Updated Personal History Record (Form A) Now Available

OPERS has released an updated Personal History Record/Elected Official Membership form (Form A). The new Form A is available now and can be found by visiting opers.org and clicking on Form and Documents under the Employer tab at the top of the home page. If you are unable to locate the updated document, please contact Employer Outreach and they will send you a copy. The new Form A is dated 9/2020 in the bottom, left corner of each page. Please discard any older versions and begin using the updated version immediately.

Remember if you are an ECS user, you must submit the Form A on ECS. The only exception is if the member is an Elected Official. If an Elected Official would like to opt into OPERS, the paper Form A should be submitted.
The Form A is required to be submitted within 30 days of employment commencing. When the Form A has not been remitted and a contribution is received for a member, you will receive a notification on ECS. Any Form A that is missing will be displayed in the Recent Activity box found on the ECS main page.

When your Recent Activity box indicates that you are missing a Form A for one or more members, it is important to submit those Personal History Records on ECS. The only exception affects Elected Officials. If the employee in question is an Elected Official, you must submit the paper Form A and notify Employer Outreach so that we can remove that missing Form A request from the list.

If you see a notification in ECS that you are missing a Form A for a member in ECS, but you previously submitted the Form A or if the notification contains incorrect information for the member (such as the SSN), please contact Employer Outreach to have the Form A request removed.

OPERS Membership for Elected Officials

With another election approaching, it is important to know the rules for Elected Officials and when they have the option to choose to contribute toward an OPERS pension benefit.

Elected Officials are the only classification that have the option to opt into OPERS and are not automatically classified as contributing members. However, OPERS membership is required if any of the following applies:

• If the newly elected official is receiving a benefit from any Ohio Retirement Systems.
• If the newly elected official previously opted into OPERS as an elected official and did not refund their account following their previous elective service.

It is important to submit a completed, paper copy of the Form A for each Elected Official who wish to participate in OPERS in a timely manner. We will allow contributions to begin being reported within the same month that the Elected Official provides their signature on the Form A. Any contributions reported prior to the month of the Elected Official's signature will be refunded back to the employer as unauthorized contributions.

ECS Updates

A recent addition to the ECS main menu is the Settings button.

• If you registered as a user in ECS under only one authentication method -  email, cell phone number, or work phone number; you may wish to click on the Settings button so you can register two additional methods for authenticating yourself as a user. The next time you log into ECS, take a moment to click Settings and make this update. Having multiple methods of authentication provides options when you are using a computer other than what you normally use to access ECS.
• You can also click the Settings button to change your challenge prompt question and answer in case you need to reset your password unexpectantly. Passwords can be changed within the Settings menu as well. For more information, click the Help button in ECS and view Getting Started.

Attention ECS Delegated Administrators – if an ECS user's email address has changed, you will need to make that change for them under Viewing and Modifying Users by clicking the ECS User Management button. ECS users who are not the delegated administrator cannot update their email address themselves.

Another new item is the Pending Re-employed Retiree Inquiries. When an employee has applied for retirement and indicated his/her intent to return to work after retiring, OPERS will issue this notification in the Recent Activities box on the ECS main page. We advise the employer to verify the return date with the employee and submit a Notice of Re-Employment or Contract Services of an OPERS or Other System Benefit Recipient Form  (SR-6) or Notice of Re-Employment of Retired Elected Official or Appointed Official to an Elected Position Form (SR-6E) once the date is known.

• This feature does not represent all required SR-6 or SR-6E forms needed by the employer. It is the employer's responsibility to ensure the form has been submitted. If you re-employ someone who is receiving a benefit from OPERS and is employed as an employee, contract employee, or an Independent Contractor, this form is required. The form is also required when the retiree is waiving or not receiving compensation but is working in a capacity as described above.
• The forms should be completed in ECS or returned to OPERS by the end of the first month of employment. Failure to provide OPERS with timely notice of re-employment will result in employer liability for overpaid benefits and can impact the retiree's health care coverage or Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) allowance.

ECS is supported by the Internet Explorer browser. Many employers can use other browsers without issue while some other experience issues using other browsers. We are working to update the compatibility of ECS with other browsers such as Chrome and Edge. Keep an eye out for updates.

Year-End Reporting

As we approach the end of 2020, we want to remind you of the importance of timely and accurate year-end reporting. Timely year-end reporting allows us to generate accurate annual statements for members. Please ensure that the December 2020 report is submitted no later than February 2, 2021.

For employers with employees meeting or exceeding the Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a)(17) limits, please ensure you have reported the correct amount of contributions up to the appropriate limit. A breakdown of contributions for 2020 wages that would be considered earnable salary but are not reported because the member met the Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a)(17) limit, should be submitted no later than January 22, 2021. A letter will be sent to affected employers in early December.

Seasonal Reminders

Annual Non-Contributing list - Each year employers are required to submit an annual non-contributing list identifying non-contributing individuals. Non-contributing individuals are those providing services to a public employer and earning compensation but are not contributing to OPERS.
Employers must:

• Submit a Social Security Number for each person on the non-contributing list.
• Ensure they are using the correct indicator which describes the individual's non-contributing status.
• Submit the non-contributing lists to OPERS by January 31, 2021. If you report on ECS, your non-contributing list should be submitted on ECS.

Annual Conversion Plans must be submitted to Employer Services each calendar year by March 31. All plans must be approved before any conversion payments are made if the payment is to be reported as earnable salary. The payment is for leave accrued in the calendar year and cannot exceed the maximums defined in the plan document.

Conversion payments must be submitted on a supplemental report and must be accompanied by the OPERS Conversion Payments document (CONVDOC). A copy of the CONVDOC template can be found by visiting opers.org and clicking on Form and Documents under the Employer tab at the top of the home page.

Plans can be submitted for review by mail, fax 614-857-1138 or by email at employeroutreach@opers.org, but cannot be retroactively approved.

2021 Reporting Data Due Dates

Educational Opportunities
Employers can request a site visit with a compliance specialist at any time. The specialist can cover ECS and OPERS related topics such as how to submit reports, payments, and large earnings; earnable salary; membership determinations; and compliance related topics. Contact Employer Outreach to schedule a site visit.

We also offer interactive webinars and online recorded presentations that cover topics such as:

• Contribution Reporting
• Earnable Salary
• ECS Demonstrations
• Non-Contributing List
• Pick-Up Plans
• OPERS Membership Determination

You can register for an employer webinar online or view a recoded presentation at your convenience.

Additional Notes & Reminders

• We'll be sending out more email notifications to inform you of documents or information pending in ECS. Because of this it's important to make sure that all ECS users' information is updated, especially email addresses. If an ECS user is no longer with your organization, please deactivate their ECS profile. If you need help with this, please contact Employer Outreach.

• Make sure you're using the most up-to-date forms. Forms can be found on the Forms & Documents page of opers.org.

• When submitting any employer form please make sure the document is signed by an authorized signer, or we cannot accept the form.

If you have any questions, please contact OPERS Employer Outreach at 888-400-0965 or email us at employeroutreach@opers.org. Thank you for your continued partnership with OPERS.

Additional Notes & Reminders

• We'll be sending out more email notifications to inform you of documents or information pending in ECS. Because of this, it's important to make sure that all ECS users' information is updated, especially email addresses. If an ECS user is no longer with your organization, please deactivate their ECS profile. If you need help with this, please contact Employer Outreach.

• Make sure you're using the most up-to-date forms. Forms can be found on the Forms & Documents page of opers.org.

• When submitting any employer form please make sure the document is signed by an authorized signer, or we cannot accept the form.

If you have any questions, please contact OPERS Employer Outreach at 888-400-0965 or email us at employeroutreach@opers.org. Thank you for your continued partnership with OPERS.