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

RETIREMENT & BENEFIT SERVICES DIVISION MEMORANDUM

May 2, 2003

TO THE HEADS OF ALL STATE AGENCIES

A Retirement & Benefit Services Division (Division) Memorandum dated March 14, 2003 discussed the special provision contained in the Early Retirement Incentive Program (Program) for the deferral of retirement of a restricted class of members of the State Employees Retirement System (SERS) to a date no later than June 1, 2004. Specifically, the deferral clause covered hazardous duty members and employees of the budget division within the Office of Policy and Management (OPM).

On March 28, 2003, Special Act No. 03-2 was passed and became effective on that date. The purpose of this legislation was to repair certain provisions of the Program. Special Act No. 03-2 enlarges the restricted class of SERS members whose effective date of retirement may be deferred under the Program as follows:

1. Employees of the Office of the State Treasurer with primary responsibility for the planning and issuance of debt or the in-house short-term investment of state and municipal funds, to not later than June 1, 2004. Requests to qualifying employees to defer retirement shall be made by the State Treasurer or her Deputy.

2. Employees of the Joint Committee on Legislative Management determined to be critical to the Legislative process, to not later than December 1, 2003. Requests to qualifying employees to defer retirement shall be made by the personnel policies subcommittee of the Joint Committee on Legislative Management.

3. Employees assigned to the CORE-CT project for three or more days per week, or determined to be critical to implementation of the CORE-CT project, to not later than June 1, 2004. Requests to qualifying employees shall be made by the CORE-CT Steering Committee consistent with the memorandum of understanding signed by the Committee. Said Committee is comprised of the Comptroller, the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, the Commissioner of Administrative Services and the Director of Information Technology.

Retirements may, with the consent of the employee, be deferred by the appropriate authority outlined above on a case by case basis. Any such employee requested to stay beyond May 31, 2003, who refuses to do so shall continue to be eligible for the Program.

Requests to defer retirement shall be made by the appropriate authority in writing to the member with copies to the appropriate bargaining unit. This deferral provision, however, does not excuse such SERS members from the requirement that they be eligible for and elect to retire under the Program on or before June 1, 2003. This means that as of June 1, 2003, they must be at least age fifty-two with ten years of actual state service credited in SERS exclusive of the incentive chips provided by the Program.

Obviously, for employees whose effective retirement dates are being deferred, it would be impractical to mandate that all paperwork associated with the retirement application process be submitted to the Division prior to June 1, 2003. Accordingly, the purpose of this communication is to direct that Form CO-1101A (Rev. 5/03), a copy of which is attached hereto for reproduction and use, be completed for each qualifying member outlined in this memorandum and whose effective retirement date is being deferred by the appropriate authority under the Program. Every Form CO-1101A must be accompanied by the official documentation that such deferral was requested by the appropriate authority consistent with the provisions of Special Act No. 03-2.

These completed forms will be utilized by the Division for the purpose of (1) establishing that the member applies for participation in the Program before June 1, 2003, and (2) documenting the decision to defer such retirements.

For each qualifying employee whose effective retirement date is being deferred under the Program, a completed Form CO-1101A with official documentation must be submitted to the Division on or before May 30, 2003; absent timely submission of a completed Form CO-1101A with official documentation, benefits will not be paid under the Program.

As detailed on pages nine and ten of the March 7, 2003 memorandum announcing the 2003 Early Retirement Incentive Program, the paperwork required to process a retirement application must be completed and submitted to the Division prior to the date to which the SERS member's effective date of retirement has been deferred; for example, the completed paperwork for an October 1, 2003 retirement must be delivered to the Division no later than the close of business on September 30, 2003. And, for each deferred retirement under the Program, please print "DEFERRED" in red ink across the top of the"Application for Retirement", Form CO-898, and include the three incentive years as outlined in the aforementioned memorandum.

Very truly yours,

STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION
NANCY WYMAN, SECRETARY EX OFFICIO

BY:

Steven Weinberger, Director
SW/SF/la Retirement & Benefit Services Division

Attachment - CO-1101A Rev 5/03 - PDF format - 18K or html format - attco1011a.htm

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