State Agencies Bulletin No. 1381

Subject
Repayment of Public Employees Federation (PEF) Deficit Reduction Plan (DRP) Reductions
Date Issued
February 23, 2015

Purpose

To inform agencies of OSC’s automatic processing of the repayment of PEF DRP reductions.

Affected Employees

Employees whose balance of PEF DRP reductions is less than zero (0) in one or more record number

Background

As part of the Public Employees Federation (PEF) Deficit Reduction Plan (DRP) created pursuant to Section 7 of Part A of Chapter 491 of the Laws of 2011 and the Division of the Budget Bulletin B-1196 issued November 8, 2011, the balance of each employee’s actual deficit reduction plan reductions will be repaid to the employee in equal biweekly installments over 39 consecutive pay periods beginning with the paycheck which includes compensation for April 1, 2015.

Effective Date(s)

Repayment of the PEF DRP reductions will begin in the following pay periods:

Cycle/Pay Period/Type Pay Period Begin Date Check Date
Institution 26 Current 03/19/2015 04/02/2015
Administration 1 Current 03/26/2015 04/08/2015
Institution 26 Lag 03/19/2015 04/16/2015
Administration Extra Lag 03/19/2015 04/22/2015
Administration 1 Lag 03/26/2015 04/22/2015
Institution Extra Lag 03/26/2015 04/30/2015

Repayment of the PEF DRP reductions will end in the following pay periods:

Cycle/Pay Period/Type Pay Period Begin Date Check Date
Institution 12 Current 09/01/2016 09/15/2016
Administration 12 Current 09/08/2016 09/21/2016
Institution 12 Lag 09/01/2016 09/29/2016
Administration Extra Lag 09/01/2016 10/05/2016
Administration 12 Lag 09/08/2016 10/05/2016
Institution Extra Lag 09/08/2016 10/13/2016

Eligibility Criteria

Employees whose sum of gross earnings YTD for calendar year 2011 and greater for the following earnings codes is less than zero (0) in any record number is eligible for the repayment.

Earnings Code Description
D1P 11-12 PEF DRP -4.198%
R1P 11-12 PEF Retro DRP -4.198%
D2P 11-12 PEF DRP Oth -4.198%
D3P 11-12 PEF DRP Repayment
D4P 12-13 PEF DRP -1.847%
R4P 12-13 PEF Retro DRP -1.847%
D5P 12-13 PEF DRP Oth -1.847%
D6P 12-13 PEF DRP Repayment
D1T 11-12 PEF 21P DRP -3.381%
R1T 11-12 PEF 21P RetroDRP -3.381%
D2T 11-12 PEF 21P DRP Oth -3.381%

New Earnings Code

OSC has created a new earnings code to process the repayment of the PEF DRP reductions.

Additional Pay Earnings Code Description
D7P Final PEF DRP Repayment

OSC Actions

OSC will insert a row on the Additional Pay page for each record number in which the sum of the employee’s gross earnings YTD for Earnings Codes D1P, R1P, D2P, D3P, D4P, R4P, D5P, D6P, D1T, R1T and D2T for calendar year 2011 and greater is less than zero (0).

The inserted row on the Additional Pay page will be set up as follows:

Earnings Code: D7P
Effective Date: Pay Period Begin Date as noted above for the employee’s Pay Cycle/Pay Period Type
Goal Amount: The sum of gross earnings YTD for Earnings Codes D1P, R1P, D2P, D3P, D4P, R4P, D5P, D6P, D1T, R1T and D2T for calendar year 2011 and greater for this record number (entered as a positive amount).
Earnings: If the employee’s Payroll Status is equal to Active, Leave With Pay or Leave of Absence on any record number, the Earnings field is equal to the Goal Amount for this record number divided by 39 and rounded up to the next cent.
If the employee’s Payroll Status is equal to Terminated, Retired or Deceased on all record numbers, the Earnings field is equal to the Goal Amount for this record number.

In each subsequent pay period through the end of the repayment of the PEF DRP reductions, OSC will review the Additional Pay records using Earnings Code D7P of each employee who has not received repayment of all PEF DRP reductions. If the employee’s Payroll Status is equal to Terminated, Retired or Deceased on all record numbers, OSC will pay the balance of PEF DRP reductions in each record number.

OSC will insert a row on the Additional Pay page for each record number as follows:

Earnings Code: D7P
Effective Date: Pay Period End Date for the employee’s Pay Cycle/Pay Period Type for the pay period being processed
Goal Amount: Carried forward from previous row
Earnings: The difference between the Goal Amount and Goal Balance.

Agency Actions

Beginning in the pay periods noted above, agencies must not submit any transactions related to the PEF Deficit Reduction Plan including transactions to process a repayment.

Miscellaneous Payment Information

The PEF Deficit Reduction Plan Repayment is pensionable but is not included in the calculation of overtime.

Deduction Information

All general deductions for employees whose Payroll Status is Terminated, Retired or Deceased will be automatically cancelled by OSC with the exception of the following:

Code Description
410 Health Care Spending Account
420 NY Dependent Care Contribution
425 Repay State Loans/Debt
426 Higher Ed Repay State Loan
428 Dependent Care
433 Total Unemployment Ins Owed
500 Medicare Deficiency
501 Social Security Deficiency
502 NYS SS/Medicare Deficiency
GARNSH Garnishments
HIATRG Regular After Tax Health
HIATSP Special After Tax Health Adj
HIBTRG Regular Before Tax Health
HIBTSP Special Before Tax Health Adj

Tax Information

These monies are taxable income and are subject to all employment taxes and income taxes. The monies will be included in the employee’s taxable gross and will be reported on the employee’s Form W-2.

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice

The Earnings Code D7P and the amount paid will be displayed on the Payroll Register. The Earnings Description Final PEF DRP Repayment and the amount paid will appear on the employee’s paycheck stub or direct deposit advice.

Undeliverable Checks

If the agency has made an effort to deliver the check to the employee but the check has been returned and is undeliverable, the agency should forward the check to the NYS Department of Tax and Finance, Division of Treasury, per instructions in Payroll Bulletin No. 908.

Checks issued to eligible employees who are now deceased should be returned with a completed Next of Kin Affidavit (Form AC 934-P) and a Report of Check Exchange (Form AC 1476-P). If a Next of Kin Affidavit has been previously submitted for a deceased employee’s payroll check, OSC will accept a photocopy of this form along with a New Report of Check Exchange.

Questions

Questions regarding the PEF Deficit Reduction Plan Repayment should be directed to the applicable budget examiner at the Division of the Budget.

Questions regarding payroll processing of the PEF Deficit Reduction Plan Repayment should be directed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.