The State of Alaska will be opening its Deferred Compensation Plan (457) to all PERS and TRS Employers later this summer. Employers who have converted to the new reporting system, Employer Services, or who have been authorized to report by an alternative method, will be allowed to participate. In the time leading up to the rollout of this plan, the Division of Retirement and Benefits will be sponsoring informational webinars detailing the advantages of participation in the plan, such as:

• Low fees to participants
• Fiduciary duty relief for employers
• Consolidated reporting of contributions for all State plans

More information regarding the dates and times for informational webinars will be announced in future editions of Employer News.

The Division’s new reporting system, Employer Services, is set to go-live on July 1, 2017! Employer Services is an application developed for employers to report retirement contributions and benefit premiums. Employer Services accepts payroll files and personnel data files. This application is a web application, meaning you will log in and access it through a link on the Employer Services website. You need a browser tool such as Internet Explorer, Chrome or Mozilla Firefox to use Employer Services. In preparation for go-live, the Division is looking for employer volunteers who can send in payroll file data that can be used in the initial testing stage. If you would be willing to provide data, please contact Ronan Tagsip, Retirement and Benefits Specialist I, at ronan.tagsip@alaska.gov or by phone at (907) 465-4460 in Juneau or (800) 821-2251 outside of Juneau.

The new file layout for Employer Services, sample personnel and payroll files, and frequently asked questions can be found on the Division’s Employer Services web page.

As summer nears, please remember the guidelines for mandatory Social Security governmental entities with employees employed in more than one position (for example: a school district with a TRS employee who works in a non-teaching summer position).

Excerpted from IRS Publication 963, page 6-7, Individuals Employed in More than One Position:

“If an employee is not covered by a Section 218 Agreement, but is a member of a retirement system with respect to one full-time position, the employee is generally treated as a member of a retirement system with respect to any other position with the same employer.

Example: An individual is employed full-time by a county and is a qualified participant in its retirement plan with regard to that employment. In addition to this full-time employment, the individual is employed part-time in another position with the same county. The part-time position is not covered by the county retirement plan. Nevertheless, if the individual is a qualified participant in the retirement plan with respect to the full-time position, the part-time position is excluded from mandatory Social Security coverage. This rule does not apply to employment by two different employers.”

For more information or any questions, please call Melanie Helmick, State Social Security Administrator, directly at (907) 465-5707.