Employer news, 2010 (3rd quarter)

EMPLOYER NEWS - 3rd Quarter, FY 2010

Announcing the new ERSGA website and new ERSGA email addresses!
The new ERSGA website at www.ers.ga.gov is now available. We have redesigned our site to make the information you need easier to find, and added some new information and features, such as our legislation pages and ERSGA events calendar. Some things will be in different places; for instance, employees can find Plan-specific forms and publications under each plan. Employer-related forms and information remain in the Employer section of the new website. Please take some time to have a look around and acquaint yourself with the new site.
This change will affect employers attempting to reach the reporting website via the old link or a saved favorite. Please save the new link below for report submissions:
https://secure.ers.ga.gov/Employer/EmployerLogon.aspx
In addition to the new website, ERSGA staff have new email addresses. The previous email address format - sclaus@ers. state.ga.us - has been changed to: santa.claus@ers.ga.gov. Please contact ERSGA if you have any questions, however Mr. Claus is not accepting calls at this time.

While these are substantial changes, please rest assured that your employer representatives continue in their current roles ready to assist you with any of your reporting issues. We look forward to continued delivery of quality customer service to all our employers under our new name. Please make a note of our new name and fax number: Financial Management Group - 404-350-6304.
Termination Date Now Required in Electronic File for Employees Applying for Retirement or Refund
Effective immediately, ERSGA now requires that employers with terminating members report the termination date in their next available electronic file. In the past, ERSGA has processed Retirement and Refund payments without requiring this data electronically. This has resulted in benefit delays and miscalculations.
Going forward, termination dates are required in order for ERSGA to process benefits. ERSGA Member Services staff have been instructed to put applications on hold until an electronic termination date is received. To decrease benefit processing delays, effective immediately employers must include all terminations in their monthly electronic files.

Employer Reporting is now the Financial Management Group

Enrolling New Employees and Rehires in GSEPS in PeopleSoft

Previously, we spotlighted the Employer Reporting Division at ERSGA. This quarter we are announcing the Divisions's new name: Financial Management Group (FMG). While our name has changed, this group continues to manage the over 950 employer accounts throughout the state.
In addition to our responsibilities to our reporting units: customer service to all reporting units, daily monitoring of reports, electronic files and payments, following up on late reporters and collaborating with reporting units to identify and correct all errors, the Financial Management Group will now oversee the retiree and supplemental payrolls, 1099-R distributions, agency accounts receivable, and various agency accounting projects and reports.
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For those employers who use the state PeopleSoft system for HR purposes (including county public and mental health departments and DFACS), you must create a GSEPS Pension Panel record for all ERS retirement-eligible new hires. The GSEPS codes begin with "E2G."
For rehires, you must contact ERS to determine whether the employee should be in GSEPS or be reenrolled in the ERS "New" or "Old" Plan. The Pension Panel record you create should correspond to the appropriate retirement plan. A GSEPS 401(k) record must also be created in the Savings Plan Panel at a contribution rate of 1%, unless the employee has completed the GSEPS 401(k) Opt-Out form. 401(k) Opt-Outs should be indicated on the Pension Panel record.

ERS General Office ERS Toll Free

404-350-6300

ERS General Fax

800-805-4609

Web



404-350-6308 www.ers.ga.gov

Monthly Reporting Issues

PSERS Retirees Returning to Work

Monthly Reporting Issues
The following are some demographic data components that have been missing or are incorrect on a number of recent employer files. We bring these to your attention for review and an update on future transmissions. FMG is working internally to provide all employers specific demographic error reports in the near future.
Date of Birth
Date of birth is required on all employees - for all Plans.
If the date of birth is incorrect, please check with the employee and correct the date of birth in your payroll system.
Name
A complete first and last name is required on all employees - for all Plans.
If an employee is using the first initial instead of his or her name, please review the Social Security card or other documentation to ensure this is how the name appears on the documentation. If not, the complete name should be provided in the electronic file to ERS.
Hire Date
All new hires must have a hire date in the file - for all Plans.
Rehires must also have a rehire date (not the original hire date) - for all Plans.
JRS, GDCP and PSERS new hires must complete Membership Application forms. After ERS (including GSEPS) and LRS hires have been reported to ERSGA, they will receive notification to make their beneficiary designations online.
Social Security Number
To mitigate reporting errors due to incorrect Social Security numbers, please ensure that the Social Security number provided matches the official documentation provided at hire.
If the Social Security number submitted is incorrect, please fax a copy of the Social Security card to our office requesting correction and correct the Social Security number in your payroll system.
LWOP or MWOP Payment Reason (Leave without pay and Military leave without pay)
Contribution detail records must be reported for members on leave to retain their active status.
While on leave without pay, $0.00 salary, $0.00 contribution, 0 percent time%, and LWOP/ MWOP payment reason must be included in the detail file.

As a reminder, Normal Retirement Age (NRA) has been defined for PSERS as age 65. This means that employees returning to service June 1, 2009 or later at less than age 65 will have their benefits suspended.
Note: Employees that retired prior to June 1, 2009 that returned to work on or before September 1, 2009 and work without a break in service until age 65 will not have benefits suspended. Employers should complete the PSERS Rehired Retiree Reporting Form and contact PSERS Administration when rehiring a retired PSERS member. The form is available in the Employers section of the website, under Employers Forms and Information.
New Contribution Detail File Layout for PSERS Employers
The new file layout for PSERS employers was successfully implemented in September 2009 with all PSERS employers reporting salary data to ERSGA for the first time in our history. As the administrators of the Public School Employees Retirement System, our goals include ensuring the solvency of the plan and working to improve available benefits for current and future members. With the addition of salary data, PSERS administration can do more indepth analysis of current membership data. Thanks again for your support of our efforts.
Membership in Multiple Plans
Members enrolled in the ERS Plan must not be enrolled in GDCP. In the majority of cases identified by FMG, the employee is working for two agencies (full and parttime) and neither agency is aware of the dual employment. The full-time position is covered by ERS and the part-time position is covered by GDCP.
Since an ERS member cannot also be enrolled in GDCP, the GDCP contributions are returned to the part-time employer. If you have an employee that is a GDCP Member and this employee appears on a credit invoice due to multiple plan membership, please remove the employee from GDCP in your payroll system.
In the event of any conflict between this publication and the laws, rules and regulations governing the plans, the terms of the laws, rules and regulations will have precedence.