Who is an election worker? Election workers are individuals hired by government entities to perform services at polling places in connection with national, state, and local elections. Alternate position titles include poll worker, ballot clerk, or voting official. Election workers are often paid a set fee per day or a stipend for the election period, which includes attendance at training or meetings both before and after the election.   

PERA Participation. PERA statutes exclude election workers from PERA membership, regardless of the amount of pay they receive. 

Social Security and Medicare. In Minnesota, election workers whose pay in a calendar year is less than $2,000 are not subject to Social Security and Medicare (FICA) coverage.  However, if an election worker is paid more than $2,000, FICA taxes apply from the first dollar paid.   

More information about Election Workers is available on the Election Workers page of the Internal Revenue Service website and PERA’s Social Security page.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) limits compensation applied to Defined Benefit (DB) Plans and contributions made to PERA’s Defined Contribution Plans (DCP). These limits are defined in Section 415 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and adjusted annually. 

For calendar year 2024, IRC Section 401(a)(17) limits compensation subject to retirement contributions to $345,000 for members of PERA’s DB Plans (Coordinated, Correctional and Police & Fire) who initially became plan members on or after July 1, 1995.  The limit for employees who were initially enrolled in a DB Plan before July 1, 1995, is $505,000.  

IRC Section 415(c)(1)(A) limits the annual contributions a person may make to a DCP. For 2024, that limit is $69,000. The retirement contribution limit represents the annual maximum amount of combined DCP employee and employer contributions that may be credited to a member. 

Salary and Contribution Monitoring. The federal limits affect only a small percent of covered employees; however, employers and PERA have a responsibility to monitor each member’s salary and retirement contributions against these limits.  

PERA’s prior practice was to evaluate these employees on a yearly basis. However, a review conducted by PERA auditors and its legal advisors has produced a different way to evaluate salary regarding PERA compliance with IRS regulations. 

To ensure continued IRS compliance, PERA began evaluating payments through each pay period starting with the calendar year 2022. Therefore, payrolls are now evaluated on a pay period basis.

The following is the limit for an employee based on common pay periods:

• Annually: $345,000.00
• Monthly: $28,750.00  
• Semi-Monthly: $14,375.00
• Bi-Weekly: $13,269.23 

Please monitor employee earnings and implement the contribution limits for each pay period. If PERA finds that an employer has reported compensation or contributions in excess of these limits, we will contact you to coordinate an adjustment or refund. 

Did you know PERA’s two employer reporting sites, ERIS and EFT, are programmed differently when it comes to implied decimal point and values?  

ERIS. For employers who utilize ERIS to manually enter SDR data, the decimal point is pre-programmed to remain standing in the data fields.  

By simply clicking in the data field, the cursor will start typing to the left of the decimal point, implying .00 as the final numerical value.  

To enter decimal values other than .00, you must highlight the data field box and either type over the displayed 0.00 or select Delete to begin typing. You must make sure to enter the decimal point and values afterwards, otherwise the system will program .00 to the end of the value entered.  

EFT. Decimal points within the EFT portal are programmed differently depending on which section you are in.  

Under Payment Information, the decimal point is implied when entering Payment Amount. Employers must ensure that .XX is entered for the cents portion of the total. If the decimal point and two values are not entered, the system is programmed to enter .00 at the end. 

• Example: your payment is 1000.00 so you enter 100000 and continue entering the other required information. Since no decimal point was entered, the system puts .00 at the end of 100000, so instead of paying 1000.00, the system will indicate 100,000.000 to be withdrawn.  

Under Payment Details, the decimal point is not to be entered. This section is reserved for entering two required fields: PERA Employer ID Number and Payroll Paid Date. There are also four supplemental lines to indicate whether an invoice or credit memo are included in the payment amount.  

The data field boxes to enter an invoice or credit memo amount are programmed to be numerical values only. No decimal point allowed. Entering a decimal point results in the error message “Must be all numeric” to be displayed. Once the payment is received, PERA’s system automatically populates the decimal point before the last two digits.  

• Example: your payment includes 10.00 extra to pay a delinquency invoice. After adding 10.00 to the payment total, you indicate under Payment Details the invoice number being paid and the invoice amount. You must enter 1000 as the system is programmed to display 10.00 on PERA’s end. If you enter 10, the system will display .10 as the invoice amount to be applied.  

It is crucial to confirm the manual SDR entries and payment totals before submitting. 

State Statute provides for a alternative benefit calculation for members who started public service prior to July 1, 1989.  This calculation can be beneficial to members, so you may be asked to verify that they worked for your agency prior to this date. 

Pre-1989 employment does not need to have been PERA-eligible employment.  However, you must be able to establish that there was a formal employer/employee relationship.  PERA provides a form specific to each member that an employer can complete. This form has all the requirements PERA needs to make a determination.    

You must be able to certify that the person listed on the form was an employee (not a paid volunteer or paid intern) of your governmental unit prior to July 1, 1989, and that they were compensated for work performed prior to that date.  This form must be accompanied by supporting documents proving employment or a signed letter written on your business letterhead certifying that employment.  If you cannot verify and prove employment, you should check “No” on the form, sign, and return the form to PERA.   

Effective Jan. 1, 2024, Minnesota’s earned sick and safe time law requires employers to provide paid leave to employees who work in the state. Sick and safe time is paid leave employers must provide to employees in Minnesota that can be used for certain reasons, including when an employee is sick, to care for a sick family member or to seek assistance if an employee or their family member has experienced domestic abuse, sexual assault or stalking. Visit the MN Department of Labor and Industry website for more information about the law. 

For PERA contributions, Sick and Safe leave hours are equivalent to other paid leave types offered by the employer, such as sick time, vacation leave, or paid time off (PTO). Follow PERA’s existing guidelines in Chapter 5 of the Employer Manual to determine what pay is eligible for pension deductions.