The number and types of beneficiaries you have depends primarily on your employment status and eligibility for MOSERS benefits:

• Actively employed as a state employee or
• Inactive-vested (worked long enough to earn a future pension benefit but no longer employed by the state and not yet retired) or
• Retired

ACTIVE: You may have beneficiaries for life insurance (if provided through MOSERS) and/or employee contributions (if you are a member of MSEP 2011 or the Judicial Plan 2011).

INACTIVE-VESTED: You may have beneficiaries for employee contributions (if you are a member of MSEP 2011 or the Judicial Plan 2011). However, you won’t make decisions about your future MOSERS defined benefit pension benefits, including those about survivor beneficiaries, until you apply for retirement.

RETIRED: You may have beneficiaries for life insurance (if provided through MOSERS and you retained life insurance coverage in retirement) and/or employee contributions (if you are a member of MSEP 2011 or the Judicial Plan 2011). You may change the above beneficiaries at any time. You are allowed to change your survivor beneficiaries for your MOSERS defined benefit pension only under the following circumstances:

• You were married at retirement, elected a joint & survivor benefit payment option and your spouse passes away. See more information about reporting a death.
• You were married at retirement, elected a joint & survivor benefit payment option and you get divorced after retirement. Go to the Life Events page and scroll down to Divorce.
• You were single at retirement, elected the Life Income Annuity benefit payment option and then got married. Go to the Life Events page and scroll down to Marriage.
• You elected one of the “life income with guaranteed payments” benefit payment options at retirement and want to change your beneficiary(ies).

Log in to myMOSERS and go to Forms. If any of the above apply to you, you will see the forms to update your beneficiaries. If you still have questions, please contact a MOSERS benefit counselor at mosers@mosers.org, (800) 827-1063 or (573) 632-6100.

If you participate in MO Deferred Comp, which is a supplemental savings plan separate from your MOSERS defined benefit pension plan, you may update your beneficiaries with MO Deferred Comp, on their website. 

Your promised pension benefits are an obligation of the state and they are secure. Unlike individual retirees, MOSERS invests over a very long-term time horizon. Our portfolio is well-diversified and designed to weather the volatility of the financial markets. We encourage you to visit our Funding page to learn more.

Yes, you may continue working as many years as you like beyond your initial retirement eligibility date. If, at retirement, you elect BackDROP, this would affect when your BackDROP period would start. Your BackDROP period will always be the period immediately prior to actual retirement date.

Based on your example:

If you are initially eligible to retire 1/1/2025, but decide to work to 10 more years, retiring in 1/1/2035, and elect a 5-year BackDROP, your BackDROP period would start 1/1/2030.

If you elect a BackDROP, we will calculate your monthly benefit using your final average pay (FAP) and credited service as of your BackDROP date. We would look at your entire pay history prior to the BackDROP period and find the highest 36-consecutive months of pay. We will not include any service credit or pay (including pay increases, overtime, etc.) earned during the BackDROP period to calculate your monthly pension payment.

See the BackDROP page on our website or contact a MOSERS benefit counselor for more information.

Note: BackDROP is available only to general state employees (including university employees) in MSEP and MSEP 2000. 

Retirees will receive their first COLA on the anniversary month of their retirement. The amount of the COLA for the calendar year is calculated each year in January. The COLA this year is 5%.

COLAs are payable on the anniversary of your retirement date except for:

• Retirees who converted from MSEP to MSEP 2000 during the conversion window in 2000 will have COLAs payable in July.
• Retirees who elected a BackDROP will have COLAs payable on the anniversary of their BackDROP date.
• Retirees who were terminated-vested members of the MSEP 2011 will receive their first COLA on the second anniversary of their retirement (rather than the first anniversary).

We will send you a notice, either in the mail or in your MOSERS Document Express online mailbox, during the month when you get your COLA.

Please see the COLA page on our website for additional information.

Yes, if you are eligible for and elect BackDROP, you have three options for your BackDROP lump-sum payment:

• Cash Option: This is either one lump-sum payment at retirement or three annual installments. From any amounts paid in cash, we will deduct 20% for federal income tax (as required by the IRS) and any Missouri state income tax withholding you choose. You will be responsible for any IRS early withdrawal penalties that may apply.
• Rollover Option: We will send your tax-deferred distribution directly to a qualified employer plan, such as Mo Deferred Comp. 
• Combination Cash & Rollover Option: You can take a portion of the lump sum in cash (less 20% for federal income tax, as required by the IRS, and any Missouri state income tax you choose to have withheld) and roll the rest over to a qualified employer plan. You will be responsible for any IRS early withdrawal penalties that may apply.  

MO Deferred Comp is a qualified employer plan and you may be able to roll over your funds to them. Before you make any decisions, we recommend that you read the Special Tax Notice to ensure you understand the tax implications of your choice. We also encourage you to consult a tax professional. Read Thinking About the BackDROP? for more information.

On Monday, February 27, 2023, Governor, Mike Parson signed supplemental spending bill, HB 14. This bill will implement a cost-of-living adjustment for all active state employees, but it does not apply to retirees. However, all retired general state employees will receive a 5% COLA in 2023.

In the example you gave and assuming the employee elected a 5-year BackDROP, the BackDROP period would be the 5 years prior to when they actually retire.

The BackDROP period is the period of time between the employee’s BackDROP date (the day their BackDROP period begins) and their actual retirement date. The maximum BackDROP period is five years. The BackDROP date can move depending on when the employee actually retires and the BackDROP period they elect at retirement.

For example:

If the employee is initially eligible to retire 3/1/2023, but decides to work to 10 more years, retires 3/1/2033, and elects a 5-year BackDROP, their BackDROP period would start 3/1/2028.

If they elect a BackDROP, we will calculate their monthly benefit using their final average pay (FAP) and credited service as of their BackDROP date. We would look at the employee’s entire pay history prior to the BackDROP period and find the highest 36-consecutive months of pay. We will not include any service credit or pay (including pay increases, overtime, etc.) earned during the BackDROP period to calculate their monthly pension payment.

See the BackDROP page on our website for more information.

Note: BackDROP is available only to general state employees (including university employees) in MSEP and MSEP 2000. 

Your MOSERS pension benefit is subject to normal federal taxes. It is also subject to normal Missouri state income taxes if you are a resident of Missouri. However, because you are a Missouri resident, you may qualify for the Public Pension Exemption as it relates to Missouri state taxes.

In order to be eligible for the full deduction, your Missouri adjusted gross income must fall within certain income limitations. These limitations are not decided by MOSERS, you may contact the Missouri Department of Revenue to see if you qualify or ask your tax professional. If your income exceeds the limitation, you may qualify for a partial exemption. Visit the Missouri Department of Revenue's Public Pension Exemption page or read our Missouri Public Pension Exemption flyer for more information.

To update your direct deposit information, just log in to myMOSERS. Once logged in, click Forms, then select Direct Deposit. From there you can begin to fill out and complete the Direct Deposit Authorization form online or you can complete the paper Direct Deposit Authorization form and mail it to MOSERS.

If you need assistance, feel free to contact a MOSERS benefit counselor at (800) 827-1063 or (573) 632-6100.

We send Annual Benefit Statements in March to all active members. You can access last year’s statement by logging in to myMOSERS, clicking on Online Documents, and selecting Document Express. It is available to print or save as a PDF. Once all 2023 statements are sent, we will send you an email and you will be able to access this year’s statement by logging in to myMOSERS. If you have opted to receive paper notifications, we will mail your statement to you. Please be sure your email address and mailing address is up to date with us!

Retirees get their Annual Benefit Statement each year on the anniversary of their retirement date or BackDROP date. We send benefit statements to elected officials and members on LTD in July, and we send statements to vested former state employees once every 5 years.