 February | VOLUME #114
 Did you know that there are 58 employers participating in the Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) and 157 employers participating in the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) throughout the State of Alaska? Both of these systems offer a wide variety of Defined Benefit as well as Defined Contribution Retirement plans.
Even though a large number of Alaska communities benefit from personal visits from Regional Counselors, timing or cost constraints may prevent many employers from getting a more personal training plan for their staff.
In 2015 the Division of Retirement and Benefits wants to improve member’s knowledge about their retirement plans and benefits through a number of online and WebEx training opportunities.
If you are interested in how your staff could benefit from additional training, please contact:
Mike Doss, Retirement Specialist
(907) 465-4468
mike.doss@alaska.gov
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 The Division of Retirement and Benefits is conducting a survey of employers to help determine a reasonable cutoff date to request verifications of service and salaries based on employer-maintained employee records. The Division would like to decrease research work for employers by setting a date that recognizes when records are no longer available.
To complete our evaluation, we need your feedback about your current payroll record retention practices. Please complete our one-page Employee Record Retention Survey to help us with our assessment.
Your feedback on the survey is anonymous; however, if you would like to provide more detailed feedback for your employer, please contact:
Roberto Aceveda, Counseling and Education Manager
roberto.aceveda@alaska.gov
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 The IRS has released Notice 2013-61, providing guidance on making claims for refunds or adjustments of FICA taxes and federal income tax withholding with respect to same-sex spouse benefits. The notice includes special, optional administrative procedures employers can use, as well as a list of frequently asked questions about tax issues affecting same-sex spouses. Read more…
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Third-party payroll
service providers and reporting agents can help employers streamline their
business operations, but several of them have been prosecuted for stealing
funds intended for the payment of payroll taxes. Employers who outsource this function are still legally responsible for
any and all payroll taxes due; therefore, the IRS has these tips to
help employers protect themselves from unscrupulous third-party payers.
Source: IRS
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 Each year, the Alaska Retirement Management Board (ARMB) must report on the financial condition of the state’s retirement systems. Per Alaska Statute 37.10.220(a)(13), this report must be given to the governor, the legislature, and the individual employers participating in the state’s retirement systems.
This letter from Department of Revenue Commissioner, Randall Hoffbeck (who is also a trustee on the ARMB), directs you to the location of audited financial statements, information on performance returns on each system, asset allocations, investment guidelines, policies and procedures, as well as monthly and year-to-date financial reports.
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