 OCTOBER 2018 | VOLUME #157
 The 2018 Employer Conference, “Better Together,” was a great
experience for all who attended. The Division received valuable input from
employer representatives on how to provide better tools, communication, and
services. As a result, we are currently:
- Scheduled for our first
monthly Employer Meeting on Friday, November 9th at 10:30
a.m. If you have discussion topics that may take research
on our part, please send them in advance to Roberto Aceveda at roberto.aceveda@alaska.gov. Otherwise, we will use this opportunity to provide updates on employer
onboarding to Employer Services, reporting, or other issues that come
up. Both Benefit and Payroll specialists will be in attendance.
- Working to gather the resources we have into a central location to
provide a “toolkit” for employers that will include onboarding new
employees, Division contacts, Empower contacts, and reporting resources.
- Continuing efforts to
improve the Employer Resources page on our new website currently in development. We will ask for volunteers to view it and provide
feedback in the next several weeks.
- Listening to employer
feedback in order to improve our partnership.
The call-in number for the teleconferenced monthly Employer Meeting will be provided on a date closer to the event.
Our thanks to
all the employers who traveled to Juneau for this important event. We
appreciate your time and effort to improve our services to our participants and
members. We are truly “Better Together.”
 As promised at the recent Employer Conference, starting this month we will feature an article in each Employer News newsletter to assist employers on promoting financial wellness among their employees. These articles are
designed to be short and direct so they can be used in email, payroll
stuffers, or other communication methods used by the employer to easily
communicate to employees. The first message follows:
Take Control of Your Personal Finances
Did you know that 23% of employees have no savings set aside
for unexpected expenses? Many employees find it difficult to save. We have free, easy-to-use tools to help you get started on creating a simple
budget. A budget can help you see where your money is going, make
decisions on how to maximize your efforts in paying off debt, and find money
to save for unexpected expenses.
As a member of the State retirement systems, you have an
account established with Empower Retirement Services. In addition to reporting the details of your contributions and earnings/losses, this account
provides you with valuable financial education via your account online. Visit Empower at akdrb.empower-retirement.com and click the "Me & My Money" tab when you log in to your account to access videos, interactive tools, calculators, and financial wellness articles. Or click on the
Empower button on the Division of Retirement and Benefits website at
Alaska.gov/drb. Don’t know how to log in to your account? Contact
Empower Customer Services representatives at (800) 232-0859.
The Social Security Administration announced on October 11, 2018 that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
benefits for more than 67 million Americans will increase 2.8% in 2019.
The 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will
begin with benefits payable to more than 62 million Social Security
beneficiaries in January 2019. Increased payments to more than 8 million SSI
beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2018. (Note: some people receive both
Social Security and SSI benefits). The Social Security Act ties the annual COLA
to the increase in the Consumer Price Index as determined by the Department of
Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Some other adjustments that take effect in January of
each year are based on the increase in average wages. Based on that increase,
the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable
maximum) will increase to $132,900 from $128,400.
The
Division has been working hard transitioning employers onto the new
employer reporting tool, “Employer Services.” Starting in October and over the next
few months, the Division will be working with our smaller employers to get them
transitioned to the new system. There will be a test environment
available to employers during this transition. With this new system, we continue to receive
positive feedback.
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