STATE EMPLOYEES
RETIREMENT COMMISSION |
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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 |
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STATE OF CONNECTICUT
RETIREMENT AND BENEFIT SERVICES DIVISION
OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER |
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RETIREMENT & BENEFIT SERVICES DIVISION MEMORANDUM
September 9, 2005
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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2005 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 (SERS) members will be mailed
directly to employees on or about October 1, 2005 at the addresses on file with
the Retirement & Benefit Services Division (Division) as of June 30, 2005.
Notices to inform members of this mailing will be enclosed with the payroll
checks dated September 30, 2005.
The statements will contain retirement and other employee
benefit information as of June 30, 2005. 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, to the attention of the personnel or human resources office. Returned
statements for employees whose mailing address is incorrect, incomplete, or
missing should be given directly to each employee. Please be aware that current
employee addresses were obtained from Core-CT as of June 30, 2005 and Division
records were updated accordingly; therefore, errors in employee addresses should
be corrected through Core-CT. It is anticipated that employee address changes
automatically transmitted to the Division from Core-CT will be updated on a
bi-weekly basis in the near future. Agencies may also contact the Division's
Data Base Unit by telephone at 702-3515 or by email to osc.databaseunit@po.state.ct.us
if they have any questions regarding address discrepancies. Statements for
employees who have transferred from your agency should be forwarded to the new
agency. Statements for employees who have left state service should be
accumulated and then sent to the Division's Data Base Unit at the address on
this letterhead along with a memorandum that provides the name of each
terminated employee, their termination date and the reason for their
termination.
With respect to SERS 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 Division's Data Base Unit at the address on this letterhead or by email to
the address provided above. Please note: employees hired on or after June 10,
2005 will not receive a 2005 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 2006.
The rest of this memorandum is devoted to outlining the
information provided on the 2005 Personal Statement of Benefits as well as the
procedures that must be followed 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 statement. Please note that the sections within the 2005
statement have changed due in part to the transition to a larger statement
format. The 2005 statement will be an 8 ?? by 11? booklet with larger, easier
to read print.
As in the past, to help safeguard employees' personal
information, only the last four digits of an employee's social security number
are printed on the statement.
Please remember that all requests to change or correct
personalized information must be initiated and processed at the agency level.
SPECIFIC INFORMATION
I IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR RETIREMENT BENEFITS
- This section provides an explanation of the retirement benefit estimates
and payment options shown on the statement in the section entitled
"Your Benefits at Retirement".
II 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, 2004 to
June 30, 2005 was computed on the balance of the contributions and interest
as of July 1, 2004.
- "Your benefit payment options at retirement" sub-section
provides information regarding the various payment options available to
members of SERS 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 SERS may be obtained from
the Tier I, Tier II and Tier IIA Summary Plan Description (SPD) booklets.
III 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.
- With the 2005 statement, the employee is advised to contact their agency
personnel office if they feel that the additional service credit information
is incorrect or incomplete. Agency personnel may contact the Division's
Purchasing Unit at 702-3511 for assistance is resolving any additional
service credit issues for those employees in contributory retirement plans;
questions regarding additional service credit for Tier II non-contributory
employees should be directed to the Division's Counseling Unit at
702-3490.
IV YOUR DISABILITY BENEFITS
- Information on disability benefits from SERS 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 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 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. Refer to Section
III of this memorandum for direction if a member believes that his/her
contributions and awarded interest totals are incorrect.
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 PENSION AND HEALTH CARE BENEFITS FOR SAME SEX DOMESTIC
PARTNERS
- This section provides general information regarding the pension plan and
health insurance benefits available to same sex domestic partners. Further
information regarding these benefits may be obtained through the Internet at
www.osc.state.ct.us or you may contact the Division's Health Care Analysis
Unit at 702-3535. Please do not refer individual employees to this number.
VIII ADDITIONAL BENEFITS FOR ACTIVE EMPLOYEES
- This section provides general information regarding additional benefits
available to active state employees: the Supplemental Employee Benefits
Program, the Deferred Compensation (457) Plan and for eligible state
educational employees, the State of Connecticut 403(b) Program, and the
Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit Program. 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 Division's
Employee Benefits Unit at 702-3543. Please do not refer individual employees
to this number.
IX EMPLOYEES' PERSONAL INFORMATION
Employees' personal information is extracted from the State
Employees Retirement Data Base. Again, please note that only the last four
digits of an employee's social security number appear on the statement.
To correct the following errors, the appropriate information
as outlined below must be submitted to the Division's Data Base Unit for
processing.
- Employee number incorrect - notify of the correct number by memorandum
or by email at osc.databaseunit@po.state.ct.us.
- Date of birth incorrect - submit a copy of birth certificate attached to
a copy of the
employee's latest Form CO-931.
- Retirement plan beneficiaries incorrect, missing or require change -
submit Form
CO-931.
- 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 provide a copy of the Form CO-931
completed at the time of reemployment or transfer.
- Employee name incorrect - to resolve discrepancies, agencies should
contact the
Division's Data Base Unit; a Form CO-931 reflecting the
correct information may be required.
Employees making group life beneficiary changes must see
their agency personnel/payroll officer in order to secure the appropriate
Core-CT Enrollment Statement. Once the employee completes and returns the
Core-CT Enrollment Statement, the agency data enters the information in the
Core-CT system. Once data entry has been completed at the agency level, the
agency forwards the Core-CT Enrollment Statement to the Division's Employee
Benefits Unit.
Any questions you have concerning this memorandum or the 2005
Personal Statement of Benefits may be directed to the Division's Data Base Unit
at 702-3515.
Very truly yours,
STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION
NANCY WYMAN, SECRETARY EX OFFICIO
BY:
Thomas C. Woodruff, Ph.D., Director
Retirement & Benefit Services Division
TCW/JK/jk
Attachment
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