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TFFR Employer Newsletter
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Briefly, January 2024
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 Improper use of social security numbers is fraud
When you set-up and report one of your employees as a TFFR member, you are required to provide a social security number (SSN). If that employee is a visa holder (i.e., J-1, HB-1), the employee may begin working before they are assigned a SSN.
Do not make up a SSN or use another individual's SSN to complete a TFFR report. It’s fraud and may be punishable by law. NDCC § 15-39.1-29 states, “Any person who knowingly makes a false statement or falsifies or permits to be falsified any record or records of this retirement fund in any attempt to defraud such fund as a result of such act, is guilty of theft, and is punishable therefore under the laws of the state of North Dakota.”
If you have a TFFR eligible employee who is waiting for a SSN, contact RIO. Our retirement services staff will work with you to make sure the individual is reported correctly.
Tax treatment of TFFR contributions
Employers may report TFFR contributions on the W-2 form. TFFR is a 401(a) defined benefit plan, and its contributions are mandatory, not elective.
Under all models, the amount of TFFR contributions withheld or paid by the district is not required on the W-2 form. However, if a district wishes to place this information on the W-2, it belongs in Box 14 (i.e., Other).
The IRS issues a compensation limit annually that impacts the salary that can be reported to RIO for TFFR benefit calculation purposes. The 2024 compensation limit is $345,000.
If you have any TFFR members who will earn in excess of this amount this fiscal year, please contact RIO’s retirement program manager to discuss how to handle the salary reporting for these employees.
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Protect your employees' PII with a secure link
Many of the documents you send to RIO include personally identifiable information (PII) like social security numbers and dates of birth. To help protect your employees from identity theft, RIO asks you to send documents containing PII using a secure link.
What’s a secure link?
When you attach a file to an email, you, your email provider, and the recipient all have access to the attached file. Yes, that’s right – files you attach to emails are stored by your email provider, which means a third-party also has access.
Secure links allow you to email a “link” to a file that can only be accessed by the recipient. Bonus, you can send large files, because the size of the files you send are not restricted by the limits imposed on email attachments.
How to obtain a secure link?
Contact RIO’s member specialist to request a secure link to send your documents. The membership specialist will send an email with a link to the state of North Dakota's Secure File Transfer System.
Upon request, RIO can provide school districts with a TFFR Retirement Eligibility Profile report that includes:
- A 30-year projection of TFFR member retirement eligibility.
- Names of individuals for workforce planning purposes. (A reminder that personal information must be kept confidential.)
If you are interested in receiving a profile report for your district, contact RIO.
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A common employer reporting error is deductions (e.g., health insurance, child support or taxes) being subtracted from TFFR members’ gross salary before employee/employer contributions are calculated.
The TFFR salary you report to RIO should be gross salary, without any deductions. Such errors are commonly caused by the pay code set up in payroll software.
To ensure your pay codes are set up correctly, review your Census Data File/Master Payroll report to ensure deductions are not decreasing TFFR salary. Reviewing this report, which includes all the members of your staff, is a great way to spot check salary to ensure pay codes are flowing correctly.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please reach out to RIO’s Internal Audit staff.
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As soon as it is available, audited FY2023 GASB 68 information including Employer Allocations and Pension Amounts by Employer Schedules, GASB 68 Disclosure Template, and Sample Journal Entries will be posted online and employers will be notified by email.
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RIO has finished the design phase of the new pension administration system (PAS). That means the vendor now has all they need to develop the product. In fact, we are about to start the first phase of user testing to make sure the modules developed work correctly.
What does this mean for our business partners?
In a few short months, RIO will begin employer testing and we will need the help of every employer to make sure the system works the way it is supposed to. Currently the project schedule calls for this testing to begin in late July, however that may change so be on the lookout for communications from RIO about this very important phase of development.
If you missed RIO's presentations on the new system, a partial recording of the session co-hosted by NDSBA is available online. The presentation is an overview of what to expect from the new PAS and an outline of things to come.
Lastly, we have a name for the system…finally! We have branded the new PAS as MyTFFR. (The portal logo is visible on the right.) Expect to hear plenty about the new PAS portal as we prepare to go live in the fall of 2024.
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We are excited to announce several personnel changes supporting the TFFR program.
First, Deneen Gathman joined the agency in late September as our retirement accountant. She has over 25 years of experience with the state of North Dakota in an accounting role and we look forward to her knowledge as we modernize the program. Deneen will be working directly with employers, taking on many of the duties Tami Volkert has done for years. Tami is transitioning to her new role as TFFR’s compliance specialist, focusing on internal reviews of processes, reporting, and other issues to ensure the program is adhering to statutes, regulations, and policies.
Next, we have two changes in the member support area. In October, Denise Leingang-Sargeant transitioned from a temporary position as a Member Specialist supporting our retirees to a permanent position as a Retirement Specialist supporting our active members. Mensah Anyide-Ocloo then moved from a part-time temporary position as an Administrative Specialist to the full-time temporary position as our new Member Specialist. Mensah’s move was effective at the beginning of January. These transitions leave us with an opening for a part-time administrative support position that we hope to fill this month.
All the recent personnel moves and additions are intended to continue the optimization of staff time and enhance the TFFR program operational efficiency and stakeholder experience.
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Actuarial valuation of pension plan
 TFFR's board received a report of the fund’s annual pension valuation results from GRS, its actuarial consultant, in November. The report provides a detailed look into the financial health of the pension fund as of July 1, 2023.
The most common way to express TFFR’s financial condition is its funded status. This measurement is shown as a ratio, which represents the value of plan assets compared to plan liabilities (benefits earned by members of the plan). The 2023 valuation shows TFFR’s funded ratio improved from 67.5% in 2022 to 69.3% in 2023.
Funding a retirement program is a long-term commitment, and it’s important to remember that all benefits are not payable and due at once. Currently, the funding period, the time needed to pay off the plan’s unfunded liability under current assumptions and benefit levels, is 20 years.
TFFR’s investment return is a primary factor in the financial health of the plan. The plan assumes it will earn a 7.25% return over the long-term. When returns are above this figure, TFFR has an actuarial gain, but when returns are below 7.25%, the plan experiences an actuarial loss.
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TFFR earns two pension awards
TFFR's pension program has earned the 2023 Public Pension Standards Awards for Plan Funding and for Plan Administration from the Public Pension Coordinating Council. The award standards serve as a benchmark to measure public defined benefit plans, reflecting the expectations for public retirement system management, administration, and funding.
RIO has been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada. To be recognized, the government must publish an easily readable and efficiently organized annual comprehensive financial report that satisfies both generally accepted accounting principles and the applicable legal requirements.
RIO's 2023 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report is a complete review of the financial, investment, and actuarial conditions of the agency's programs.
On. Dec. 20, RIO's email news service, Granicus/GovDelivery, dumped more than 2,000 TFFR employers and members, sending messages indicating that contacts were "successfully unsubscribed." Several of you reached out when you received the message, prompting our staff to investigate. While Granicus is still looking into what happened, we are happy to report that all of the accounts that were unsubscribed have been restored.
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On Jan. 18, RIO staff will tackle the Good, Bad and Ugly aka "Models, Salaries and Retirements." Register for the Info Mixer.
During the webinar, we will discuss reportable and non-reportable salaries, and break down payment plan models. We'll touch on the form required when a member retires, the form that needs to be completed if a member returns to TFFR-covered employment and provide a brief pension software project update.
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Updated TFFR Employer Guide posted
An updated TFFR Employer Guide is available on the TFFR employer webpage. We encourage you to review the material when you have program questions.
Task Force for Teacher Retention and Recruitment members announced, Oct. 31, 2023
Sheila Peterson of Bismarck named 2024 ND Teacher of the Year, Sept. 28, 2023
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Retirement Reminders: what is the business managers’ role when TFFR members transition to retirement
Welcome back to Retirement Reminders, where RIO's retirement specialists answer your TFFR program questions. Business managers play a pivotal role in TFFR member retirements. This quarter, we’ll dive into how providing accurate and timely information helps to ensure members smooth transition to retirement.
What information am I expected to provide when a TFFR member retires:
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Salary Verification Form
- RIO requires business managers complete a salary verification form for all soon-to-be retired teachers.
- The form provides RIO with the member’s current salary, including contract salary and any other TFFR reportable salary. (View an example of a completed form.)
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Employer’s Acceptance of Resignation
- While members are responsible for the submission of all the required documents, business managers typically assist by providing the school district’s acceptance of the resignation.
- Acceptable documents include a copy of the school board meeting minutes accepting the resignation or a letter of acceptance.
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Salary Verification Inquiries
- RIO may check with business managers about both past and current TFFR reported salaries.
- Business managers may be contacted if there are salary increases or decreases.
Inquiries may also occur if the salary verification form is inconsistent with the monthly reports to TFFR or if there are questions about the type of reported salary.
As retirement season approaches, the collaborative work of RIO’s retirement specialists and school business managers plays a critical part in the successful transition into retirement for members. RIO’s acknowledgment of the time and effort put in by business managers reinforces the importance of your role in the process and our appreciation of your prompt and efficient work.
If you have questions about member retirements, please contact the Retirement Service Division. The staff is happy to provide support and assistance.
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Connections: meet an employer and a program employee
Faye Hagen, McClusky-Goodrich Public School District
A little bit about me . . .
My name is Faye Hagen. I have been the business manager at McClusky-Goodrich school for 1.5 years. I grew up in McClusky. I have a husband, Paul, two daughters, one son, four grandsons, and our dog, Charlie.
What is your favorite (book, author, tv show, or movie)?
Agatha Christie – Poirot is my hero. 😊
Where is your favorite place to vacation?
Anywhere with my husband.
What is your favorite hobby?
We ride motorcycle and other than that, we spend most of our nights and weekends working on our house remodeling project.
What do you like best about your job?
I like to organize things – so, boy, does this job provide ample opportunity to practice that skill!!
What advice/tips would you offer other Business Managers?
Do not be afraid to ask for help. I had a few awesome mentors that I often reached out to... and still do! The first year was just touching all the bases. I’m moving into this next year with more confidence and a clearer picture of the workflow. The Business Manager Listserv was another very valuable resource for me. The topics were timely with the calendar workflow, and I honestly appreciated all that I gleaned from the questions asked and the support provided. I’m looking forward to the next few years as processes and workflows become more familiar and become more routine.
Deneen Gathman, Retirement Accountant
Tell us about life before you joined the RIO team?
Prior to joining the Retirement and Investment Office in Sept. 2023, I worked in the ND Office of State Tax Commissioner in the Fiscal Division as an accounting/budget specialist III for 27 years. Before that, I worked in the ND State Auditor’s Office as an auditor for 2 years and at the Heartview Foundation as an accountant for 6 years.
What is your educational background?
I attended Minot State University for two years and then transferred to the University of Mary in Bismarck to finish my accounting degree.
Why did you choose to work for RIO?
After working for the Office of State Tax Commissioner for 27 years, I decided that I needed a change. When I learned about this position, I thought it was a great fit for me to utilize my skills, but in a little bit different way, and learn some different aspects of state government.
What aspects of your job do you find the most challenging?
Since I’ve only been with the agency since the end of September, learning about the agency, its programs and fiscal responsibilities has been the primary focus, especially learning about the TFFR program.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time away from work?
My husband and I enjoy spending time with family, especially our 5-year-old granddaughter, who we love to spoil. We have a 2-year-old Cockapoo that keeps us busy and entertained. We also have four granddogs that we also like to spoil (Goldendoodle, Shepherd mix, Cockapoo and Havanese). I enjoy reading and doing various puzzle books such as PennyPress Variety Puzzles.
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Have you signed up?
To prepare for the launch of TFFR's new pension administration system, RIO is asking employers to sign up for Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments.
- Employers that sign up now will have a seamless transition to the new system.
- Making payments with ACH saves time and money, one less check to manually cut and mail each month.
- ACH payments offer increased security and fast delivery.
More than 75% of TFFR employers have requested the paperwork and are sending payments by ACH. Have questions or need more information, contact the agency.
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