Sign up for 'Time to go paperless'
IBM Retirees, Spouses and Deferred members can now sign up to our 'Time to go paperless' initiative. When you sign up, you will receive electronic versions of documents such as Members' Reports, Summary Funding Statements and ad-hoc Trustee Announcements.
By signing up you will reduce the amount of paper wasted, receive documents and notices faster; and you will help us to reduce printing and postage costs.
To sign up click on the 'Time to go paperless' button and follow the instructions to submit your details. A Q&A is included below to answer any questions you may have.
Q&A
Q. What is 'Time to go paperless'?
A. 'Time to go Paperless' is a new initiative where IBM retirees, spouses and deferred members can sign up to receive soft copy versions of general documents such as Members' Reports, Summary Funding Statements and as-hoc Trustee announcements.
Q. Who can sign up?
A. Retirees, spouses, deferred members can sign up for 'Time to go Paperless'. If you are a carer for a member you can sign up on their behalf.
Active IBM employees do not need to sign up for the initiative.
Q. Why are we doing this?
A. There are three main reasons for the 'Time to go Paperless' initiative. There has been a change in the law, increasing publishing costs and concerns for the environment. Further explanations of these are included below:
A change in the law
There was a change in the Pensions Disclosure regulations on 1 December 2010, allowing information about your pension to be disclosed by email, on a website or as a hard copy. Before December 2010, all information about your pension had to be sent by hard copy.
Increasing cost of publishing
The cost of publishing, printing and posting hard copy booklets or letters is increases every year. 'Time to go Paperless' will reduce the costs of producing these items and will benefit the environment as less resources will be used.
Member feedback
We have received feedback from our members who told us that we should be greener by sending fewer paper documents and should make more information available online. Some members commented that most documents issued by us were read once and then recycled or shredded.
Q. How will I be notified if there is something new to read?
A. When a new item is available you will receive an email. The email will contain a link to the new item on the website.
Q. Will I be able to download a PDF as well as view items online?
A. You can view items online and/or download a PDF to read later or store on your computer.
Q. Which documents will be made available to view and download?
A. Only general documents will be available such as Members' Reports, Summary Funding Statements and ad-hoc announcements. The documents will not contain any personal information or data.
Q. Will you send any personal data to my email address?
A. No, we will not send any personal data to your email address.
Q. What's in it for me?
A. If you sign up for 'Time to go Paperless' you will receive a notification about documents and announcements faster than if you were to receive a hard copy. You will also reduce the amount of paper documents you have to store, recycle or shred.
Q. How do I sign up?
A. Visit the Homepage on our website and click on 'Time to go Paperless' button. Follow the instructions to submit your details. You will receive an automatic confirmation email once you have signed up.
Q. What should I do if I have two or more pensions from IBM?
A. Yes, if you have more than one IBM pension you will need to sign up for each pension separately.
Q. How do I change my email address once I have signed up?
A. You can sign up with your new email address and unsubscribe your existing email address. You can unsubscribe by following the instructions below.
Q. How do I unsubscribe?
A. If you wish to unsubscribe, please visit the Homepage on our website and click on 'Time to go Paperless' button. Click on the Unsubscribe button. You can subscribe and unsubscribe at any time.
Q. How do I request a hard copy document?
A. If at any time you would like to receive a hard copy document but still wish to remain signed up to 'Time to go Paperless', you can request a hard copy by sending an email to us at pensions@uk.ibm.com.
Q. Will IBM Pensions share my email address with anyone else?
A. No, we will not share your data with anyone else.
Q. Isn't it a waste of paper to send me a 'Go Paperless' flyer?
A. We felt that sending a flyer to publicise 'Time to go Paperless' would attract the most attention and encourage more people to sign up. In addition, when members sign up, the resources used to print the flyer would be offset by the resources saved in the future.
Q. Will this cost me anything?
No, it is free to sign up.
Q. Are there any future plans for members to view personal data online?
A. In the future, an online system will be available for members to log in and view their personal data. This will be completely separate to the 'Time to go Paperless' initiative.
Back to latest news
Last Updated: 06/07/2011
