Your Plan Administration Office allows you to send completed forms containing personal information via email with a password encryption on the document. Instructions on how to do so are listed below.

You only need to use one method of encrypting a document at a time. If you have another way you encrypt documents please do so as long as it is a safe and trusted method of secure encryption. Encrypting a document is the sender’s responsibility. If you cannot add a password to a document, please do not send it over email.

Do not send the encrypted document and the password to that document in the same email. The best practice is to call the Plan Administration Office and provide the password over the phone.

1. Encrypt Word/Excel Document: You can insert a photo of your form in a Word or Excel document, then encrypt that document.
   • a. Open a Word/Excel document, click on ‘Insert’ on the top menu bar, then select ‘Pictures’.
   • b. Select the picture of your completed form, then hit ‘Insert’.
   • c. Select ‘File’ on the top menu bar.
   • d. Select ‘info’ on the left sidebar menu, then select the “Protect Document” or “Protect Workbook” icon that appears just to the right of ‘info’.
   • e. A few options appear, choose ‘Encrypt with Password’ and then assign the password.
   • f. Save the document.
   • g. Before emailing the document, make sure you and an admin office staff member are clear what password is being assigned. Do not send the encrypted document and the password to that document in the same email.
     
2. If you have a paid version of Adobe, you can encrypt your document as a pdf.
   • a. Open Adobe and select ‘tools’ near the top left corner of the page.
   • b. Click ‘Protect’ and select the document you need to encrypt.
   • c. The document will open and at the top of the document page there is an option to Encrypt, and Encrypt with Password.
   • d. At the top of the popup box that will appear check the box that says, “Require a Password to open the document”.
   • e. Enter the password in the space just below that message, click ‘Okay’ at the bottom of the popup box.
   • f. Save the document.
   • g. Before emailing the document, make sure you and an admin office staff member are clear what password is being assigned. Do not send the encrypted document and the password to that document in the same email.