Elections Being Held for Three Seats on the OPERS Board of Trustees
Elections for three seats on the OPERS and Ohio Deferred Compensation Boards of Trustees will be held this year. Those elected will serve four-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2018.
The three seats up for election in 2017 include one representative for each of the following groups:
- County Employees – Representing approximately 87,600 members working at a county job within the state.
- Miscellaneous Employees – Representing approximately 46,000 members working at employers not included in one of the other groups, such as: park districts, conservancy districts, sanitary districts, health districts, townships, metropolitan housing authorities, state retirement systems, public libraries, county law libraries, union cemeteries, joint hospitals or institutional commissaries within the state.
- Retirees – One of two seats representing approximately 177,500 age and service, disability, defined contribution plan, and re-employed retirees.
Any active OPERS member, with the exception of one receiving a disability benefit, is eligible for election to represent the members of their employee group on the OPERS Board of Trustees. Re-employed retirees along with age and service, disability, and defined contribution plan retirees are eligible to run for the Retiree seat.
To help inform your employees about the upcoming election, you received a poster with the June 1 Employer Notice. The poster can be displayed in common areas to make employees aware of the upcoming election. Additional posters can be ordered on the Employer Forms page of opers.org or by contacting your employer account representative at 1-888-400-0965 or employeroutreach@opers.org.
Additional resources you can share with employees include:
- Candidate Guidelines
- Nominating Petition Instructions for Employee Candidates
- Nominating Petition for an Employee Candidate to the OPERS Board of Trustees
- Employee Representative Biographical Statement
- Certification by Candidate for Election
- Board Member Job Description
- State Required Campaign Finance Forms 2017 packet
These materials can be downloaded and printed from the OPERS website. If you have branch offices, please inform the human resources departments that the above information is available on our website, including instructions for ordering the election poster.
OPERS Conducts Experience Study, Reduces Discount Rate
The OPERS funding plan is based on actuarial assumptions representing long-term expectations of membership demographics and economic activity impacting the System. In 2016, the OPERS Board of Trustees’ actuarial consultant conducted a five-year experience study for the period 2011 through 2015. By both Ohio law and best practice, OPERS reviews its assumptions every five years. The experience study compares assumptions to actual experience and reviews historical trends and forward projections to assess various economic factors and demographic experiences of our membership. This comparison helps determine the appropriate set of assumptions to keep the plan on a path toward full funding.
As a result of the study, OPERS modified some of the assumptions used in pension plan funding. A key trend in the demographic assumption was that life expectancy continues to improve and therefore, actuarial professionals have developed new mortality tables that automatically incorporate expected improvements in life expectancies. There was also a significant reduction in disability rates driven by recent changes in the disability program that encourages disabled participants, that are able, to seek rehabilitation to return to work.
Another significant change was to the assumption used to estimate future investment earnings in the actuarial valuation, also referred to as the discount rate. The Board approved a reduction in this assumption from 8.0 percent to 7.5 percent for pension investments. The changes made to the pension and health care funds in 2012 strengthened both funds, and positioned OPERS to make this actuarial assumed rate of return adjustment. The move to a lower assumed rate of return, among other assumption changes coming out of the experience study, increased the time it will take to pay off all of OPERS’ unfunded pension liabilities by one year, from 19 to 20 years as of Dec. 31, 2015. OPERS remains well under the 30-year amortization period required by Ohio law.
All employers received a letter in mid-May from the OPERS Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer providing more detail about the experience study.
New Health Care Change Notification Form Created
A new form was created for employers to notify OPERS of a change in health care coverage for re-employed retirees. The Notice of Change in Employer Health Care Coverage: OPERS Benefit Recipient (HCCHGEMNR) form has been created for employers to communicate changes such as:
- New availability of employer health care coverage
- Loss of eligibility for employer health care coverage
It is important for OPERS to receive this notification because re-employed retirees (not independent contractors) are prohibited from participating in the OPERS HRA and OPERS RMA. Re-employed retirees are not eligible for a monthly HRA allowance, if applicable, or reimbursement of any medical expenses incurred by the retiree or his/her dependents during the re-employment period. If a re-employed retiree receives such an allowance and/or reimbursement, the retiree may be liable to OPERS and/or the applicable plan for overpayment.
Please keep in mind, this form does not replace the Notice of Re-employment or Contract Services of an OPERS or Other System Benefit Recipient form (SR-6) which provides notification of the hiring of individuals who are currently receiving a benefit from OPERS.
Changes to Membership Process for Elected Officials
In order to streamline the membership application process for qualifying elected officials, employers are required to complete the paper Personal History Record/Elected Official Membership Form (Form A). This paper form is required for individuals who wish to elect OPERS membership for the elective service and serves as the elected official’s application for membership. For this reason, do not submit the Form A for elected officials through ECS.
Things to keep in mind:
- Elected officials with a prior election for membership, or those who are receiving a retirement benefit from any of the Ohio retirement systems, are required to contribute to OPERS. The newly elected official should be able to confirm either of these scenarios for you. ECS reporting employers can also use the “SSN lookup” feature to determine whether the individual is an OPERS benefit recipient.
- For any elected official who is an OPERS benefit recipient, be sure to submit a Notice of Re-employment of Retired Elected Official or Appointed Official to an Elected Position form (SR-6/6E).
- When submitting the paper Form A for elected officials, the salary begin date, member’s signature date on the form, and pay period begin date of the first report should match. Contributions for periods prior to the member’s signature date will be refunded back to the employer.
Newly Enacted Law May Impact Members
The enactment of Amended Sub. House Bill 520 included changes to survivor benefits, refunds and the OPERS Law Enforcement and Public Safety division. Below is a summary of the changes that may impact your employees.
Survivor benefits
OPERS no longer requires a child, ages 18 to 22, to be attending an institution of learning or training in order to receive survivor benefits. If certain conditions are met, OPERS will resume paying survivor benefits to qualifying children under age 22 whose benefits were terminated because they were not in school. Qualified survivors must contact OPERS to obtain and complete the Survivor Benefit Application for Child Over 18 (SB-18YRAPP) form by April 6, 2018. The benefit will be effective on the first of the month following OPERS receipt of the application and will continue until the survivor reaches age 22 or the end of eligibility. Benefits will not be paid retroactively.
If an OPERS member is also a member of the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio and/or the School Employees Retirement System of Ohio, OPERS will honor the most recent beneficiary designation if the member is eligible for a combined survivor benefit.
Refunds
The period of time that must elapse before an OPERS member may apply for a refund has been reduced from three months to two months.
Law Enforcement and Public Safety Divisions
Five new classifications have been established for the OPERS Law Enforcement and Public Safety divisions:
- Special police officer for a municipal airport
- Special police officer for a port authority
- Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation investigators
- Ohio Department of Taxation investigators
- Ohio Casino Control Commission gaming agents
These changes apply to new hires in these positions and current members in these positions may elect to contribute to law enforcement or public safety going forward. If a member chooses to elect law enforcement or public safety, they must submit a H.B. 520 Law Enforcement/Public Safety Election (ELEHB520) form, which must be received by OPERS by July 5, 2017. Employers with these positions were requested to contact Employer Services as described in the Employer Notice dated March 8, 2017.
Tips for Reporting Seasonal or Intermittent Employees
Summer is here and with it comes an influx of seasonal or intermittent hires. Below are a few things to keep in mind when reporting seasonal hires to make sure you’re doing it right – for you, your employees and OPERS.
Consider these tips:
- Employers are required to ensure OPERS enrollment for all qualified employees—even if the employees are seasonal—that means withholding and remitting retirement contributions.
- Consider seasonal employees just like any new employee—this means you’ll need to:
- Complete and submit the Personal History Record (Form A) within 30 days of the employee’s first day worked for which retirement contributions are withheld. If the seasonal employee is a re-employed retiree you will need to complete the Notice of Re-employment or Contract Services of an OPERS or Other System Benefit Recipient (SR-6) form.
- If a seasonal employee is returning, a new Form A does not need to be completed if the employee is returning within a year.
- Report both new and returning employees with a Pay Period Begin (PPB) code of S for seasonal/intermittent for the Contributions Report on which the employee is listed.
When the employee terminates for the season:
- Report final contributions with a Pay Period End (PPE) code of Q (quit).
- If the employee will be returning next year, or intermittently, and you consider them still to be working for you, report the final contribution code the same as the PPB code—S.
- It is especially important to remit the proper PPE code for re-employed retirees as there may be a direct impact on the retiree’s ability to receive an HRA allowance.
Spotlight on: Molly Bland and Laura Norman
Senior Compliance Specialists Molly Bland and Laura Norman may be familiar faces to many OPERS employers as they’ve been travelling across the state completing employer census data validations.
Molly Bland and Laura Norman
Molly Bland, senior employer compliance specialist, joined OPERS in 1991 and continues to play an important role in Employer Services. Laura Norman, senior employer compliance specialist, joined OPERS in 2003 and remains an integral part of the Employer Services team.
Molly’s and Laura’s responsibilities include earnable salary and membership determinations including carryover employer situations, and employer census data validations. They also review and approve conversion, contribution pick-up and early retirement incentive plans. They process complex employer and member account corrections and educate employer payroll and HR staff on reporting policies and procedures, applicable changes in the law and other employer-related topics.
Employer Educational Offerings
Visit the Employer Educational Opportunities page of opers.org to view new and updated webinars.
Employer Overview: Law Enforcement and Public Safety
Law Enforcement employees must meet specific criteria to contribute and be reported under the Law Enforcement or Public Safety Divisions of OPERS. This presentation provides an overview of the requirements for proper classification.
Employer Overview: Law Enforcement and Public SafetyDenied In-term Salary Increase
Elected officials whose salary is increased during a term of office and who are not eligible to receive the additional salary due to constitutional provisions may make additional contributions to OPERS. This presentation provides an overview of the process.
Denied In-term Salary IncreaseSpecial OPERS Event for Employers: Lifecycle Education Initiative
Data shows most members do not reach out for retirement education until the end of their public service career. This webinar will explain how OPERS can partner with you, our employers, to provide needed financial and retirement education to your employees.
Special OPERS Event for Employers: Lifecycle Education Initiative