HR Update

A recent change in state law requires MOSERS to automatically refund employee contributions to MSEP 2011 members who leave state employment before vesting and who have a total contribution balance of $1,000 or less. MOSERS will process these refunds automatically, so these former employees should not submit a refund application.

Former employees who are vested or have a balance of over $1,000 are not affected. They can still request a refund or leave their contributions with MOSERS, as before.

After they separate, impacted former employees will get a letter from MOSERS showing their contribution balance, their payment date, and two payment options:

• Refund check: If they do nothing, MOSERS will mail them a check soon after the 90-day waiting period ends. Because the contributions were made pre-tax, the refund is taxable. MOSERS must withhold 20% for federal taxes unless the balance is less than $200.
• Rollover: They can roll over the refund into a qualified retirement plan. To do this, they must return the Rollover Election for Refund of Employee Contributions form included with the letter by the deadline shown in the letter. MO Deferred Comp can accept a rollover only if the former employee already has a balance there and keeps a balance of more than $1,000.

• When the refund is issued, the former employee forfeits all credited service and any right to receive MOSERS pension or long-term disability (LTD) benefits. Former employees who have applied for MOSERS LTD benefits, or plan to apply, should contact MOSERS right away. MOSERS will not issue a refund while an LTD application is under review.
• If the former employee returns to a benefit-eligible position under MOSERS or MPERS before the refund is paid, the refund will be canceled.
• A former employee who receives a refund and later returns to state employment can buy back the refunded service after one continuous year of employment by paying the refund amount plus interest. This restores their previously forfeited credited service.

• Refer separating employees to MOSERS for refund information instead of giving them a refund application. MOSERS will contact impacted former employees directly with everything they need.
• Remind separating employees to keep their address up to date with MOSERS. The letter they receive explains their payment options and deadlines.
• Report terminations and returns to work accurately and on time. This helps MOSERS determine refund eligibility correctly.

Employees with questions can contact MOSERS at (573) 632-6100 or mosers@mosers.org

We’re halfway through the 2027 Annual Life Insurance Review period!

Employees who already have optional life insurance can increase their coverage in October without proving insurability (no medical history statement required).

Benefit-eligible employees who were actively employed before September 1, 2026, may increase their coverage by $10,000 or $20,000, up to six times their annual salary (rounded to the nearest $10,000 increment), or a maximum of $800,000.

Keep in mind, this review period only applies to the employee’s coverage, not spouse or child(ren) coverage. No action is needed to keep coverage at its current level.

Employees may increase their coverage through October 31, 2026. To submit their election, employees should log in to myMOSERS, click the Increase Coverage button on the Member Dashboard, select their new level of coverage, then Save and Complete.

During the annual review period, employees should not use the Enroll/Change option to increase coverage by only $10,000 or $20,000. Using this option requires proof of insurability and can prevent or delay the increase.

Encourage your employees to take advantage of this special opportunity to protect their loved ones from financial hardship. Don’t miss out!

MOSERS is excited to offer a new education opportunity – Retire Online Webinars – designed to help members navigate the online retirement process. Encourage your employees who are within one year of retirement eligibility to join us for a webinar this fall!

• Convenient hour-long webinars are easy to fit into your schedule and are held monthly starting in October 2026.
• Retire Online Webinars are intended for members who are ready to retire or are within one year of retirement eligibility.
• These webinars feature a live, step-by-step demonstration of the online retirement application.
• Members will walk through the Retire Online process with a MOSERS educator from start to finish and can ask questions along the way.

• Members can register at myMOSERS by selecting Enroll in Education from the I want to… menu.
• After reviewing the schedule, they can click Enroll next to the session they would like to attend and complete the registration information.
• Remind your employees to visit our Ready to Retire page to see all the available upcoming webinar dates.

It’s that time of year again! MOSERS’ Annual Life Insurance Review is open now through October 31, 2026.

Benefit-eligible employees who were actively employed before September 1, 2026, and already have optional life insurance may increase their coverage without proving insurability (no medical history statement required).

Coverage may be increased by $10,000 or $20,000, up to six times the employee’s annual salary (rounded to the nearest $10,000 increment), or a maximum of $800,000. This review period only applies to the employee’s coverage, not spouse or child(ren) coverage. No action is needed to keep coverage at its current level.

Department of Conservation and university employees (except State Technical College of Missouri and Lincoln University) are not eligible for life insurance through MOSERS, since those employers provide their own life insurance benefits.

MOSERS will email eligible employees and send a personalized letter in Document Express (their MOSERS online mailbox), outlining their optional life insurance coverage options. Employees without a valid email address on file will receive the letter by mail.

Employees who can’t complete the process online may contact a MOSERS benefit counselor for assistance via email at mosers@mosers.org or phone at (800) 827-1063.

Before increasing their coverage, employees can use the Optional Life Insurance Calculator to estimate their new premium amount.

Between now and October 31, 2026, employees can log in to myMOSERS, click the Increase Coverage button on the Member Dashboard, select their new level of coverage, then Save and Complete to submit their election.

The increase will take effect January 1, 2027, provided the employee meets the actively at work requirement described in the Life Insurance Handbook.

Employees will receive a confirmation letter in Document Express or by mail (if they’ve opted out of electronic delivery) showing their current 2026 coverage amount and premium, along with their new 2027 premium.

During the annual review period, the Increase Coverage button will display on the Member Dashboard. Employees who want to increase their existing coverage by $10,000 or $20,000 can do so by selecting the button and following the steps, with no proof of insurability required.

For coverage changes not included in the annual review, employees can log in to myMOSERS and select Enroll/Change Life Insurance Coverage at any time during the year. This includes increasing coverage by more than $20,000, decreasing or terminating coverage, enrolling for the first time, or adding or changing spouse or child(ren) coverage. Most of these require proof of insurability.

During the annual review period, employees should not use the Enroll/Change option to increase coverage by only $10,000 or $20,000. Using this option requires proof of insurability and can prevent or delay the increase.

Outside the annual review period, a qualifying family status change, such as marriage, birth, or adoption, allows employees to increase or add coverage without proving insurability if they act within 31 days. See the Life Insurance Handbook for details.

The Annual Benefit Statement includes each employee’s primary life insurance beneficiary designation. Please encourage employees to review and update their beneficiaries after a life event, such as a marriage, divorce, or death. Beneficiaries can be updated at any time in myMOSERS.

Every four years, the Annual Life Insurance Review becomes a true open enrollment. The next open enrollment period is October 2027 (next year). During open enrollment, employees who don’t have optional insurance may enroll in new coverage up to $100,000, and employees who already have coverage may increase it by up to $100,000 (both in $10,000 increments, without proving insurability).

This year’s review is a standard review year, meaning employees who already have coverage may increase it by up to $20,000. See the Annual Life Insurance Review page for more information.

The 2026 MOSERS Board of Trustees Election is open! Please encourage your employees to participate and vote. As active MOSERS members, they will help determine who holds two of the eleven positions on the MOSERS Board of Trustees.

YesElections, the third-party election administrator, has mailed an election notice with voting instructions to all eligible active MSEP, MSEP 2000, and MSEP 2011 members. Employees with a current email address on file with MOSERS will also receive reminder emails during the election period.

1. Via myMOSERS.
2. Directly through the YesElections voting site.
3. By phone at (844) 695-8672.

Note: This applies only to employers whose employees have basic life insurance coverage through MOSERS. No action is needed if your agency doesn’t offer MOSERS life insurance.

Please submit your Salary Verification Report(s) by Friday, September 4, 2026. Thank you to everyone who has already submitted theirs!

1. Log in to Phoenix.
2. Select Reporting from the left-hand menu.
3. Click Salary Verification
4. Select your Reporting Group(s).

For step-by-step instructions, see the Salary Verification Quick Guide. The Quick Guide is always available under the Training section on the Phoenix home screen.

• Basic life insurance coverage effective January 1, 2027, will be equal to one times the employee's annual salary as of July 31, 2026.
• Annual salary includes regular earnings from a benefit-eligible position, recurring shift differential, security differential, and retention pay.
• Annual salary excludes overtime, one-time payments, and wages from non-benefit-eligible positions.

If you have questions or need help working through the report, contact Employer Services at (800) 827-1063, option 2, or email us at employers@mosers.org.

Thank you for helping to ensure your employees have accurate life insurance coverage!

Note: This reminder applies only to employers whose employees have basic life insurance coverage through MOSERS. No action is needed if your agency doesn't offer MOSERS life insurance.

Thank you to everyone who has already submitted their Salary Verification Reports in Phoenix. If you haven't completed your report, please do so by Friday, September 4, 2026. This process ensures employees with basic life insurance through MOSERS receive the correct coverage for 2027

What You Need to Do

To access your Salary Verification Report:

1. Log in to Phoenix.
2. Select Reporting from the left-hand menu.
3. Click Salary Verification.
4. Select your Reporting Group(s).

Important Deadline: Submit your completed Salary Verification Report by Friday, September 4, 2026.

Resources Available

Step-by-step written instructions are available in the Salary Verification Quick Guide. You can also find the Quick Guide any time under the Training section on the Phoenix home screen.

Phoenix Employer Reporting offers two look-up tools, each designed with a specific purpose:

• Retirement Plan Look-Up (Tools>Retirement Plan Look-Up)

  Allows you to search for any individual in the system by National ID, whether or not they have worked for your agency. It displays only prior MOSERS-covered service, such as service dates, employer, and retirement plan. Use this tool when hiring to determine whether a candidate has prior covered service and to determine their plan under MOSERS.

• Employee Search (Tools>Employee>Search)  

  Returns only members within the reporting group(s) you have access to. After selecting an individual to open their Employee Information, you can view additional details, including total MOSERS-covered service, and, where applicable, life insurance and retirement contributions. Because results are limited to your reporting group, an individual with no prior service in that reporting group will not appear.

Back-to-school season is here, and it’s time to get back to the basics with MOSERS! Our sessions are designed to help members learn about their state employee benefits as they progress through their careers and experience different life events along the way.

Employees can start learning about their state benefits administered by MOSERS, including pension plan features, life insurance, long-term disability benefits, and their personal retirement savings plan options with MO Deferred Comp.

• For employees who are newer to the state with less than five years of service (not yet vested).
• Sessions last approximately 2 hours.
• Speakers include MOSERS and MO Deferred Comp.

Employees can learn how different career and life events may affect their MOSERS pension benefit.

• For employees with at least five years of service (vested) and five or more years until retirement eligibility.
• Sessions last approximately 2 hours.
• Speakers include MOSERS and MO Deferred Comp.

Employees can learn about pension plan features, life insurance and long-term disability benefits (for eligible members), the retirement process, and more!

• For employees within five years of retirement eligibility.
• Speakers include MOSERS, MO Deferred Comp, the Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan (MCHCP), and the Social Security Administration (SSA).
• Ready to Retire sessions include in-person seminars and online webinars (full-day) or evening webinars (3.5 hours).

Encourage your employees to join us this fall for a webinar or seminar! They can visit our Education page for schedule details and registration instructions.

Each August, we ask employers to verify the annual salaries of benefit-eligible employees with basic life insurance coverage through MOSERS. This step ensures your employees receive the correct life insurance coverage for the upcoming year.

After submitting your payroll report for the pay period ending July 31, your Salary Verification Report will be available in Phoenix.

• Log in to Phoenix.
• Select Reporting from the left-hand menu.
• Click Salary Verification.
• Choose your reporting group.

If your report opens with no employees listed, that means no salaries in your reporting group need verification this year — nothing further is required on your part. The report is considered complete.

Important Deadline: Submit your completed Salary Verification Report by Friday, September 4.

Step-by-step written instructions are available in the Salary Verification Quick Guide. You can also find the Quick Guide at any time under the Training section on the Phoenix Home screen.

Basic life insurance coverage effective January 1, 2027, is equal to one times the employee's annual salary as of July 31, 2026.

• Regular earnings from a benefit-eligible position.
• Recurring shift differential, security differential, and retention pay.

• Overtime or other irregular, one-time payments.
• Wages from non-benefit-eligible positions.

Based on feedback from agency representatives who completed the report last year, we've made a few enhancements to improve the experience and streamline the verification process:

• Export to Excel – You can now export both the Salary Rows to Verify and Past Rows Verified sections to Excel for easier review and recordkeeping.
• Separate Name Fields – First name and last name now appear in separate fields, allowing for improved sorting and filtering.
• Search Functionality – A search box is now available in both sections, making it easier to quickly locate specific employee records.

Contact Employer Services at (800) 827-1063, option 2, or email at employers@mosers.org.

Thank you for helping to ensure accurate life insurance coverage for your employees!

The MOSERS optional life insurance premium calculator is a handy resource for employees exploring coverage options. Whether they're newly hired and enrolling for the first time through SEBES, or revisiting their coverage at any point in their career, they can compare premiums across different coverage amounts and see how premiums change with each five-year age bracket.

Optional life insurance can be elected, adjusted, or terminated at any time. However, enrollment outside the initial 31-day window requires a medical history statement or documentation of a qualifying family status change. For more detailed information about life insurance coverage, employees can visit our Life Insurance page or contact a MOSERS benefit counselor.

We hope you'll find these resources useful to pass along when employees have questions about their life insurance coverage.

When entering a new hire's salary in SEBES, please ensure the amount reflects the employee’s full benefit-eligible earnings and not base pay alone. For basic life insurance purposes, annual salary includes normal earnings plus any recurring differential pay (shift, security, and retention differentials). Overtime and other irregular payments are excluded.

An accurate salary entry in SEBES ensures new employees receive the full basic life insurance coverage they're entitled to. Please reach out to employers@mosers.org if you have any questions.

School may be out for the summer, but MOSERS education sessions are in! Encourage your staff to enroll in a seminar or webinar this summer.

As an HR rep, you are welcome to attend any member education session. See the enrollment information below or call us at (573) 644-1231. You can also email MOSERSEducation@mosers.org.

We still have seats available at several Ready to Retire in-person seminars and online webinars for this summer. These sessions are designed for general state employees within five years of retirement eligibility.

School is always more fun with a friend! Members are welcome to bring a spouse or guest. Guests can be added during the enrollment process in myMOSERS.

Members can log in to myMOSERS, then select Enroll in Education from the I want to... menu. Next, they can choose the session they would like to attend and complete the registration information.

We hope you will join us this summer at a seminar or webinar near you!

May 2 was Human Resource Professionals Day, and we want to take a moment to express our appreciation for all that you do.

Your role as a vital liaison between MOSERS and our members is crucial, and your dedication to educating employees about the benefits we provide is truly valued.

HR professionals play an essential role in Missouri's success—shaping policies, supporting employees, and fostering a culture of growth and well-being. Every day, you make a difference in people’s lives.

Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership!

Designation of Agent - May 2026

Direct Deposit Authorization form - April 2026

Division of Benefits Order - Request for Estimate form - April 2026

Tax Withholding Authorization and IRS W-4P form - April 2026

Tax-Free Rollover Certification Form (Purchasing or Transferring Service Credit) - April 2026