Collecting & Sharing Information

Information We Collect

This notice applies to all information that members or employers submit, such as information collected over the telephone, in writing, or on our website. The types of information collected may include:

• Information we receive from members via the website or on applications or other forms, such as name, address, telephone number, Social Security number, and birthdate
• Information obtained from employers, such as employer name, member hire date, and member compensation
• Information about member transactions with us such as contribution/payment history, information members have requested, information on enrolled dependents, beneficiaries, and changes in personal status
• Information gathered through aggregated tracking (derived mainly from website page views)
• Other general information, such as email address and demographic data

How Information Is Used

This information is gathered to help us administer the ELCA benefits plans and to serve you better. We also use this personal information to provide you with information related to your account, to better understand your needs and interests, to improve our service, and to personalize communications and your web experience. We store all the personal information you provide on secure servers.

Sharing Information Outside of Our Organization

We limit the sharing of information with others. We share your information with other organizations that act for us or on our behalf, such as the retirement plan recordkeeper and the ELCA Medical and Dental Benefit Plan’s benefit administrators. In addition, we must share information about you in certain instances, such as to comply with inquiries from government agencies or otherwise comply with applicable law. We require organizations with which we share your information to have privacy standards in place and to use your information only for the limited purpose for which it was shared. We also share enrollment, contribution, and billing information with employers.

ELCA Medical and Dental Benefits Plan

We’ll share general plan information, enrollment information, cost information (including subsidy information), and type of coverages with a member’s spouse and employer. We’ll comply with federal HIPAA privacy requirements before sharing any specific protected health information.

ELCA Flexible Benefits Plan

We’ll share general plan information and contribution amounts with a member’s spouse and employer.

ELCA Retirement Plan, ELCA Retirement Savings Plan, ELCA Master Institutional Retirement Plan

We’ll share general plan information, a member’s account balance, investment elections (which of the funds a member is invested in), estimated/actual annuity amounts, withdrawal information, and beneficiary information with a member’s spouse, as applicable. We’ll share contribution/compensation information with a member's employer upon request (e.g., to ensure the correct amounts are being contributed to a member's account). We’ll share general plan information with a member’s employer and/or synod office, as applicable. We won’t share information that was provided to the Portico Financial Planner about a member’s outside investment and banking accounts, trusts and wills, insurance policies, debts, tax information, and budget data.

ELCA Disability Benefits Plan

We’ll share general plan information, the date a member applied for disability, the date disability benefits begin and end, and whether or not disability benefits are being paid with a member’s spouse, employer, and/or synod office.

ELCA Survivor Benefits Plan

We’ll share general plan information and beneficiary information with a member’s spouse. We’ll share general plan information with a member’s employer and/or synod office.

We treat information about former members and employers in the same manner that we treat information about current members and employers.

Notification of Change

Portico Benefit Services reserves the right to modify or change this policy at any time. Any changes to this privacy policy will be posted on myPortico.PorticoBenefits.org and EmployerLink.PorticoBenefits.org. The effective date of this privacy policy is June 15, 2023. This privacy policy shall be construed and administered in accordance with the laws of the State of Minnesota.