We are not aware of any proposed early retirement incentives for state employees. Any such incentive would require legislative authorization. There were no early retirement incentives that passed during the recent regular legislative session, which ended May 15, nor during the special session this past summer. Anytime the Missouri General Assembly is in session, you can follow any bills affecting MOSERS on our Legislation page. The General Assembly will meet again for their next regular session beginning in January 2021. 

Thank you so much for your interest in Rumor Central and in notifications, in particular! Usually, the busiest time for Rumor Central is January through May during the legislative session. Summer months tend to be somewhat slow for Rumor Central questions. This year, perhaps due to the pandemic and people working from home, it seems to be even slower. However, I expect that we will start getting more questions once the session begins again. 

You are correct. We used to send updates once each week or every other week. However, in August, since we had just two questions, we did not send an update to subscribers. Going forward, our intention is to send an email update, at minimum, once a month on the third Friday of each month. We will send them more often if we get several questions.

The amount of a BackDROP lump sum estimate could decrease if you were eligible to retire before age 62 but worked beyond age 62 and retired under MSEP 2000. This is due to a provision in MSEP 2000 called the Temporary Benefit. The Temporary Benefit is an amount paid to you in addition to your Base Benefit but the Temporary Benefit ends at age 62. The 5-year milestone significance is that it is the longest BackDROP period allowed by the state statutes.

Since your BackDROP lump-sum amount is 90% of what you would have received if you had been retired during the BackDROP period, it can max out at age 62 under the MSEP 2000 and begin decreasing if you work beyond age 62 (and retire under MSEP 2000).

The temporary benefit is not available to those who retire under MSEP, so your MSEP BackDROP lump-sum estimated amount will not decrease if you work beyond age 62 and retire under MSEP.

You are not required to take BackDROP, regardless of how long you work beyond normal retirement eligibility, and you don’t have to notify MOSERS of any decisions about BackDROP until you retire.

The BackDROP is simply a benefit payment option that is available to eligible members. Members who are or may become eligible for BackDROP are encouraged to attend a Ready to Retire/PreRetirement Planning Seminar and/or contact a MOSERS benefit counselor to make an appointment for further explanation.

*BackDROP is available only to general state employees who are members of MSEP & MSEP 2000 and who work at least two years beyond normal retirement eligibility

I would encourage you to utilize our Comparison Calculator to look at different scenarios. Additionally, our benefit counselors would be happy to provide you with a more in-depth explanation of BackDROP, your options, and various benefit estimates under different scenarios. Contact us to schedule an appointment or virtual counseling session.

HB 1467 has NO impact on employee contributions to MOSERS.

As it relates to employee contributions, this bill affects members of the Missouri Local Government Employees’ Retirement System (LAGERS), NOT state employees.

(House Bill 1467, which the Governor signed on July 13, extends LAGERS employers' options for the employee contribution election from the current 0% or 4% employee contribution to a 0%, 2%, 4%, or 6% employee contribution election.)

Currently, members of MSEP 2011 and the Judicial Plan 2011 contribute 4% of their pay toward their future retirement benefit with MOSERS. We are not aware of any proposals to require other state employees (members of MSEP and MSEP 2000) to contribute.

See our Legislation page for more information and to follow any bills affecting MOSERS.

No, as a retiree or survivor, your MOSERS retirement benefit will not be cut due to financial market losses or decreased state revenue. Your benefit does not go up or down based on economic factors. For general state employees, it is calculated using this formula:

Final Average Pay x Multiplier x Credited Service = Monthly Base Benefit.

These are difficult times and we can certainly understand your concerns. Ultimately, your benefits are an obligation of the state and they are secure. We encourage you to see the question about MOSERS’ Investments on March 17 on Rumor Central for more information on MOSERS’ funding. We will also be sending out a special edition of A Moment With MOSERS with executive director Ronda Stegmann also addressing some of your questions. You can view this video update on our COVID-19 update page

It is not currently in your Document Express online mailbox because at this time we have sent Annual Benefit Statements to our college & university members and to Department of Conservation employees only. Due to the COVID-19 state office building closures, including the MOSERS building, we have postponed sending statements to employees of other state agencies. We will resume sending the remainder of Annual Benefit Statements after normal operations resume. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any other questions or concerns.

You can change your email address by logging into myMOSERS. Select Personal Information then click Update your Personal Information. Please note that updates to email addresses become effective by the next working day. You are also able to make changes to your mailing address and phone number(s). If you wish, you may choose a future date (up to 3 months ) for other changes to become effective. If you are unable to do so online, please contact one of our benefit counselors who would be happy to assist you.