Purpose

To inform agencies that employees will now be able to make both before and/or after tax (Roth) contributions to the NYS Deferred Compensation Plan.

Affected Employees

Employees enrolled in the NYS Deferred Compensation Plan

Effective Date(s)

Institution checks dated July 28, 2011
Administration checks dated August 3, 2011

Background

As permitted by the Small Business Jobs & Credit Act of 2010, the NYS Deferred Compensation Plan was recently amended to allow employees to make contributions to the plan on both a before and/or after tax basis up to their annual IRS deferral limit.

Employee Actions

Initially, employees will be required to contact the NYS Deferred Compensation HELPLINE at (800) 422-8463 and speak to a HELPLINE representative in order to facilitate after tax (Roth) contribution transactions.

The plan intends to allow employees to facilitate Roth contribution transactions via the secure portion of the plan website at www.nysdcp.com at a later date. Employees should monitor the plan website or newsletter for future announcements regarding this feature.

Check/Advice Statements

The deduction narrative “Deferred Comp” will be displayed under both the “Before Tax Deductions” and “After Tax Deductions” heading sections of the check/advice statement for all employees who make a current year contribution to the plan since the plan now offers both types of contributions.

As a result, the “Current” and “YTD” fields will be blank in either the “Before Tax Deductions” or “After Tax Deductions” section for those employees who elect to make contributions exclusively on a before tax or after tax basis during the calendar year.

OSC Actions

OSC will process a weekly file as submitted by the plan’s third party administrator, Nationwide Retirement Solutions (NRS).

Agency Actions

Notify Employees.

Agency staff will be able to verify the current contribution election(s) in effect for an employee by reviewing the employee’s Savings Plans panel in PayServ via the path Benefits > Enroll in Benefits > Savings Plans.

Questions

Employees with questions should be directed to the NYS Deferred Compensation HELPLINE at (800) 422-8463.

Agency questions regarding this bulletin should be directed to the Payroll Deduction mailbox.