At the beginning of March, employees eligible for matching contributions and contributing less than 15% to their State of Michigan 457 Plan accounts had their contributions increased by 1% unless they opted out. These Small Steps increases continue annually unless the employee either opts out or reaches the 15% savings rate.
ORS reviews metrics to track the impact of the Small Steps campaign. Results to date show:
- 141 employees increased contributions to 15% or more before the Small Steps increase
- 137 employees increased to 15% with the Small Steps increase
- 1,858 employees opted out of Small Steps
More than 81,700 MPSERS employees’ contribution rate was increased because of Small Steps, and these employees are saving more towards retirement!
After much analysis, review, revision and input, the redesigned Reporting Instruction Manual (RIM) will be released Friday, March 18, at 5 p.m. EDT.
We gathered and implemented your feedback to improve your user experience and to prepare you with the knowledge necessary to submit reports and payments to ORS accurately and efficiently.
Most of you will see it on Monday when you first check the Employer Information website, which also received a makeover. You’ll notice the website has been updated and refreshed but be assured the content you rely on remains.
The RIM now has more navigation options, clearer images, and an expanded glossary. It’s more condensed (about a third shorter, excluding the glossary), with more references and links to related content.
Use this two-page guide, Get to Know the New Reporting Instruction Manual (RIM), to help you understand what changed, what’s new, and how to best use the RIM in its newly-designed form.
Thanks to the RIM Pilot focus group and everyone else who offered feedback on this essential reporting tool. We welcome your thoughts on your experiences with the new RIM.
It’s important to know the difference between a retiree’s termination date and retirement effective date, especially when using the Working After Retirement – Employer Guide when reporting your retirees.
The termination date is the date the employee informs you of their last day of work, which is also the date the employee/employer relationship ends.
The retirement effective date is the first of the month following the termination date. Retirement effective dates are always on the first of the month.
If your reporting unit is asked Is the retirement effective date before July 1, 2021?, base your answer on the retirement effective date, not the termination date. If you need help finding the retirement effective date, go to the Member Benefit Plan screen on the Employer Reporting website.
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Using an accurate Social Security number (SSN) on a DTL1-Member Demographic record or when using the Member Benefit Plans screen, is vital to report accurately. If possible, request to see a copy of the employee’s Social Security card before completing data for payroll reporting purposes. Key the number carefully to prevent wages and contributions from posting under a wrong SSN.
Inaccurate SSNs not only cause problems for employees at tax time, but it also requires corrections to reported wages and contributions which cost time and effort for your reporting unit, ORS, and Voya.
If you discover an SSN error on a record that has been submitted and posted, contact ORS before making any corrections. Call ORS at 800-381-5111 and provide the employee’s full name, correct SSN, and incorrect SSN. Email is not a secure means to share personally identifiable information such as SSNs. So, please do not send any SSNs through email.
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