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Membership |
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1) |
Am
I required to be a member of the ERS? |
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2) |
Who
pays for the plan?
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Service
Credit |
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3) |
How
do I earn service credit?
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4) |
Can
I lose service credit?
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5) |
Can
I buy additional service towards my retirement?
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Benefits |
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6) |
What
are the eligibility requirements and benefits for a service retirement?
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7) |
Am
I entitled to any other benefits after I retire?
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8) |
What
if I become disabled? |
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9) |
What
kind of benefits am I entitled to if I become disabled?
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10) |
What
kind of benefit will my beneficiary receive if I die in service?
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11) |
Am
I entitled to any benefits if I terminate my employment?
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12) |
Can
I borrow from the ERS funds?
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1) |
Am
I required to be a member of the ERS?
Yes. If you are a full-time, part-time (50% FTE or more),
permanent or temporary (more than 3 months) employee of the State or
County and your employment began after June 30, 1984, it is mandatory that
you become a noncontributory member of the ERS immediately upon your
employment. You are also
required to contribute to the Social Security and Medicare program at a
rate determined by Congress.
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2) |
Who pays for the plan?
Your employer pays for the entire cost of the noncontributory retirement
plan. No retirement
contributions are deducted from your salary.
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3) |
How do I earn service credit?
The
length of time you work for the State or County government while a member
of the ERS determines when you will be eligible for retirement and also
affects how much your retirement benefits will be.
Service is credited on a monthly basis and if you work for 15 or
more days in any calendar month, except February when you must work 14 or
more days, you will receive one month of service credit.
Also,
if you have 60 or more days of unused sick leave when you retire, you will
receive an additional month of service credit for every 20 days of unused
sick leave. Any balance of 10 or
more days will provide an additional month of service credit.
Service credit
provided by unused sick leave is used to increase the amount of
your retirement benefit but cannot be used to determine your
eligibility for retirement.
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4) |
Can I lose service credit?
Yes. If you terminate employment before you earn 10 years of
credited service excluding sick leave credit, you will forfeit all of your
service credit as you are not vested.
However,
if you return to work by December 31 of the following year, all of your
previous service will immediately be credited.
Should you return to work after December 31 of the year following termination, you
will acquire one month of your previous service for every month that you
work in your current employment.
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5) |
Can I buy additional service
towards my retirement?
No,
but the law does permit you to acquire credit for a number of specific
types of service. Generally,
this is previous service rendered as an employee of the State or County
that you are currently not credited with, service with an agency which has
since been transferred to the State, or leaves of absence with or without
pay while on professional improvement or industrial injury.
Maternity leaves prior to July 1, 1973, and active military service
may also be credited, subject to certain provisions and limitations.
You
must file a claim with the ERS. After ERS certifies the service, you will acquire
and be credited with one month of that service for each month that you
work. There is no cost involved.
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6) |
What
are the eligibility requirements and benefits for a service retirement?
Normal
Retirement:
Age
62 with 10 or more years of credited service OR
Age 55 with
30 or more years of credited service
Early
Retirement:
Age
55 with 20 years of credited service
Benefit reduced by
6% for each year under age 62
Vested
Retirement:
Age
65 with 10 or more years of credited service
Your
benefit will consist of a pension for life based on the formula:
1¼% X years of
service X average final compensation (AFC)
or salary
Example:
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Member
with 30 years of service and a monthly AFC of $2,500
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1.25% X 30 years = 37.5% x
$2,500 = $937.50
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Member will receive a
monthly pension of $937.50
The
actual amount of your lifetime pension depends on your AFC, your credited
service when you retire and the retirement option you select.
Your
pension is reduced if you take an early retirement.
AFC
is the average of your three highest years of earnings excluding any lump
sum vacation pay if you began employment on January 1, 1971, or
thereafter. If your
employment began before January 1, 1971, your AFC will be the average of
your three highest years or your five highest years of earnings including any lump sum vacation
pay, whichever is greater.
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7) |
Am I entitled to any other
benefits after I retire?
Yes. One is the post retirement allowance, which is an automatic
annual increase of 2 ½% of your basic pension beginning the year after
your retirement on July 1 and on each July 1 thereafter. This allowance is designed to help offset the rising cost of
living and it has no ceiling.
Another
is the Health Fund benefits, primarily the medical, adult dental, vision,
prescription and life insurance plans, which are provided at no premium
cost if you retire with at least 10 years of credited service and you were
hired prior to June 30, 1996.
Coverage can also be extended to your spouse and dependent children
under age 19.
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8) |
What if I become disabled?
You
can apply for ordinary or service-connected disability retirement.
If you are incapacitated and unable to file your own application
for disability benefits, the person appointed by the family court as
guardian can file on your behalf.
To
qualify for ordinary disability retirement, you must be in service or on
an approved leave of absence without pay at the time an application is
filed; you must have at least 10 years of credited service excluding sick
leave credit; and the ERS Medical Board must find that you are permanently
disabled due to natural causes.
To
qualify for service-connected disability retirement, the ERS Medical Board
must find that you are permanently disabled for your job due to an
accident that happened while you were working that was not due to your
willful negligence. Also,
your employer must file an accident report with the Department of Labor
and Industrial Relations and provide the ERS with a copy.
An application for service-connected disability retirement must be
filed within two years of the accident or the date workers’ compensation
benefits stop.
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9) |
What kind of benefits am I
entitled to if I become disabled?
If
you are determined to be permanently disabled due to natural causes and
you have at least 10 years of credited service, you are entitled to an
ordinary disability pension for life of 1 ¼% of your AFC or salary
multiplied by your years of credited service and unreduced if you are
under age 62.
Regardless
of service, if you are permanently disabled as a result of a
service-connected accident, you are entitled to a service-connected
disability pension for life calculated as specified above.
The amount of this benefit, however, shall not be less than 15% of
your AFC.
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10) |
What kind of benefit will my
beneficiary receive if I die in service?
If
your death is due to natural causes and you are not on leave without pay
and you have at least 10 years of service credit, your surviving spouse
and your dependent children under age 18 will receive a monthly benefit.
This benefit is payable to your surviving spouse until remarriage
and to your dependent children until they attain age 18.
If
your death is due to a job-related accident, there is no minimum service
credit requirement and a monthly benefit is payable to your surviving
spouse and dependent children with the same restrictions mentioned above.
Since
the law specifies that only your surviving spouse and dependent children
are eligible for the death benefits, you do not have to designate a
beneficiary.
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11) |
Am I entitled to any benefits if
I terminate my employment?
If
you are credited with 10 or more years of service at the time of your
termination, you are considered vested and you will be eligible for a
service retirement benefit at age 65.
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12) |
Can I borrow from the ERS?
ERS
has a program under its investment portfolio known as the ERS Member Home
Loan Program. Under this
program, mortgage loans are available to qualified members for the purpose
of acquiring or constructing their principal place of residence.
These loans are handled by many local banks, savings and loan associations and mortgage
finance companies. If
interested, contact these institutions.
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