Frequently Asked Questions

A group annuity contract is a financial product sold by an insurance company such as MassMutual. There are a number of different types of group annuity contracts. This website describes group annuity contracts under which MassMutual provides guaranteed annuity benefits to individuals covered under the contract. Payments are made for each recipient’s lifetime, and, if applicable, for the lifetime of the contingent or joint annuitant thereafter or for a guaranteed period of time.

You became covered because your employer purchased a MassMutual group annuity contract to provide benefits to which you were entitled under a defined benefit pension plan sponsored by your employer (or former employer).

Plan sponsors choose to purchase group annuity contracts for a variety of reasons. Once a group annuity contract has been purchased the pension plan is no longer responsible for paying the participant benefits covered under the contract. Instead, the insurance company becomes financially responsible for making those benefit payments. MassMutual has been in the business of paying guaranteed benefits for over 30 years and is well positioned to ensure that that you will continue to receive your benefits.

When an insurance company has assumed an obligation to make payments to individuals under a group annuity contract, the insurer issues a document called a certificate to each covered individual. The certificate specifies the payments guaranteed to each individual under the contract. The process to prepare and issue certificates to each individual covered under a group annuity contract can take some time. However, the individual’s right to receive benefits under the contract is not dependent on whether a certificate has been issued to them.

Please review the information in your certificate. If any of your personal information is incorrect, please contact the MassMutual Participant Information Center at 1 (800) 775-4331.

If any of your personal information is incorrect, please contact the MassMutual Participant Information Center at 1 (800) 775-4331.

A Contract Number is a unique identifying number MassMutual has assigned to the group annuity contract issued with respect to your plan. Whenever you contact us by phone or mail you should reference your Contract Number, because it helps us locate your records on our administrative systems and enables us to better serve you.

Nothing will change for you with respect to the gross amount of your monthly benefit. The amount of the monthly payment you receive is net of taxes that are withheld and if MassMutual withholds a different amount of taxes, the net payment you receive may change. The other change you will see is in who makes your monthly payment; it does not affect the gross amount of your monthly payment.

While your annuity payment will be taxed in the same way as your pension payment, different providers may have different interpretations of state tax laws, which may result in your receipt of a different after-tax payment. Please note: If you received payments from your employer in the year the MassMutual group annuity contract became effective you will receive two separate tax forms for the current year reflecting the payments you received from the Plan and the payments you received from MassMutual.

No, MassMutual will not charge you any fees.

MassMutual can only share payment history from the date MassMutual began making payments to you. Going forward you will be able to access your payment history.

If you prefer to receive an advice for the direct deposit activity MassMutual can provide that service upon request.

The website was designed to provide you with your account information. With that in mind, we are constantly working to improve our customers’ experience. We expect to add additional functionality to this website in the future.

If you have forgotten your password, there is a link on the login page to reset it. Click the “Forgot password?” link and follow the instructions to regain access to your account.

In order to regain access to your account you will need to call Customer Service at 1 (800) 775-4331.

Founded in 1851, MassMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policy owners. The company has a long history of financial strength and strong performance. With whole life insurance as its foundation, MassMutual provides products to help meet the financial needs of clients, such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, retirement/401(k) plan services, and annuities.

MassMutual has been serving retirement plans for more than 65 years. It offers a full range of products and services for corporate, union, nonprofit and governmental employers' defined benefit, defined contribution and nonqualified deferred compensation plans. It serves approximately 2.8 million participants. You can find additional information on the company website: www.massmutual.com.