New Contribution Reporting Methods Using EES
The Retirement Systems’ Electronic Employer Services (EES) website (www.retirement.sc.gov/ees) gives employers a secure method of doing business with the Retirement Systems. We are continually updating and improving functionality. Be sure to watch the website for new features. Access to EES is required for each employer as deposit forms and quarterly detail reports must be submitted utilizing this secure website.
Deposit Forms for Fiscal Year 2009-2010
Deposit forms are now available on EES. The green envelopes that you will use to return your printed PDF deposit forms and remittances were enclosed with the paper copy of this update mailed to employers in July 2009. Each month and at quarter end, employers will complete bar coded deposit forms via EES using the “Employer Reporting” link. Employers click on the “Deposit Form” button for the appropriate month, enter salary and contribution amounts, and the calculations are performed by the program.
Employers create and print the deposit form in PDF format and send the form inwith the monthly or quarterly remittance. The PDF print versions of the forms are bar coded with your employer code and other remittance information. In an attempt to avoid errors and assist in the posting of your deposits, we ask that you please submit the correct form for the designated month. Mail your forms to our office using the enclosed envelopes. Call our Cash Receipts area at 803-737-6904 if you would rather send your deposits electronically via our automated deposit program.
Financial Identity Fraud and Identity Theft Protection Act Was Effective July 1, 2009
To comply with the Financial Identity Fraud and Identity Theft Protection Act and to further protect the privacy of our members, the Retirement Systems has created an option for employers to upload their quarterly data. All employers who normally mail their quarterly detail reports on diskette, CD, or other electronic media are required to upload their reports on the EES website. The process is simple and secure. An instructional video is available on the EES website. If you do not already have access to EES, complete a series of three EES access forms available on our website. Employers with a small number of employees may continue to utilize the EES-Employer Reporting (EES-ER) system for reporting their quarterly detail. Contact your Employer Reporting representative to find out if this is an option for your organization.
Report Error Corrections
Employers can view error transactions on the EES website by clicking on “Employer Transaction Error List.” Details of each transaction can be determined by clicking on the “Trans Code” on the left side of the screen. The “Help” screen provides an explanation of each error description. By reviewing errors, employers will know the types of action required to clear the record for successful posting.
Retiree Return to Work Dates
Employers may now enter Retiree return to work dates using the “Employed Retirees – Return to Work Date Entry” link. Return to work dates can be keyed in lieu of submitting a Notification of Employed Retiree (Form 1114). The only exceptions are if the person is a disability retiree (the system will let you know when you attempt to key a date for a disability retiree) or if the name entered does not match a retiree’s name on our file.
In these two situations, Form 1114 must be completed and sent to the Retirement Systems. An instructional video is available on our EES website.
Furlough Uploads
The General Appropriations Act of 2009-2010 authorized school district, higher education, and state agencies to nstitute a furlough program. State agencies and their departments are responsible for payments of benefits that require employer and employee contributions if coverage would otherwise be interrupted. Employers are not required to submit employee or employer contributions on retirees (or Teacher and Employee Retention Incentive program participants) participating in a furlough. Employers may now upload their furlough supplements using the “Upload Furlough Supplement Data” link on EES. The data can be in Excel or text format. Detailed instructions regarding format requirements and an instructional video are available on our website.
Obtaining Access to EES
Employers should keep employee access up to date – when an employee terminates, notify the Retirement Systems so access can be terminated. If an employee needs access to EES as a part of his job function, he should complete Form 6505 to get a user identification (USERID) and a personal identification number (PIN). Any employers who do not have access to EES should complete thefollowing EES access forms available on our website and return them to the Retirement Systems. A USERID and a PIN will be mailed under separate cover.
Form 6503 – Someone who has the authority to sign contracts should complete this document.
Form 6504 – The person who signs the Form 6503 also signs this form appointing a designated person to act as the “Authorizing Contact” in the EES system. This person will be responsible for granting access to the EES system to other employees. This should be someone who knows when employees terminate, retire, change jobs, etc.
Form 6505 – This form should be completed by the “Authorizing Contact” and the designated person who will be using the EES system. A USERID and a PIN will be sent to this individual so he can log into the secure website.
Employer Contribution Rates for Fiscal Year 2010
Beginning July 1, 2009, the employer contribution base rate for the South Carolina Retirement System (SCRS) and the Police Officers Retirement System (PORS) will remain as follows:
PORS Rate Increase
The PORS rate will increase by 0.48 percent July 1, 2010. The new rate is applicable to all PORS wages paid July 1, 2010, and after. This rate increase is a result of Act 311, passed in 2008 by the South Carolina General Assembly, which provided for a guaranteed cost-of-living adjustment for PORS retirees. The rate increase was slated to begin July 1, 2009, but a proviso passed by the General Assembly in May 2009 delayed the increase until July 1, 2010.
Insurance Surcharge
To help fund the cost of providing health and dental insurance to retirees covered by the state health and dental plans, the state Appropriations Bill requires the Retirement Systems to collect and forward to the SC Budget and Control Board's Employee Insurance Program a surcharge on a monthly basis. The insurance surcharge for fiscal year 2009-2010 remains at 3.5 percent. See the chart above which summarizes the fiscal year 2010 contribution rates.
Use EES to Key Retiree Return to Work Dates
Employers must notify the Retirement
Systems when a retired member is hired.
Employers may now enter the date a
retiree returned to work on the EES
website. A Notification of Employed Retiree (Form 1114) must be completed
for disability retirees who return to
work. The Retirement Systems will
not post quarterly contributions to
retired member accounts without a
return to work date. Please
note the following procedural issues:
For individuals who have recently ended the Teacher and Employee Retention Incentive (TERI) program and returned to work, their return to work date should be after the TERI end date.
The Retirement Systems has
return to work dates on file for some retirees;
however, there may be gaps in
retiree postings. This means there
are quarters in which no wages
were reported after the return to work date
on file. Employers should check
payroll records for these quarters
and if the employee was paid
during the missing quarter, send
supplements to fill in the gaps.
Otherwise, provide the retiree’s
revised return to work date.
For disability retirees, Form 1114 is available on our website at www.retirement.sc.gov/forms.
State Optional Retirement Program (Applicable to State Agencies, Higher Education Institutions, and School Districts)
Newly hired employees of eligible employers (state agencies, school districts, and higher education institutions) may elect to participate in the State ORP. Employers are required to include detailed wage information for State ORP participants on their quarterly reports. The employer contribution rate for State ORP is 9.24 percent; however, the employer submits only 4.24 percent to the Retirement Systems. The employer remits the remaining 5 percent to the State ORP vendor chosen by the participant to be allocated to the participant’s account.
Employers are required to pay the insurance surcharge of 3.5 percent for State ORP participants. Also, State ORP participants are covered under the group life insurance program; therefore, the associated SCRS group life contribution of 0.15 percent must be remitted to the Retirement Systems as part of the employer contribution. Chart A shows the contribution amounts due to the State ORP account and to the Retirement Systems for members of State ORP.
Chart B shows the State ORP vendors that provide services and investment options to State ORP participants. The corresponding vendor number should be included in position 105-106 on each detail record of the quarterly report.
Employee Contribution Rates
SCRS, PORS Class II, and State ORP employee contributions are 6.50 percent of compensation. Employee contributions apply to active employees, SCRS and PORS working retirees, and TERI participants who began their TERI participation on or after July 1, 2005. See below for a summary of employee contribution rates:
Employer and Employee Contributions on Retiree Wages
Employer contributions are due on all working retirees and TERI participants. Contributions are required whether the retired member is considered a full-time, part-time, temporary, or permanent employee. Employer contributions include all contributions normally paid on behalf of active members including retirement, retiree health insurance surcharge, group life, and PORS accidental death contributions.
In addition to employer contributions, employee contributions are required for wages earned by working retired SCRS and PORS members employed by an employer covered by the Retirement Systems, including members who began participating in the TERI program on or after July 1, 2005. Working retired members must pay employee contributions based on the rate that any other active employee in the position would otherwise contribute to the system, provided the retired member is receiving retirement benefits from that system. As an employer, you may determine the system from which a member is retired by inquiring through EES (www.retirement.sc.gov/ees).
Employees with a TERI start date prior to July 1, 2005, should not make employee contributions as long as they are working as a TERI retiree. If the TERI participant ends his TERI participation and returns to covered employment as a working retiree, employee contributions must be remitted.
Employers failing to properly report contributions on working retired members will be subject to interest assessments and other statutorily prescribed penalties. In addition, any employer failing to properly report members’ earnings and the corresponding contributions may have the amount deducted from any funds payableto the employer by the state.
Interest Assessments
The Due Date Calendar mailed to covered employers in July 2009 contains due dates for retirement contributions during fiscal year 2009-2010. Interest penalties will be assessed on all deposits received by the Retirement Systems after the due date.
Service Credit Earnings Threshold
The Retirement Systems indexes the required monetary earnings for service credit according to increases in the minimum wage. As a result, effective October 1, 2009, the monetary earnings threshold for a full month of service credit will increase from $524 per month to $580 per month. All other service credit earnings rules remain the same.
Reporting Contract Length
Contract length is one of the variables used by the Retirement Systems to calculate service credit. Most employees work 12 months out of the year and are paid 12 months out of the year. They should be reported on the quarterly report with a contract length of 12. The SC Code of Laws Section 9-1-840 provides that the service rendered for the regular school year in any district should be equivalent to one year of service credit. This also applies to employees in academic positions at institutions of higher education. There are a very few exceptions to the service credit threshold rule. Elected or appointed officials, volunteer firefighters and bar examiners who are paid a salary, not a per diem, should be credited with full service for each month served. Employers should refer to the Covered Employer Procedures Manual to determine the contract length that should be used on quarterly reports for these employees.
THE LANGUAGE USED IN THIS DOCUMENT DOES NOT CREATE ANY CONTRACTUAL RIGHTS OR ENTITLEMENTS AND DOES NOT CREATE A CONTRACT BETWEEN THE MEMBER AND THE SOUTH CAROLINA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS. THE SOUTH CAROLINA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REVISE THE CONTENT OF THIS DOCUMENT.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Customer Services at 803-737-6800, toll free at 800-868-9002 (within SC only), or at www.retirement.sc.gov.