State Agencies Bulletin No. 1042

Subject
Supplemental Retirement Annuity (SRA) and Tax Deferred Annuity (TDA) Contribution Limits for 2011
Date Issued
December 3, 2010

Purpose

To inform agencies of OSC ‘s annual record update process and provide data entry instructions for entering SRA and TDA deductions to ensure compliance with contribution limits.

Background

Pursuant to IRS Regulations, Section 403(b):

  • The regular annual contribution amount will remain at $16,500 for 2011.
  • An additional deferment is available to employees 50 and over. These employees can defer up to $5,500 in catch-up contributions in addition to their regular contribution amount for a combined total contribution limit of $22,000 in 2011.
  • An additional deferment is also available to employees   who qualify for the 15-Year Rule. These employees can defer up to $3,000 in addition to their regular contribution amount for a combined contribution limit of $25,000 in 2011.

Affected CUNY Employees

Employees who currently have any of the following SRA or TDA deductions:

Deduction Code Narrative Description
403 Supplemental Ret Ann CUNY
413 NBE Tax Deferred Annuity
414 NYT Tax Deferred Annuity
417 HRC TDA
419 CUNY TDA Copeland

Affected SUNY Employees

Employees who currently have any of the following SRA or TDA deductions:

Deduction Code Narrative Description
404 Supplemental Ret Annuity Prog
408 SUNY TDA Fidelity
415 SUNY Tax Deferred Annuity

Affected Education Department, School for the Blind and School for the Deaf Employees

Deduction Code Narrative Description
432 ED TDA Copeland

Effective Date(s)

Administrative paychecks dated January 5, 2011

Institution paychecks dated January 13, 2011

OSC Actions

In order to help prevent employees from making excess 403(b) deferrals in 2011, OSC will insert a new effective-dated row using the beginning date of the first pay period of 2011 for employees who have an active SRA or TDA deduction and whose status is Active, Paid Leave or Leave Without Pay.

The new effective-dated row will reflect:

  • The employee’s current biweekly deferral election.
  • The regular maximum contribution amount of $16,500 for 2011 in the Goal Amount field.
  • A beginning contribution balance of zero (0) for 2011 as reflected by the blank Goal Balance field.

OSC will terminate all active SRA and TDA deductions for employees whose status is Retired, Terminated or Deceased by end dating the deduction.

Agency Actions

Agencies must review the Control-D report NBEN749 (SRA/TDA Default Goal Amount) which lists participating employees. This report will be available in Control-D on or about December 17, 2010 for Administration agencies and on or about December 24, 2010 for Institution agencies.

If a change to the employee’s current deduction or Goal Amount for 2011 is necessary, agencies must update the General Deduction page in accordance with the instructions below.

Note: Agencies must not begin this data entry until after December 17, 2010 for Administration agencies and December 24, 2010 for Institution agencies.

Agency Processing Instructions to Change Existing Deductions or Start New Deductions

When making changes, the transactions should be entered only during the processing of the pay period when the deduction will take effect. Agencies must not insert future-dated transactions for these deduction codes.

To change the Goal Amount for employees who are eligible to make additional contributions in 2011 under the 50 and over and/or the 15-Year Rule, the agency must insert a new effective -dated row for the applicable SRA/TDA deduction code in the employee’s General Deduction Data record. All information will roll up on the newly inserted row. The agency must override the Goal Amount to reflect the employee’s 2011 deferral limit.

To change the Deduction Amount (for employees of SUNY, Education Department, School for the Blind and School for the Deaf) or the Percent (for employees of CUNY), the agency must insert a new effective-dated row for the applicable SRA/TDA deduction in the employee’s General Deduction Data record and override the Deduction Amount/Percent to reflect the employee’s new biweekly deferral election.

To cancel the deduction, the agency must insert a new effective-dated row for the applicable SRA/TDA deduction in the employee’s General Deduction Data record and populate the Effective Date and End Date fields with the first day of the pay period.

In order to prevent employees from making excess 403(b) deferrals in 2011, agencies should not enter or change the Goal Balance Amount under any circumstances.

Questions

Questions may be e-mailed to the Payroll Deduction mailbox.