Your Retirement and Savings Plan The most effective way to build personal savings and provide for a secure retirement is to plan in advance. With the UFCW Local 1776 and Participating Employers Retirement and Savings Plan, planning and saving for the future become easier. Some of the highlights of the Plan include:    Systematic Savings. Your contributions are deducted automatically from your paycheck on a pre-tax basis. In addition, if you elect to put your Flexible Benefits Plan credits under the UFCW Local 1776 and Participating Employers Flexible Benefits Plan into this Plan, these monies will also be credited to your Account on a pre-tax basis.    Tax Advantages. Your pre-tax contributions go into the Plan before you pay federal income taxes, thereby reducing your federal taxes. You do not have to pay federal income taxes on these amounts until you receive money from the Plan. Please note that amounts contributed are subject to FICA and Pennsylvania state income tax. In addition, earnings on your contributions are not taxed until you receive a distribution from the Plan.    Investment Choices. You may designate how your contributions are invested by selecting from the various funds available through the Plan. The fact that these funds may not be available to you as an individual investor is another important advantage of this Plan.