Effective Jan. 1, 2020, the interest rate charged on late payments will be 9.11%.
The rate of interest charged on any late contribution payment is determined by the actuarial rate of return from the prior year’s investments less 2%. However, the rate cannot be less than 6%. The rate fluctuates annually at the beginning of the calendar year. The most recent published actuarial rate of return was 11.11%.
While 9.11% is less than last year's rate, delinquencies of any amount are a serious matter. Reporting units in shortfall are monitored closely by the MPSERS Employer Reporting section, and those who repeatedly miss payments or do not pay the full amount due are at risk for increasingly serious penalties. Reporting units are encouraged to make all contribution payments in full and on time to avoid interest assessments that accrue daily (including weekends and holidays) on the delinquent balance.
For the legal requirements regarding late fees and interest, refer to Public Act 300 of 1980, specifically MCL 38.1342(7).
The Reporting Instruction Manual (RIM) section 8.02.02: Late Payment Fees also offers information on this topic.
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 On Jan. 1, 2020, dates from 2019 will no longer be available on the Period End Date drop-down menu on your Enter Payment Information screen.
After Jan. 1, when you’re making a payment, you will see only 2020 dates. If you need to make a payment for a 2019 report, please select the earliest date available on your drop-down menu.
ORS is excited to announce the launch of our newly redesigned Employer Information website in early 2020. The new website will be easier to navigate and more user-friendly. The goal of the redesigned website is to provide you an easier way to find the vital information you need for your retirement reporting role.
Look for more information in the new year!
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 When a new employee defaults or elects the Defined Contribution (DC) plan, adjustments are required back to when they were first reported. In last month’s issue we shared some statistics on how many employees make affirmative elections versus defaulting. Our goal is for an employee to make an affirmative election, whether it’s the DC plan or the Pension Plus 2 plan, not just so they can be an active participant in their retirement, but also to reduce the amount of adjustments you need to make.
ORS will continue to monitor the adjustments described above to make sure they are being submitted and entered correctly. If you need guidance on how to do the retroactive adjustments, please refer to the Reporting Instruction Manual (RIM) section 7.21.05.03 Adjusting Posted DTL4 Records for Employees Who Elect or Default to the DC Plan
Did you know that you can view all your flagged and suspended record error messages without opening each individual record? From the Work on Retirement Detail Reports page in the Unposted Reports section, find the Edit Report column and click the View Report link.
 It’s a quick way to see whether you need to take action to get a record to post or if the record is simply waiting on some other action. You can use the report as it appears onscreen or click the Error Download Detail link at the top of the page for a spreadsheet version of the list.
Sometimes it’s more useful to work with the spreadsheet version, such as when the list is long or has many different types of errors. ORS suggests that you save this data as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, as it is easier to sort or filter. Working with this file can help you make corrections more efficiently.
By sorting or filtering the columns, you can quickly identify records that need correction. The columns called Detail Type, Error Type, Message Type or Error Message may all be useful to sort, depending on your situation or approach.
In the column called Error Type, two error types need no action on your part: IN QUEUE and ON HOLD. Only ORG FIX errors need your correction in order to post.
 You can sort or filter the column called Message Type to easily find records needing attention. The Error Message column provides detail on what action is needed.
- Records that say Bad Format will need to be corrected before they will post.
- Flagged records will post without being edited (but you may want to review them for problems you can correct).
- Suspended records could mean one of several things, and some require no action:
- The member has a record in a previous pay period that needs to post first (no action needed).
- The member needs to make an election (no action needed).
- The record needs to be corrected before it will post (action needed).
 For further information, see the Reporting Instruction Manual (RIM) 7.06.03 Using the Error Download Detail.
The role of the Web Administrator is not only loading, processing, accepting, and posting payroll reports. He or she is also responsible for keeping contact and user information updated so ORS can communicate with the correct staff members at the reporting unit. Outdated and incorrectly listed staff members, email addresses and phone numbers could cause vital information from ORS from getting to your staff members on a timely basis.
Contacts are those who do not have access to the web reporting website to perform reporting and payment functions, but are important to the running of the business. Contacts must be kept updated as staffing and contact information changes at the reporting unit. These contacts include:
- Main
- Superintendent (Administrator 1)
- Administrator 2 and 3
- Business Official
- HR Director
- Human Resources
- Other 1 and 2
- Technical 1 and 2
- Escalation 1 and 2
Instructions for updating these contacts are found in chapter 12 of the RIM (sections 12.11 through 12.14). Only the Web Administrator can make these updates; a contact does not have the necessary access. Note that if a contact has a name change, the Web Administrator must delete the original contact and add a new one for the new name.
Web users (or just users) are those who do have access to the web reporting site to perform reporting and payment functions. Note that names cannot be changed for users. If a user has a name change and wants the account updated, the Web Administrator must inactivate the old account (see RIM 12.07: Inactivating a User Account). The user with a new name can create a new User ID (see RIM 12.05 Creating a User ID and Password).
Users can update their own email address or phone number using the Update My Profile link, but ultimately, the Web Administrator is responsible to see that user information is current. The Web Administrator can update emails and phone numbers for any user through the Admin Web Accounts link. See RIM 12.08: Updating a User Account for detailed instructions.
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