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employer forumA Semiannual Bulletin for Payroll/Personnel Staff
Fall 2020
NYSLRSThomas P. DiNapoli, State Comptroller
New York State and Local Retirement System
A Message from Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoliThis year, faced with a profound health care crisis, New York’s public employees showed tremendous strength and resolve. Thank you for your commitment and reliability during these difficult times.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, we’ve continued our efforts to improve the service we provide to NYSLRS employers. As part of that, we introduced new resources in Retirement Online to help you manage your business relationship with the Retirement System.
Now, instead of using a variety of online applications, all the billing tools and infor-mation you need are conveniently located in Retirement Online. Employers can now view their Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) information, invoices and earnings reported for their employees in a centralized Billing Dashboard.
We appreciate the patience and flexibility you’ve shown as we introduced these changes.
We’ve also launched new features that make Retirement Online even more useful for NYSLRS members. See our story on page four to find out what’s new – and if you haven’t already done so, be sure to join the more than 300,000 members and retirees using Retirement Online to manage their benefits.
At NYSLRS, we place great value in our partnership with employers. We realize that your normal work routine may continue to be disrupted by the extraordinary circumstances you’ve faced this year. My staff and I are always here to help, and if you need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Thomas P. DiNapoliState Comptroller
Website: www.osc.state.ny.us/retirement Employer Forum • Fall 2020 1
IN THIS ISSUE
A Message from Comptroller DiNapoli
1
View Your Invoice in Retirement OnlineYour invoice of employer contribu-tions due February 1, 2021, is now available in Retirement Online.
To view the invoice and other billing-related information, employer contacts who have the billing security role should sign in to your Retirement Online account, and from your Ac-count Homepage, click the “Access Billing Dashboard” button.
For details about viewing and paying your invoice, please visit our Annual Employer Invoice page at www.osc.state.ny.us/retirement/employers/ employer-annual-invoice.
Speak to your Security Administrator if you need to view billing informa-tion and you are not able to access the billing dashboard in Retirement Online. If you need help accessing Retirement Online, call our help desk at 866-805-0990 and press 1 to access the employer menu, then press 1 or 6, or email us at www.osc.state.ny.us/retirement/employers/help-desk-form.
2 Employer Forum • Fall 2020 Contact Us: Toll-free: 1-866-805-0990 • Albany, NY area: 518-474-7736
Mandatory vs. Optional MembershipMembership in NYSLRS will fall into one of two categories: those who are required to join (mandatory) and those who may join if they wish (optional).
Membership is mandatory in the Employees’ Retire-ment System (ERS) for full-time, permanent 12-month positions, and in the Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS) for all full-time and part-time police officers and paid firefighters. The date of membership for mandatory members is generally the date of full-time, permanent appointment. The date of membership for optional members is the date you enroll the member in NYSLRS. Part-time, seasonal, substitute, on-call and per diem employees are required to be on your payroll, in paid status and physically at work, the day they are enrolled.
Offering Membership All employees of New York State or of a participating employer have the right to join NYSLRS. As an employer,it is your responsibility to advise these individuals of their right to join at the time of hire. Section 45 of the Retirement and Social Security Law says that you must notify new employees in writing. The law also requires that each employee must sign an acknowledgment that they have been given the opportunity to join, which you must keep on file.
You can find more information, along with a sample acknowledgment of right to membership document, on our website at www.osc.state.ny.us/retirement/employers/reporting/employers-responsibility-notify.
Optional Retirement PlansSome employees, such as those who have the option to enroll in a plan that allows for retirement after 20 or 25 years of creditable service, regardless of age, may be able to choose from more than one plan. This includes many Police and Fire Retirement System (PFRS) members and some Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) members. Please make sure that your employees know about all of the plans available to them.
Enroll Members Using Retirement Online
Enrolling new NYSLRS members in Retirement Online is a quick and easy process. Just enter the same information you would use for a paper registration form into Retirement Online, and then you’ll receive the employee’s NYSLRS ID, employment record, registration number, contribution rate and tier. You’ll receive new member information faster through Retirement Online than if you had mailed or faxed a paper application.
Mandatory vs. Optional Membership
2IN THIS ISSUE
Contact Information and Security Roles in Retirement OnlineYour organization should have a Contact Administrator and a Security Administrator who manage contact information and Retirement Online access for employers who do business with NYSLRS.
Your Contact Administrator maintains employer contact information for all indi-viduals who communicate and work with NYSLRS, including adding new contacts, removing old contacts, and modifying information for existing contacts. Your Contact Administrator should regularly review contact information in Retirement Online to ensure that employer contacts receive the information they need from NYSLRS.
Access to functions inside Retirement Online is determined by a user’s security role — this is where the Security Administrator comes in. After a new employee is added as a contact, the Security Administrator assigns security roles based on what the individual needs to do in Retirement Online (for example: report earnings, enroll new members or view employer billing information). When an employee leaves your organization, it’s important that their access is removed to avoid any mishandlingof confidential information by employees who should not have access.
If you need to change your Contact Administrator or your Security Administrator, or have questions about designating a Contact or Security Administrator or their responsibilities, email us at [email protected] or send us a message using our help desk form, at www.osc.state.ny.us/retirement/employers/help-desk-form.
For more information, visit our Contact and Security Administrator Roles page at web.osc.state.ny.us/retire/retirement_online/admin-roles.php.
Retirement Online
Help With Retirement OnlineHere are some resources that will help
you use Retirement Online to do your
retirement system work:
• Our How To page (web.osc.state.ny.us/retire/retirement_online/how-to.php) offers instructions on topics such as enrolling members and submitting your report.
• Visit our employer Retirement Online homepage (web.osc.state.ny.us/retire/retirement_online/employers.php) for Hot Topics, which we update regularly.
• Our Tips and Tricks page (web.osc.state.ny.us/retire/retirement_online/tips-tricks.php) has answers to questions you might have about Retirement Online.
If you have a question that you can't find
an answer to, feel free to reach out to us.
You can call the Retirement Online Help
Desk at 866-805-0990, Monday through
Friday, between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm.
Press 1 to access the employer menu and
then press 1. You can also send an email
using the help desk form, at www.osc.
state.ny.us/retirement/employers/
help-desk-form.
Website: www.osc.state.ny.us/retirement Employer Forum • Fall 2020 3
Contact Info andSecurity Roles in RO
3IN THIS ISSUE
New Retirement Online Features for Members Now members can do more in Retirement Online. With a Retirement Online account, members can apply for and purchase past ser-vice credit, manage loan payments, estimate their pension benefit, apply for retirement and more. Please help us spread the word by distributing some of the information found in our Retirement Online marketing toolkit at web.osc.state.ny.us/retire/retirement_online/marketing_toolkit/index.php.
Retirement Online is an essential retirement planning tool and a fast, easy way for your employees to conduct transactions with NYSLRS. We appreciate anything you can do to let your employees know about it.
4 Employer Forum • Fall 2020 Contact Us: Toll-free: 1-866-805-0990 • Albany, NY area: 518-474-7736
New Retirement OnlineFeatures for Members
4IN THIS ISSUE
2020
IMPORTANT DATES & DEADLINESNOVEMBER 2020
Annual invoices for fiscal year 2020-21 issued
DECEMBER 2020
Discounted prepayment of the annual invoice due December 15
FEBRUARY 2021
Payment of the annual invoice due February 1
MARCH 2021
Tier 6 employee contribution rates provided to employers
Thomas P. DiNapoliState Comptroller
Executive Deputy Comptroller: Colleen Gardner
Deputy Comptroller: Andrea Goldberger
Assistant Comptroller: Joseph Ruggiero
Editor: Tracy Teschka
Writers: Patrick Ruddy and Michelle Hoehn
Graphic Artist: Kathleen Helman
The Employer Forum is a semiannual news-letter published by the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) for participating employers. This newsletter is a summary of benefits, rights and respon-sibilities. It is not a substitute for New York State or federal law.
Email or mail your comments to:
NYSLRS110 State StreetAlbany, NY 12244-0001
