RETIREMENT & BENEFIT SERVICES DIVISION MEMORANDUM

September 11, 1998

TO THE HEADS OF ALL STATE AGENCIES

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, 1998. Agencies will receive notices to be enclosed with the payroll checks dated September 25, 1998 to advise members of this mailing.

Please note that the pertinent changes to the benefit plans made pursuant to the SEBAC V collective bargaining agreement, which became effective July 1, 1997, are reflected in the 1998 statements.

SPECIFIC INFORMATION

1. The statements will contain retirement and other employee benefit information as of June 30, 1998. Contributions and awarded interest balances will be reflected for Tier I members, Tier II hazardous duty members and Tier IIA members.
2. 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 additional instructions. 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 including names of employees, dates and reasons for their terminations.
3. 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. Do not report missing statements for employees hired after June 4, 1998. Rather, inform such employees that they will receive their statements in the Fall of 1999.
4. Changes have been made in the Social Security information provided on the 1998 statements. In an effort to furnish members with a complete picture of their benefits payable at the time of retirement, previous statements contained estimated Social Security benefits calculated based on various assumptions about members' past work experience and family status. However, accurate benefit amounts may only be supplied by the Social Security Administration. Such information may now be obtained from the Social Secuirty Administatration at any time, free of charge. Therefore, in order to obtain such information, we encourage members to contact the Social Security Administration directly at 1-800-772-1213 for a Request for Earnings and Benefit Estimate form.
5. The rest of this memorandum is devoted to outlining the procedures which should be utilized to change or correct information reflected on the Personal Statement of Benefits and to 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. It should be stressed that all requests to change or correct personalized information must be initiated and processed at the agency level.

1. YOUR RETIREMENT BENEFITS
   - 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 utilized for this purpose. To avoid unnecessary requests, it should be emphasized that the interest awarded for the period from July 1, 1997 to June 30, 1998 was computed on the balance of the contributions and interest as of July 1, 1997.
   
   - In order to obtain an estimate of their Social Security benefits, members may contact the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 for a Request for Earnings and Benefit Estimate form. All questions regarding Social Security should be directed to the employee's local Social Security office.
   
   - "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 utilizing the earliest employment date from State Employees Retirement Data Base records and assumes continuous and full-time employment from that date 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 and Tier II Summary Plan Description (SPD) booklets.
   
2. YOUR DISABILITY BENEFITS
   - All questions regarding Social Security should be directed to the employee's local Social Security Office.
   
   - All questions regarding the State Group Life Insurance coverage should be directed to the employee's appropriate agency personnel or payroll officer.
   
   - Additional information on disability benefits from the State Employees Retirement System may be obtained from the Tier I and Tier II SPD booklets.
   
3. YOUR SURVIVORS' BENEFITS
   - All questions regarding the State Group Life Insurance coverage should be directed to the employee's appropriate agency personnel or payroll officer.
   
   - 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 utilized for this purpose. Refer to Section I of this memorandum for further instructions.
   
   - All questions regarding Social Security should be directed to the employee's local Social Security Administration Office.
   
4. MEDICAL AND DENTAL BENEFITS AS AN ACTIVE EMPLOYEE
   - Benefits under the State's Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) 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.
   
5. EMPLOYEES' PERSONAL INFORMATION
   Employees' personal information is extracted from the State Employees Retirement Data Base. If any of the following errors 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
   
   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".
      
   2. Employee number incorrect - notify of the correct number by memorandum.
      
   3. Date of birth incorrect - submit a copy of birth certificate attached to a copy of the employee's latest Form CO-931.
      
   4. Retirement plan beneficiaries incorrect, missing or require change - submit Form CO-931.
      
   5. Employing agency incorrect - notify by memorandum specifying name of former agency, date and reason for separation and name of current agency and, if applicable, reemployment date and a copy of Form CO-931 completed at the time of reemployment.
      
   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 with the Division's Data Base Unit to resolve any discrepancies; agencies not using APS must submit Form CO-931.
      
   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.
      
   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.
      
6. ADDITIONAL SERVICE CREDIT
   - The additional service credit information is obtained from the 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.
   
   Questions concerning this memorandum may be directed to the Division's Data Base Unit at 702-3515; 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

TIER I, TIER II HAZARDOUS DUTY & TIER IIA MEMBERS ONLY

REQUEST FOR EXPLANATION OF RETIREMENT CONTRIBUTION ACCOUNT BALANCE

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