 In the past six months, ORS has provided information about the State of Michigan 457 plan expansion for Defined Benefit (DB) members. DTL4 records will be required for all employees being reported, including retirees working directly for your reporting unit. ORS has provided all member communications on the State of Michigan 457 Plan for DB Members page on the Employer Information website. These materials include emails, letters, and postcards to eligible employees as well as flyers for employees and employers. Please consider printing and posting the employee flyer where your employees can view it.
Employees will receive the ORS communication (email or letter) first and the Voya Financial communications shortly after that. Once you start reporting DTL4 records for your employees, Voya will send PINs to eligible members so they can enroll if they choose.
Past articles that covered the 457 Plan: October 2021, February 2022, and April 2022.
Included with the May School Aid Fund (SAF) payment is the third-quarter (January–March) reimbursement for the 2021-22 school fiscal year for increased retirement costs due to the passage of Public Act 92 of 2017.
The state’s reimbursement consists of the 4% contribution for participants in the Defined Contribution (DC) plan, as well as the difference between Pension Plus and Pension Plus 2 employer normal cost contributions.
This amount will not appear on your employer statement, and ORS will not invoice you for it, because it is a reimbursement for contributions you have reported through the fiscal year.
(Note: Universities and libraries don't have Pension Plus 2 members or DC qualified participants, so they don’t receive this reimbursement for increased costs.)
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Beginning around June 1, 2022, ACH payments made from your reporting unit to ORS will appear slightly different on your bank statement. The name associated with these payments will now show the reporting unit’s name, not the payment processor’s name.
This change will prevent issues with banks that incorrectly flag a large payment as fraudulent that their system identifies as coming from an individual (the payment processor that used to appear in that field) rather than from a business (the reporting unit).
No action is needed. We’re informing you so that you will not be concerned or surprised.
Employer and member contribution rates for the upcoming fiscal year are now published and posted on the Employer Information website under Contribution Rates. These rate tables will go into effect on Oct. 1, 2022.
From the Contribution Rates page, click the link for your reporting unit type (universities or non-universities) and find the newly published tables under “Current and Upcoming Rates.”
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You continue to respond to our surveys, providing valuable feedback regarding your work relationship with ORS despite your busy schedules. We thank you for your recent input.
The April survey results did not reveal any statistically significant changes from the January round. Those items you rate as going well or that challenge you have changed very little. This is common between short timespans.
You may have noticed a new question this year that asks how you use the Retirement Plan Election Guide and Retirement Plan Decision Guide. Nearly 30% tell us they provide staff with the materials. Nearly 23% provide these resources and discuss the information with new staff. Such action on your part helps ensure that new hires receive helpful information they need to make decisions impacting their working years and future retirement. On behalf of these new employees and ORS staff, thank you!
We will continue to review data and comments you provide in efforts to gain insight on how we can work together to successfully achieve our shared goals and meet our responsibilities.
This year for the first time, ORS will be closed on June 20 in observation of a new state holiday, Juneteenth (June 19, observed in 2022 on June 20). Juneteenth became a state holiday in 2020 and a federal holiday in 2021. Neither ORS nor many banks and financial institutions (which often use federal holidays as their guideline) will be open for business on that day.
ORS non-business days can shift your due dates for reports and payments. Reports and payments will be processed the evening of the next business day. Please plan accordingly. The Employer Information website lists all ORS non-business days, and specific dates will appear on the ORS Message Board after logging in to the Employer Reporting website.
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