 November | VOLUME #135
Open Enrollment for AlaskaCare and for the Voluntary
Supplemental Benefits Plan is from November 2 through November 23.
Changes are coming to the AlaskaCare Employee Health Plan that
will take into effect beginning January 2017.
The State is also welcoming MetLife as our new partner for
Voluntary Supplemental Benefits (life, disability and critical illness
coverage). Employers participating in the State’s Alaska Supplemental
Benefits System will receive a packet of information in the next few weeks
explaining the new Critical Illness coverage as well as the updated premium
rates for the 2017 plan year. These new premiums must be loaded into
employer systems for deduction from the first pay period in January.
Visit Alaska.gov/drb/OpenEnrollment.
The
Division of Retirement and Benefits has received information from several
survivors eligible to receive death benefits from the Public Employees' (PERS)
or Teachers' (TRS) Retirement Systems of a scam aimed at obtaining identity
information about the deceased spouse and thousands of dollars in the form of
prepaid cash cards. Please share the following information about the scam with your employees:
The
scam works like this:
The
scammer contacts the survivor and asserts that the survivor or deceased spouse
owes money on an insurance policy and the State of Alaska will either withhold
part or all of the death benefits until the amount is paid. The survivor is
then instructed to provide the deceased's Social Security number and to mail
prepaid cash cards along with the receipt for the cash cards and his/her
signature on the back to a specified address.
Two
important facts:
- State
of Alaska retirement system death benefits will NEVER be withheld for debt
payment.
- The
Division will NEVER contact you by phone and demand cash cards for any
attachments.
What
to do if you are contacted:
If
you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be from the Division,
but you suspect they are not, then:
- Record the caller's name, call back number, and caller
ID if available.
- Call (800) 821-2251 and confirm the caller is a
Division employee.
- If the caller is not a Division employee,
contact your local police department and report the scam.
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In early November, employers were sent a survey regarding the Division's new Employer
Services reporting tool. Your responses to the survey will help the Division prepare for implementation of the new tool.
The survey closes at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 23. Please be sure to complete the
survey. We appreciate your time in providing us with this valuable
information.
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The Division
is in the process of developing a new Defined Contribution Retirement Plan (DCR) true-up process. We had hoped
the process would be available by now, but circumstances have delayed the
project.
We
apologize for the delay, but will keep you posted when the project is back on
track.
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This is a reminder that there has been a change to the Federal
Form W-2 and Form W-3 and Federal Form 1099-MISC federal filing dates for
calendar year 2016 wages.
The due date for filing 2016 Form W-2 with the Social Security
Administration is now January 31, 2017, whether you file using pater forms or
electronically filing.
Public Law 114-113, Division Q, section 201, requires Form
1099-MISC to be filed on or before January 31, 2017, when you are reporting
nonemployee compensation payments in box 7. Otherwise file by February 28,
2017, if you file on paper, or by March 31, 2017, if you file electronically.
2016 General Instruction for Forms W-2 and W-3
2016
General Instructions for Certain Information Returns
If you have questions, please contact Melanie Helmick at (907)
465-5707 or melanie.helmick@alaska.gov.
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