Retirement Services Division MEMORANDUM 2009-09

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 SERVICES DIVISION OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER

RETIREMENT SERVICES DIVISION MEMORANDUM 2009-09

November 13, 2009

TO THE HEADS OF ALL STATE AGENCIES

ATTENTION:	Personnel and Payroll Officers
SUBJECT:	2009 Personal Statement of Benefits for Tier I, Tier II and Tier IIA Members of the State Employees Retirement System

GENERAL INFORMATION

On or about December 15, 2009, Personal Statements of Benefits for Tier I, Tier II and Tier IIA State Employees Retirement System (SERS) members will be mailed directly to members who were actively employed as of June 30, 2009 at the addresses on file with the Retirement Services Division (Division) as of that date.

The statements will contain retirement and other State employee benefit information as of June 30, 2009. Contributions and awarded interest balances will be reflected for Tier I members, Tier II hazardous duty members and Tier IIA members.

The member'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 members whose mailing address is incorrect, incomplete, or missing should be given directly to each member and agencies should contact the Division's Data Base Unit by telephone at 702-3515 or by email to osc.databaseunit@po.state.ct.us to resolve any address discrepancies. Statements for members who have transferred from your agency should be forwarded to the new agency. Statements for members 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 member, 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 to the Data Base Unit at the address on this letterhead or by email to the address provided above. Please note: employees first hired on or after June 5, 2009 will not receive a 2009 Personal Statement of Benefits. You should inform such employees that they will receive their first statement in the Fall of 2010.

The rest of this memorandum is devoted to outlining the information provided on the 2009 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.

The 2009 Personal Statement of Benefits has been redesigned to provide employees with their personalized State Employees Retirement System (SERS) benefit information in a more concise, easy to read manner. The statement no longer contains general information concerning employee health and dental benefits or other miscellaneous employee benefits. Employees are encouraged to access information concerning these benefits on the Office of the State Comptroller's website at www.osc.state.ct.us.

Once again, to help safeguard members' personal information, only the last four digits of a member'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 YOUR BENEFITS AT RETIREMENT

This section provides members with an illustration of retirement benefit calculations made based on information obtained from the State Employees Retirement Data Base (SEDB) and provides contributory retirement plan members with their total contributions and interest balance as of July 1, 2009.

If a member believes that his/her contributions and awarded interest totals are incorrect, the member may contact the Division's Data Base Unit in writing for an explanation of his/her retirement account balance. To avoid unnecessary requests, members should be advised that the interest awarded for the period from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2009 was computed on the balance of the contributions and interest as of July 1, 2008.

The "Your benefit payment thus far" sub-section provides information concerning employee vesting requirements along with contribution and interest information for contributory plan members.

The "Your benefit at normal retirement" sub-section provides an explanation of the various payment options available to members at the time of retirement and an illustration of the benefits to which the member may be entitled at retirement under those options calculated based upon employment and earnings data from SEDB records using the following assumptions: the member has had continuous, full-time employment from the employment date shown on the statement to the age indicated on the statement, the member is married and the member's 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. Additional service credit, breaks in service, leaves without pay, and part-time service will affect the amounts shown. In most cases, so will the age at which the member retires and the age of their spouse or other contingent annuitant.

Additional information on regular benefits from SERS may be obtained from the Tier I, Tier II and Tier IIA Summary Plan Description (SPD) booklets available on the OSC website. The site also provides retirement counseling workshops and benefit estimators for agency or employee use.

General information regarding group life insurance and medical and dental benefits at retirement are also provided in this section.

II YOUR DISABILITY BENEFITS

This section provides general information regarding benefits available to SERS members should they become disabled.

Members are advised to contact the Division's Counseling Unit directly or through their employing agency as soon as possible should they become seriously ill, injured or have a life threatening illness to ensure receipt of any benefits for which they may be eligible. Agency human resources staff should also contact the Counseling Unit if they have questions regarding an employee's eligibility for disability retirement benefits. Information on disability benefits from SERS may also be obtained from the Tier I, Tier II and Tier IIA SPD booklets available on the OSC website.

All employee questions regarding the State Group Life Insurance coverage should be addressed by the appropriate agency human resources or payroll officer. Agency staff may contact the HealthCare Policy & Benefit Services Division's Employee Benefits Unit at 702-3537 for assistance; however, please do not refer individual employees to this number.

III YOUR SURVIVORS' BENEFITS

General information regarding those retirement, life insurance and medical and dental benefits which may be available to members' survivors under plan provisions is provided in this section as well as the amount of group life insurance for participating members and the total amount of retirement plan contributions and interest for contributory SERS members.

IV 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 or address incorrect - to resolve discrepancies, agencies should contact the Division's Data Base Unit.
Life insurance beneficiaries incorrect, missing or require change - agency human resources or payroll staff may contact the HealthCare Policy & Benefit Services Division's Employee Benefits Unit at 702-3537 for assistance; however, please do not refer individual employees to this number. Employee questions regarding the State Group Life Insurance coverage should be addressed by agency staff. Employees who wish to make group life beneficiary changes must see their agency human resources or payroll officer for the appropriate Core-CT Enrollment Statement. Once the employee completes and returns the Core-CT Enrollment Statement, the agency must data enter the information in the Core-CT system and forward the Core-CT Enrollment Statement to the Employee Benefits Unit.

Any questions you have concerning this memorandum or the 2009 Personal Statement of Benefits may be directed to the Division's Data Base Unit at 702-3515 or by email to osc.databaseunit@po.state.ct.us

Very truly yours,
STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION
NANCY WYMAN, SECRETARY EX OFFICIO

BY:

Mark E. Ojakian, Deputy Comptroller and Division Director
Retirement Services Division

MEO/JAK/jk

Return to Index of 2009 Retirement Division Memoranda
Return to Index of Comptroller's Memoranda
Return to Comptroller's Home Page