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
September 15, 2006
TO THE HEADS OF ALL STATE AGENCIES
ATTENTION: |
Personnel and Payroll Officers |
SUBJECT: |
2006 Personal Statement of Benefits for Tier I, Tier II
and Tier IIA Members of the State Employees Retirement System |
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, 2006 at the addresses on file with the Retirement &
Benefit Services Division (Division) as of June 30, 2006. Notices to inform
members of this mailing will be enclosed with the payroll checks dated September
29, 2006.
The statements will contain retirement and other employee benefit information
as of June 30, 2006. 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, 2006 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
in the previous paragraph. Please note: employees hired on or after June 9, 2006
will not receive a 2006 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 2007.
The rest of this memorandum is devoted to outlining the information provided
on the 2006 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.
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, 2005 to June 30, 2006 was computed
on the balance of the contributions and interest as of July 1, 2005.
- "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.
- Employees are 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 702-3537
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 702-3537
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
AND CIVIL UNION PARTNERS
- This section provides general information regarding the pension plan and
health insurance benefits available to same sex domestic partners. Effective
October 1, 2005, civil union partners and eligible dependent children are also
eligible for coverage under the pension and health benefit plan provisions.
Further information regarding domestic partner benefits may be obtained through
the Internet at www.osc.state.ct.us or you may contact the Division at 702-3535.
Procedures for enrollment of civil union partners and dependent children in
health insurance were addressed in the November 1, 2005 memorandum issued by the
Department of Administrative Services. Questions regarding these benefits may
also be addressed to the Division 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.
- 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 2006 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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Memoranda
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