not matter whether you are retiring next year of 20 years from now. Your need for retirement income is likely to stretch over several decades. This makes you a long-term investor.
• Determine your investment goals. When you retire, what do you want to do? How much will it cost? How much money do you currently have in your retirement plan? At the current annuity payout level, what would your income be if you retired today? How much more do you need to meet your goal? What do you expect to add to your retirement savings before you retire? The MMBB Web site has several calculators to help you make these decisions. Your Annual Benefits Statement also projects your retirement income based on your current savings.
• Assess your comfort with risk. If you are upset by a decline in the value of your portfolio, you may be “risk averse.” If you think you will be wishing you had participated in a stock market rise when it recovers, you may be “regret averse.” Many people fall somewhere along a spectrum between these two extremes. MMBB offers investment options to allow you to try to meet your objectives balanced by your comfort with risk.
• The Balanced Fund, as its name implies, provides a diversified mix of asset classes—bonds, equities, and hedge funds. The asset strategy follows standard investment theory and practice to take advantage of increases in the market while mitigating the impact of downturns. The New Horizons Fund is similar to the Balanced Fund in that it is diversified across several asset classes, but will include a small slice allocated to “alternative” investments – those that may not be traded on an exchange.

In conclusion, identify a long-term strategy that enables you to meet your financial goals with an acceptable amount of risk—and stick with it. If you feel compelled to reallocate your holdings based solely on the market decline, consider doing so in a way that is consistent with your long-term asset allocation plan and savings goals.

Q: Is this a good time to change my investment allocation?

A: Any time your objectives or your sensitivity to risk change is a good time to revisit your investment strategy. If you plan to make a change in your asset allocation, consider taking a “dollar-cost averaging” approach. Dollar-cost averaging is a technique designed to reduce market risk. Instead of moving your money from one asset class to another in a lump sum, a dollar-cost averaging approach calls for moving the assets gradually. By moving your assets in equal amounts at regular intervals, you can balance out increases and declines in both asset classes.

You may want to rebalance your portfolio so you can maintain your long-term investment strategy. This is called “rebalancing.” It provides a simple method of selling high and buying low while maintaining a level of risk with which you are comfortable.

If you are a regret adverse investor, someone who does not want to regret maximizing their investment return potential, there is an argument to be made for increasing your allocation in MMBB funds with equity holdings now. Although it is impossible to predict whether the equity markets will decline further, they are certainly priced lower now than they have been in the recent past.

Q: Is MMBB solvent?

A: Absolutely.  MMBB is well positioned to withstand the volatility and uncertainty in the current economic environment.  MMBB is a not-for-profit entity and is in sound financial condition.  In addition to the more than $2.3 billion in assets that we invest for our members, MMBB has an endowment in excess of $150 million. We have every expectation of being around for a very long time to serve those who serve our member churches and related organizations.

Q: How can you be so confident about MMBB when giant banks like Lehman Brothers and Washington Mutual are going bust?

A: To understand our confidence, it is important to understand how MMBB differs from an investment bank such as Lehman Brothers or a savings and loan such as Washington Mutual. MMBB works with investment managers. Managers function differently than banks. Banks lend out your savings to other customers. As we have seen, these customers can default on their loans.

Investment managers don’t do anything with your money other than invest it. The gains and/or losses on your investment account are held separately from the assets which fund the investment management firm. Firms which go into default are unable to remain viable because their assets—not yours—are insufficient to fund their operation.

Q: How has MMBB’s investment strategy changed?

A: It hasn’t. MMBB has always emphasized, and continues to emphasize, a long-term perspective. We seek returns that beat our benchmarks over the long-term. This philosophy includes a commitment to a diversified portfolio both within and across asset classes. We advise nothing less at this time.

Guided by its respected investment committee, MMBB continues to diversify members’ assets, especially in the Annuity Fund, the New Horizons Fund and the Balanced Fund. The more diverse any portfolio, the less likely it will be to suffer the brunt of decline in any one part of that portfolio.

Q: How have MMBB funds performed in this market?

A: MMBB is well diversified. However, because the general markets have been extremely volatile, both in the U.S. and internationally, MMBB will participate in declines, just as we will participate, and have participated, in market upswings of earlier years.

A recently conducted analysis of the Balanced Fund indicates that, for the six-year period ending September 30, 2008, the average return is over 9% a year. If you look at the 12-month period ending on the same date, the Balanced Fund has declined about 16%. However–and this is the critical point–for the previous five years ending on September 30, 2007, on average, the Balanced Fund rose over 14% per year! Averaged over the entire six years, investors in the Balanced Fund achieved a return of over 9% per year.

While there is no guarantee that the future will hold the same fortune, MMBB’s expertise and long term approach to investing provides a solid basis on which you can build your retirement savings.

Q: How will my annuity be affected?

A: In its nearly 100-year history, MMBB has never missed an annuity payment and we do not intend to start now. Our Annuity Fund is strong. It has been tested by actuaries to withstand changes in the economy such as those we are seeing today.

MMBB understands that any decline in your annuity income is a hardship. We can, however, offer some comfort to those members already in retirement. MMBB’s variable annuity offers a unique retirement feature allowing you to rest assured that next year’s annuity will not be less than 95% of the current year’s annuity. This means that your annuity cannot decrease more than 5% regardless of what happens in the financial market.

Q: How safe are my Money Market Fund investments?

A: Very safe. First, MMBB’s Money Market Fund invests in a broadly diversified portfolio of high-quality, short-term money market securities. This fund can hold many types of short-term instruments, including bank deposits, certificates of deposit, U.S. Treasury bills, repurchase agreements and asset-backed securities, domestic and dollar-denominated foreign commercial paper, and other short-term corporate obligations. The average maturity of the fund’s holdings is usually 90 days or less.

Second, MMBB selects world-class partners for executing investments and delivering benefits to members. MMBB’s Money Market Fund is invested with Dreyfus in their Cash Management Plus Fund.

Most importantly, given recent events, the Dreyfus Cash Management Plus Fund is being covered by a capital support agreement from The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, which has an ownership relationship with Dreyfus. The capital support agreement allows Mellon to assure MMBB that for every dollar invested you will be able to get a dollar out.

Q: Does MMBB invest in hedge funds?

A: The Balanced Fund, MMBB’s most popular investment option, the New Horizons Fund, and the Annuity Fund invest in hedge funds. Even in the hedge fund asset class, MMBB is very well diversified. The majority of MMBB’s hedge fund exposure is held in a half dozen funds of funds. That means that each of those half dozen managers further diversifies our assets by sub-allocating them to a number of individual hedge funds.

Year to date through July, those funds of funds have declined between 3 and 9 percent. This compares favorably with the broader stock market which declined nearly 12 percent. So, our hedge funds have provided valuable cushion and stability when it was most needed.

MMBB also has an excellent line of communication with all of our managers. As soon as the credit crisis hit in September, MMBB began receiving communiqués from the hedge fund managers assuring us that their counterparty exposure to AIG or Lehman Brothers amounted to only 1% or less.

Q: Should I alter my investment strategy?

A: We always encourage members to choose an investment strategy based upon their own financial goals and their own risk tolerances. If they do this, and if they take a long term view toward their investments, then they are often able to weather times of uncertainty.

If you are thinking of retiring soon, keep in mind that a financial strategy is only one piece of a retirement plan. Other factors to consider are your health, what you want to do in retirement, where you want to live, and how you structure your estate. We encourage you to discuss your total financial picture with your financial advisor.

Those members close to retirement who are invested in the New Horizons Fund have effectively chosen a hedge against the current environment: Investments in the New Horizons Fund parallel the investments in the Annuity Fund. As a result, the value of the New Horizons Fund and Annuity Fund go up and down together. This means that you can purchase units of equal value in the Annuity Fund regardless of the ups and downs of the market.

Q: What is MMBB’s position on the rescue plan being considered by Congress?

A: MMBB believes that the federal government needs to take strong and decisive action to free up the credit markets. The plan Congress is considering is one alternative for achieving this goal. We believe that failure to support the credit markets will have a negative effect on the economy. The economic downturn is likely to be deeper and last longer if Congress fails to act.

Q: How can I check on the status of my MMBB accounts?

A: You can check on the status of you MMBB accounts at any time by logging onto the MMBB Web site, www.mmbb.org. Choose the “Investments” option on the toolbar at the top of the MMBB home page. In the drop-down menu that appears, choose the “How to Make a Call” option. This opens a page that explains how you can contact ACS, MMBB’s customer service center for your investments.

You can get your information by phone or via the Web site. To access your retirement plan account balances, transactions, investment selections, and other information via the Web, you will need to set up an account. ACS will assign you a PIN (personal identification number) to assure the security of your personal data.