STATE EMPLOYEES
RETIREMENT COMMISSION |
|
55 ELM STREET
HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT
06106-1775
TELEPHONE: (860) 702-3480
TELEFAX:(860) 702-3489 |
MEDICAL EXAMINING BOARD
for DISABILITY RETIREMENT |
HEALTH CARE COST
CONTAINMENT COMMITTEE |
|
STATE OF CONNECTICUT
RETIREMENT AND BENEFIT SERVICES DIVISION
OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER |
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RETIREMENT & BENEFIT SERVICES DIVISION MEMORANDUM
September 4, 2001
TO THE HEADS OF ALL STATE AGENCIES
ATTENTION:
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Personnel and Payroll Officers
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SUBJECT:
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2001 Personal Statement of Benefits for Tier I, Tier
II and Tier IIA Members of the State Employees Retirement System
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GENERAL INFORMATION
The Personal Statement of Benefits for Tier I, Tier II and
Tier IIA State Employees Retirement System members will be mailed directly to
employees at the addresses on file with the Retirement & Benefit Services
Division on or about October 1, 2001. Agencies will receive notices to be
enclosed with the payroll checks dated September 21, 2001 to inform members of
this mailing.
The statements will contain retirement and other employee
benefit information as of June 30, 2001. Contributions and awarded interest
balances will be reflected for Tier I members, Tier II hazardous duty members
and Tier IIA members.
The employee's primary agency address is printed as the
return address. Therefore, any undeliverable statements will be returned to the
agency. Statements for employees whose mailing address is incorrect, incomplete,
or missing should be distributed directly to each employee. Please consult #6,
page 4 for instructions on correcting employees' addresses. Statements for
members who have transferred from your agency should be forwarded to the new
agency. The statements for employees who have left state service should be
accumulated and then directed to the Retirement & Benefit Services Division,
Office of the State Comptroller, 55 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106, Attention:
Data Base Unit. Please accompany the return of these statements with a
memorandum that provides the name of each terminated employee, their termination
date and the reason for their termination.
With respect to Tier I, Tier II and Tier IIA members who
report that they did not receive a Personal Statement of Benefits, please
accumulate their names and forward them with identifying employee numbers and
Social Security numbers to the Retirement & Benefit Services Division,
Office of the State Comptroller, 55 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106, Attention:
Data Base Unit. Please note: employees hired after June 14, 2001 will not
receive a 2001 Personal Statement of Benefits. Do not report missing statements
for such employees; rather, you should inform them that they will receive their
first statement in the Fall of 2002.
The rest of this memorandum is devoted to outlining the
information provided on the 2001 Personal Statement of Benefits, the procedures
that should be used to change or correct any of that information and explaining
where additional information for each type of benefit may be obtained. For
convenience sake, the instructions are organized according to sections within
the benefits statement. Please remember that all requests to change or correct
personalized information must be initiated and processed at the agency level.
SPECIFIC INFORMATION
I SOCIAL SECURITY
- Estimated Social Security benefits are no longer provided
on the Personal Statement of Benefits. Accurate Social Security benefit
amounts may only be supplied by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The
SSA sends a Social Security Statement automatically to workers age 25 or older
who are not currently receiving benefits. In addition, such information may be
obtained from the SSA at any time, free of charge. Therefore, we encourage
members to obtain such information by contacting the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 and
asking for Form SSA-7004 or through the Internet link provided at www.osc.state.ct.us. You should direct employees with questions regarding
their Social Security benefits to their local Social Security office.
II ADDITIONAL BENEFITS FOR ACTIVE EMPLOYEES
- This is a new section added to the 2001 Personal Statement
of Benefits to provide general information regarding the Supplemental Employee
Benefits Program and the Deferred Compensation (Section 457) Plan. Further
information regarding these benefits including the participating vendors may
be obtained through the Internet at www.osc.state.ct.us or you may contact the
Retirement & Benefit Services Division's Employee Benefits Unit at
702-3543. Please do not refer individual employees to this number.
III YOUR BENEFITS AT RETIREMENT
- Retirement benefit calculations for the Personal Statement
of Benefits are based on information obtained from the State Employees
Retirement Data Base.
- If a member believes that his/her contributions and awarded
interest totals are incorrect, a request must be made in writing for an
explanation of his/her retirement account balance. The attached request form
must be used for this purpose. To avoid unnecessary requests, it should be
emphasized that the interest awarded for the period from July 1, 2000 to June
30, 2001 was computed on the balance of the contributions and interest as of
July 1, 2000.
- "Your benefit payment options at retirement"
sub-section provides information regarding the various payment options
available to members of the State Employees Retirement System at the time of
retirement. This information has been compiled using employment data from
State Employees Retirement Data Base records and assumes continuous and
full-time employment from the employment date shown on the statement to the
age indicated on the statement. Additionally, it is assumed that the employee
is married and that their spouse is the sole contingent annuitant and is the
same age as they are. The benefit payment option estimates are for
illustrative purposes only; these amounts do not portray actual benefits. It
should be noted that if an employee retained a pre-October 1, 1982 spousal
option such employee is ineligible to make another selection at retirement.
- Additional information on regular benefits from the State
Employees Retirement System may be obtained from the Tier I, Tier II and Tier
IIA Summary Plan Description (SPD) booklets.
IV YOUR DISABILITY BENEFITS
- Information on disability benefits from the State Employees
Retirement System may be obtained from the Tier I, Tier II and Tier IIA SPD
booklets.
- All employee questions regarding the State Group Life
Insurance coverage should be addressed by the appropriate agency personnel or
payroll officer. Agency personnel may contact the Retirement & Benefit
Services Division's Employee Benefits Unit at 702-3543 for assistance;
however, please do not refer individual employees to this number.
V YOUR SURVIVORS' BENEFITS
- All employee questions regarding the State Group Life
Insurance coverage should be addressed by the appropriate agency personnel or
payroll officer. Agency personnel may contact the Retirement & Benefit
Services Division's Employee Benefits Unit at 702-3543 for assistance;
however, please do not refer individual employees to this number.
- Retirement plan contributions plus interest balances for
the statements are obtained from the State Employees Retirement Data Base. If
an employee believes that his/her total is incorrect, a request must be made
in writing for an explanation. The attached request form must be used for this
purpose. Refer to Section III of this memorandum for more information.
VI MEDICAL AND DENTAL BENEFITS AS AN ACTIVE EMPLOYEE
- Active employees' medical and dental benefits are briefly
outlined in this section. Each spring, an annual summary of health care
choices, prepared jointly by the Office of the State Comptroller and the
Labor-Management Health Care Cost Containment Committee, is mailed to
employees' home addresses; employees should refer to this summary for more
specific information regarding these choices as well as details concerning the
enrollment process.
VII EMPLOYEES' PERSONAL INFORMATION
- Employees' personal information is extracted from the State
Employees Retirement Data Base. If any of the errors outlined below occur,
submit the corrected information to:
Retirement & Benefit Services Division
Office of the State Comptroller
55 Elm Street
Hartford, CT 06106
Attention: Data Base Unit
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1. Social Security number incorrect - submit a copy of the
Social Security card attached to a copy of the employee's latest Form CO-931,
"Designation of Retirement System-Tier-Plan-Beneficiary".
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2. Employee number incorrect - notify of the correct number
by memorandum.
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3. Date of birth incorrect - submit a copy of birth
certificate attached to a copy of the employee's latest Form CO-931.
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4. Retirement plan beneficiaries incorrect, missing or
require change - submit Form CO-931.
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5. Employing agency incorrect - notify by memorandum
specifying name of former agency, date and reason for separation and name of
current agency, reemployment or transfer date and a copy of Form CO-931
completed at the time of reemployment or transfer.
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6. Employee address incorrect - agencies using the
Automated Personnel System (APS) no longer need to submit this information to
the Retirement & Benefit Services Division, however, agencies should
verify the information on APS and contact the Division's Data Base Unit to
resolve any discrepancies; agencies not using APS must submit Form CO-931.
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7. Employee name incorrect - agencies on APS are no longer
required to submit this information; agencies not using APS must submit Form
CO-931. Please refer to the instructions noted in #6 above.
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8. Life insurance beneficiary changes should be submitted
to the Retirement & Benefit Services Division, 55 Elm Street, Hartford, CT
06106, via Form ML-9200 Change Request Card.
VIII ADDITIONAL SERVICE CREDIT
- The additional service credit information is obtained from
the State Employees Retirement Data Base. It indicates miscellaneous service
credit purchased by Tier I, Tier II hazardous duty and Tier IIA members and
obtained by Tier II non-hazardous duty members. Purchases in progress are not
reflected. Please note that this section does not reflect prior Connecticut
state service for which Tier II members may automatically receive retirement
credit provided there is no permanent break in service.
- If the additional service credit information is incorrect or incomplete,
the employee is advised to return the panel to the Retirement & Benefit
Services Division, Data Base Unit, with a copy of the Division's
acknowledgment of credit which may be obtained from their own or agency
records. The Retirement & Benefit Services Division reviewed all the
additional service credit panels that were returned last year; corrections or
adjustments were made if necessary and are reflected in this year's statement.
Any questions you have concerning this memorandum or the 2001
Personal Statement of Benefits may be directed to the Division's Data Base Unit
at 702-3515; please do not refer individual employees with inquiries to this
number.
Very truly yours,
STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION
NANCY WYMAN, SECRETARY EX OFFICIO
BY:
Steven Weinberger, Director
Retirement & Benefit Services Division
SW/JK/jk
Attachment
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Memoranda
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