State Agencies Bulletin No. 942

Subject
Mandatory 3% Retirement Contribution for Certain Tier 2 Members of the New York State Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS)
Date Issued
November 20, 2009

Purpose

To provide instructions for populating the Retirement Plans page in PayServ for affected employees of the State Police (Agencies 01060 and 01069).

Affected Employees

Employees of the State Police who join the Police and Fire Retirement System on or after July 1, 2009

Effective Date

Immediately

Background

On June 2, 2009, the Governor vetoed legislation (Assembly Bill No. A3426 and Senate Bill No. S1409) that would have amended Subdivision c of Section 440 of the Retirement and Social Security Law to extend, until June 30, 2011, the applicability and provisions of Article 11 of the Retirement and Social Security Law to all police officers and firefighters who join a public retirement system on or after July 1, 2009.

As a result, all PFRS members of the State Police who join on or after July 1, 2009 will be covered under Article 14 of the Retirement and Social Security Law and are required to contribute 3% of their pensionable salary for 25 years or until retirement, whichever is earlier.

Note: Newly enrolled eligible PFRS members employed by agencies other than the State Police will continue in the Tier 2 non-contributory plan.

OSC Actions

OSC has revised the Retirement Table to allow for a 3% contribution for Tier 2 PFRS members.

The 3% contribution is not covered under Section 414H of the Internal Revenue Code and is subject to both Federal and State withholding taxes.

Agency Actions

The NYSPFRS will provide the State Police Payroll Office with Certification Letters upon enrollment of affected employees. Upon receipt of these letters, the agency must populate the employee's record as follows:

  1. Open the Retirement Plans page. (Path: Home>Compensate Employees>Administer Base Benefits>Use>Retirement Plans)
  2. Enter employee's EmplID in search box.
  3. Click Search.
  4. Select the correct Empl Rcd# for the corresponding Job Record (if multiple records exist).
  5. Enter “7W” in the *Plan Type field.
  6. Enter the current payroll period begin date or Hire Date, whichever is later in the *Deduction Begin Datefield.
  7. Enter the employee’s Date of Membership per the Certification Letter in the *Election Date field.
  8. Enter the Benefit Plan of “PAFAFT” in the *Benefit Plan field.
  9. Enter “2” in the *Tier field.
  10. Enter the employee’s Retirement Registration Number* as provided in the Certification Letter in the Reg Nbr: field.
  11. Enter “Contributing” in the *Contribution Status: field.
  12. Enter “SEO” in the Option Code field under “Election Options.”
  13. Tab to the Percentage field which will automatically populate with the required 3% contribution rate.
  14. Click Save.

*Members who join the NYSPFRS on or after July 1, 2009 will have registration numbers beginning with 0B2 for easy identification.

Questions

The New York State and Local Retirement System has provided a summary of Article 14 benefits and Frequently Asked Questions.

Questions regarding this bulletin may be directed to the Payroll Deduction mailbox.