CUNY Bulletin No. CU-118

Subject
TIAA/CREF Pensionability of Adjunct Earnings
Date Issued
June 29, 2001

Purpose

To explain the process for adding a TIAA/CREF retirement election for adjunct employees

Affected Employees

Adjunct employees who are currently enrolled in TIAA/CREF in their FULL TIME position either at the senior campus or the community college

Effective Date

Checks dated July 12, 2001

OSC Actions

OSC has added the plan type 7Z (TIAA/CREF) and deduction codes 603 and 604 (TIAA/CREF arrears) to the benefit program AJC

Agency Actions

Agencies must determine if an employee's adjunct record is eligible for TIAA based on the pension status of the employee's full-time job at the same campus. Once determined, the information should be entered as follows:

  1. Open the Retirement Plans panel. Go - Compensate Employees - Administer Base Benefits - Use - Retirement Plans - Update/Display All.
  2. Select Employee. Type the employee's ID in EmplID and click OK. Be sure to select the Empl Rcd# that corresponds to the employee's adjunct record on Job Data.
  3. Type 7Z in the Plan Type to indicate TIAA/CREF retirement plan.
  4. Type the first day of the pay period in which retirement contributions can be taken in the Begin Date.
  5. Select Elect as the Participation Election.
  6. Type the employee's TIAA eligibility date in the Elect Date.
  7. Select the appropriate Benefit Plan from the drop down list. This selection should be identical to that in the employee's full time record if at a senior campus. If the employee's full time record is at a community college, this selection should reflect that made at the community college.
  8. Select the appropriate Tier from the drop down list. This selection should be identical to that in the employee's full time record if at a senior campus. If the employee's full time record is at a community college, this selection should reflect the tier selection made at the community college.

    For employees whose full time job is at a senior campus, no other information is needed. The employee's Class will be populated based on the information in the full time record.

    For employees whose full time job is at a community college, the Class will default to Suspense. The agencies must ascertain, from the community college, the amount of completed TIAA service credit. This information must be communicated to OSC in order to make the necessary changes to the suspense and 7 year counters.

    If it is determined that the employee owes arrears, open the General Deductions panel and enter the necessary information, including Flat/Addl Amount and Goal Amount, using code 603 (TIAA Arrears Before Tax) or code 604 (TIAA Arrears After Tax). Do not enter a Deduction End Date; the Goal Amount will control the cessation of the arrears deduction. Once again be sure to select the correct employee record number.

Questions

Questions regarding this bulletin may be directed to the University Manager of Payroll Systems and Operations at CUNY Central Office.