We recently sent an email to employees within five years of retirement eligibility reminding them to join us for a Ready to Retire session. This is a great opportunity to learn about the decisions they will need to make and to prepare for the retirement process. To accommodate different work schedules, we have both day and evening sessions available. Employees will sign up for a session based on their plan:

• MSEP & MSEP 2000 for general state employees
• MSEP & MSEP 2000 for university employees
• MSEP 2011 for general state employees

Encourage them to register!

If you have employees who have registered for an in-person session and are unable to attend, please have them contact MOSERS in advance at (800) 827-1063 to cancel. This will open a seat in the seminar and allow us to provide an accurate headcount to the caterer, venue, etc. Attendees are welcome to bring their spouse/guest with them again! Spouses/guests must be registered to attend.

If you have employees nearing their retirement eligibility date, please encourage them to register today for a session! As with all of our member education events, HR representatives are also welcome to attend.

Please contact MOSERSEducation@mosers.org if you have any questions.

Upon meeting the termination and reemployment rules, retirees may return to work and continue receiving their monthly pension payment, as long as their position is not a benefit-eligible position.

However, if a retiree returns to work in a benefit-eligible position, their monthly pension benefit stops for any month in which they are actively employed. For example, if a retiree returns to work in a benefit-eligible position on July 27, they will not receive their pension benefit on the last working day of July. In this example, it would have been more advantageous for the retiree to delay their return to work to August 1. Please keep this provision in mind when rehiring retirees. 

A retiree reemployed in a benefit-eligible position will accrue additional service and salary credit if they work continuously for one year. When they retire again, their monthly pension payment will equal the amount they were receiving when they returned to work plus any additional benefit they may have earned during reemployment.

The 2022 Board Election is just around the corner. As a MOSERS member, your employees will have the opportunity to cast their vote in the Board Election process. For active members, their vote will have an impact on who will hold two of the eleven positions on the MOSERS Board of Trustees.

The third-party election administrator will mail an election notice on August 10 to all eligible members. This includes all active and retired members. In addition, the election administrator will email eligible members who have a valid email on file with MOSERS alerting them that the election is open for voting. Encourage them to check their inboxes and update their email information with us. 

Eligible members will have six weeks to vote online or by phone. The election period ends on September 21, 2022. For more information, or to see the candidate bios, check out the Board Election page.

True or False: Members older than age 60 cannot apply for MOSERS long-term disability (LTD) benefits.

FALSE!

A member may apply for LTD benefits at any age as long as they are not eligible for normal (unreduced) retirement. If approved, LTD benefits will end when the member:

1. Is no longer disabled and/or returns to full-time active status or refuses available employment
2. Starts receiving early (reduced) retirement
3. Is eligible for normal (unreduced) retirement
4. Starts receiving benefits under any other group LTD policy
5. Passes away

MOSERS Organization Chart – July 2022

MOSERS Strategic Plan – July 2022

Employee Contributions (MSEP 2011 & Judicial Plan 2011) brochure – May 2022

Glossary of Terms  – April 2022

New Employee Orientation brochure – April 2022

Accessing Your Annual Benefit Statement – March 2022

Board of Trustees Roles and Responsibilities – March 2022

Divorce and Your Pension Benefit brochure – March 2022

For more information, please visit MOSERS' Online Library: https://www.mosers.org/library

Phoenix Sneak Peek – Reporting Termination Dates

Newer Employees & MOSERS Webinars – Register Now!

Welcome Our New Education Supervisor! 

Employer Retirement Contribution Rates

Current Email Addresses

Travel Assistance Mobile App

In last month’s edition, we reported that leave of absence forms will be a thing of the past when Phoenix launches in 2023. We are excited to announce the same applies to termination forms! Phoenix will streamline the process for reporting employment status changes and eliminate the extra work of submitting termination forms.

For SAM II employers, Phoenix will capture terminations directly from SAM II based on the ESMT personnel action/reason code and employment status. With this, MOSERS will be notified automatically of the reason for a termination, kicking off critical behind-the-scenes processes. For example, terminations due to the death of an employee will initiate the process of contacting surviving beneficiaries to notify them of any benefits due. Therefore, it will be imperative that you enter the correct personnel action/reason code for terminations in SAM II.

For non-SAM II employers, terminations will be captured when your payroll file is submitted. User-friendly errors or warnings during payroll submission will help you identify employees that might need to be terminated if no pay was received.

Just like leaves of absence, capturing terminations is vital to administering an employee’s pension, life, and LTD benefits through MOSERS. When an employee separates, they may be eligible for future retirement benefits or could take a refund of the money they contributed to MOSERS. Capturing employment status changes automatically as they occur, rather than manually through a subsequent form submission, helps to ensure the accuracy of member records and the efficient delivery of important benefits employees rely on.

For additional reference, check out this high-level process map of Reporting Termination Dates. Keep in mind that this is just a “sneak peek,” and we will provide you with training and resources before Phoenix goes live.

It is our pleasure to introduce Amber Arnold as our new education supervisor. As a former member of the Phoenix project team and the Benefits section, with more than eight years of service working for MOSERS, Amber is an expert regarding members' benefits and employer relations. You may remember Amber’s name from last September when she presented at Benefits U. Amber will be providing employer training, educational programs to communicate benefit information, and employer procedures simply and accurately as we navigate towards the new pension administration system, Phoenix. We are thrilled to have Amber continue her work with MOSERS in the education supervisor position.

If you have employees who are newer to the state with at least six months but less than five years of service (not yet vested), encourage them to sign up for a webinar!

We have redesigned our educational programs to help members learn information about their benefits as they progress through their careers and experience different life events along the way.

Agenda

They can join us to learn about the employee benefits administered by MOSERS, including pension plan features, life insurance, long-term disability, and their personal retirement savings plan options with MO Deferred Comp. Speakers include MOSERS & MO Deferred Comp and the webinar will last approximately 1 ½ hours.

Register

To accommodate different work schedules, we have both day and evening sessions. They can register to attend by clicking the link on the Daytime or Evening sessions below, select the date they would like to attend, complete the registration information, and they are ready to go!

Daytime sessions:

9:30 am – 11:00 am

August 29

October 31

Evening session:

5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

June 27

Confirmation/Reminder Emails

Attendees will receive a confirmation and reminder email from GoTo Webinar with instructions and the link to join the webinar. These emails contain the MOSERS logo at the top and in some instances may end up in their spam folder.

The employer retirement contribution rate is calculated by MOSERS’ external actuary and is certified by the MOSERS Board of Trustees every year. As a reminder, the employer retirement contribution rates for MSEP, MSEP 2000, and MSEP 2011, as well as for the Judicial Plan and Judicial Plan 2011, are changing effective July 1, 2022.

The changes to the employer retirement contribution rates for the respective plans, effective July 1, 2022, are as follows:

There are no changes to the employer contribution rates for CURP, basic life insurance, and long-term disability benefits.   

If you are a Non-SAM II employer, please take note and adjust retirement contributions, effective July 1, 2022, as needed.

If you are a SAM II employer, contributions occur automatically as a percentage of payroll, and no additional action is required of you.

For more information about Employer Contributions, please visit our website.  

Please encourage your employees to provide us with their current email addresses.

• In order to receive their benefits, it’s important that we have their current address on file!
• Members must have a current email address on file to set up or to change their myMOSERS Online ID and password.
• This will also be important for the upcoming MOSERS Board election in August.

They can update their email and mailing address by logging in to myMOSERS, selecting Personal Information, then clicking Update Personal Information. Please note that updates to email or mailing addresses become effective by the next working day. If they are unable to do so online, please have them contact a MOSERS benefit counselor, who will be happy to assist.

Or, as a pay rep, you can update employee email addresses directly through the Missing Email Report. Log in to the MOSERS Employer Login. Once logged in, navigate to the Error Reports dropdown and select Missing Email Report. Select an employee from the report and click Update Email. Enter a valid email address for the employee and click Update. The Missing Email Report refreshes daily. Updates submitted through the report become effective the next working day. View the Error Reports Tab video for a step-by-step demonstration of the Missing Email Report beginning at minute 1:36.

The Standard has created an easy-to-use mobile app for travel assistance. This app lets members access a wide range of global emergency assistance services. This is replacing the previous wallet card.

Mobile App Features:

• Tap for Help. Use one-touch calling to reach Assist America's 24/7 Operations Center.
• Voice over Internet Protocols (VoIP). Avoid international phone charges by calling Assist America for free using a Wi-Fi connection.
• Pre-Trip Information. Access detailed country-specific information to prepare for your trip.
• Travel Alerts. Receive alerts on urgent global situations that may impact travel.
• Travel Status Indicator. Use the GPS feature to know when you're eligible for services.
• Embassy & U.S. Pharmacy Locator. Locate the nearest embassy/consulate of 23 countries and pharmacies near you (U S. pharmacies only).
• Mobile ID Card. Your Assist America ID card is conveniently stored within the app.
• Available in Seven Languages. The app is available in English, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Thai, Bahasa, and French.

Please encourage your employees to download the app following the simple steps below.

1) Visiting Google Play or the App Store

2) Find the Assist America Mobile App

3) Enter reference number 01-AA-STD-5201 and member name

To learn more, see the Travel Assistance Flyer and Service Overview located in our online Library.

Employee Contributions (MSEP 2011 & Judicial Plan 2011) brochure – May 2022

Glossary of Terms – April 2022

New Employee Orientation brochure – April 2022

Accessing Your Annual Benefit Statement – March 2022

Board of Trustees Roles and Responsibilities – March 2022

Divorce and Your Pension Benefit brochure – March 2022

Total Compensation Calculator – January 2022

Destination Retirement Checklist (University Employees) – January 2022

Destination Retirement Checklist – January 2022

For more information, please visit MOSERS' Online Library: https://www.mosers.org/library

Phoenix Sneak Peek – Capturing Leave Events

Farewell Cindy

Contacting Employer Services by Phone

Two-Step Verification for the Employer Login

Termination and Reemployment Rules

Submit Terminations ASAP

Proper LTD Submissions

Thank YOU!

Hello Phoenix, goodbye leave forms! You read that right, upon the launch of Phoenix in 2023, leave forms will be a thing of the past!

For SAM II employers or non-SAM II employers using the expanded file format, Phoenix is designed to capture leave events and other status changes automatically from your payroll system. This efficiency in Phoenix will eliminate the need for you to do the double work of entering leave into your payroll system and then reporting the leave separately to MOSERS. In addition to saving you time, this feature will greatly benefit your employees' by significantly reducing the possibility of variance between your records and the employees' official MOSERS service record. Your employees' future pension is based on their total service credit and average salary. In other words, the greater their service credit, the greater their lifetime pension.

Thus, it is essential that your employees experiencing valid leave events, such as leave due to illness, receive full service and salary credit towards their future pension. Capturing this information automatically, but still giving you the ability to make manual adjustments, if needed, will strengthen data reporting to MOSERS and help ensure the accuracy of employee benefits. For additional reference, check out this high-level overview of the process map of Capturing Leave Events in Phoenix. Keep in mind that this is just a “sneak peek,” and we will provide you with training and resources before Phoenix goes live.

Our data integrity specialist, Cindy Barbarick, is retiring on June 1^st after 22 years and 7 months of service with MOSERS. Many of you have interacted with Cindy over the years in addressing new member records, transfers, leaves of absence, and terminations for your employees. Cindy was a delight to work with, and we will miss her dedicated service. We wish her the best in her retirement years!

In addition to emailing employers@mosers.org, you can now reach an employer services analyst directly by phone by calling MOSERS at (800) 827-1063 or (573) 632-6100 and press option 2. This option is for human resource and payroll representatives at MOSERS-covered employers who have questions specific to the administration of their employees' benefits through MOSERS. Individual members of MOSERS with questions about their own benefits should use option 1 to reach a benefit counselor.

If you have accessed the employer login recently, you may have noticed a warning message indicating that a two-step verification method to access the employer login is coming soon. This additional security feature, designed to increase the protection of sensitive member data, will take effect the week of May 23^rd. Once in effect, you will be required to enter your password and a verification code to gain access. The verification code will be sent to the work email address associated with your MOSERS employer login. If preferred, there will also be an option to have the code sent to your mobile device. If you need any assistance logging in, please call an employer services analyst at (800) 827-1063 or (573) 632-6100 and press option 2, or email employers@mosers.org. 

Please share with your employees!

Before receiving a benefit payment from MOSERS, IRS rules require a “bona fide termination” of a member’s employment. For purposes of MOSERS Board Rules, a "bona fide termination" occurs when:

• They have completely severed employment;
• They have not entered into a prearranged agreement (written or oral), prior to retirement, with the State of Missouri or any MOSERS-covered employer for subsequent employment on any basis (full-time, part-time, or other); and
• They are not subsequently employed with the State of Missouri or any MOSERS-covered employer on any basis (full-time, part-time, or other) within 30 days after their employment with their prior employer has ended.

For more information please see our  FAQs on Termination and Reemployment Rules and our Termination and Reemployment Rules flyer

Please note that if they do not have a bona fide separation of service, their retirement will be null and void, meaning they will not receive their pension payments.

We appreciate all the work that you do for your employees and know that your time is valuable! We want to remind you how important it is to submit termination forms on time. We need accurate and timely submissions to pay refunds of contributions to members. Additionally, we are unable to properly calculate a member’s Final Average Pay (FAP) without an accurate termination date. If submissions are not made on time, it can delay the retirement process for your employees and will create errors on your error reports. Thank you for your continued support in making these processes smooth and efficient for you and your employees.