State Agencies Bulletin No. 1794

Subject
Supplemental Retirement Annuity (SRA) and Tax Deferred Annuity (TDA) Contribution Limits for 2020
Date Issued
December 10, 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this bulletin is to inform agencies of OSC’s annual record update process and provide data entry instructions for entering SRA and TDA deductions to ensure compliance with contribution limits.

Affected CUNY Employees

Employees who currently have any of the following deductions are affected:

Deduction Code Narrative Description
400 CUNY 403 Roth
403 Supplemental Ret Ann CUNY
413 NBE Tax Deferred Annuity
414 NYT Tax Deferred Annuity

Affected SUNY Employees

Employees who currently have any of the following deductions are affected:

Deduction Code Narrative Description
404 SUNY 403(b) Plan
412 SUNY 403 Roth

Affected Education Department, School for the Blind and School for the Deaf Employees

Employees who currently have the following deduction are affected:

Deduction Code Narrative Description
432   ED TDA Copeland

Background

Pursuant to IRS Regulations, Section 403(b):

  • The regular annual contribution amount will increase from $19,000 to $19,500 for 2020.
  • An additional deferment is available to employees age 50 and over. These employees can defer up to $6,500 in catch-up contributions in addition to their regular contribution amount for a combined total contribution limit of $26,000 in 2020.
  • An additional deferment is also available to CUNY (NYT TDA code 414 only), Education Department, School for the Blind and School for the Deaf employees who qualify for the 15-Year Rule. These employees can defer up to $3,000 in addition to their regular contribution amount for a combined contribution limit of $29,000 in 2020. SUNY participants with deduction codes 404 & 412 are not eligible to participate in the 15-Year Rule as determined by SUNY University-wide Benefits on November 27, 2018. CUNY participants with deduction codes 400, 403, & 413 are not eligible to participate in the 15-Year Rule as determined by CUNY Board of Trustees on November 23, 2015.

Effective Date(s)

Institution Paychecks dated January 2, 2020

Administration Paychecks dated January 8, 2020

OSC Actions

To help prevent employees from making excess 403(b) deferrals in 2020, OSC will insert a new effective dated row that is based on the first day of the pay period for payroll checks issued on January 2, 2020 and January 8, 2020. These effective dates are as follows:

11/28/19 Institution Extra Lag (1/2/20 check date)
12/5/19 Institution Lag (1/2/20 check date)
12/19/19 Institution Current (1/2/20 check date)
12/12/19 Administration Lag (1/8/20 check date)

The new effective dated row will reflect:

  • The employee’s current biweekly deferral election.
  • The regular maximum contribution amount of $19,500 for 2020 in the Goal Amount field.

Control-D Report Available After Processing

Agencies must review Control-D report NBEN749 (SRA/TDA Default Goal Amount) which lists participating employees. This report will be available in Control-D on or about December 13, 2019 for Institution cycle and on or about December 20, 2019 for Administration cycle.

Agency Actions

If a change to the employee’s current deduction or Goal Amount for 2020 is necessary, agencies must update the General Deduction page in accordance with the instructions below.

Note: Agencies must not begin this data entry until December 13, 2019 for Institution agencies and December 20, 2019 for Administration agencies.

When making changes, the transactions should be entered only during the processing of the pay period when the deduction will take effect. Agencies must not insert future-dated transactions for these deduction codes.

To change the Goal Amount for employees who are eligible to make additional contributions in 2020 under the “age 50 and over” and/or the “15-Year Rule”, the agency must insert a new effective dated row for the applicable SRA/TDA deduction code in the employee’s General Deduction Data record. All information will roll up on the newly inserted row. The agency must override the Goal Amount to reflect the employee’s increased 2020 deferral limit.

SUNY & CUNY agencies with employees with more than one 403(b) deferral: The combined goal amounts should not exceed the limit. Please contact the employee to see how they want the Goal Amount split.

In order to prevent employees from making excess 403(b) deferrals in 2020, agencies must not enter or change the Goal Balance Amount under any circumstances.

To change the Deduction Amount (for employees of SUNY, Education Department, School for the Blind and School for the Deaf) or the Percent (for employees of CUNY), the agency must insert a new effective dated row for the applicable SRA/TDA deduction in the employee’s General Deduction Data record and override the Deduction Amount/Percent to reflect the employee’s new biweekly deferral election.

To cancel the deduction, the agency must insert a new effective dated row for the applicable SRA/TDA deduction in the employee’s General Deduction Data record and populate the Effective Date and End Date fields with the first day of the pay period.

Questions

Questions regarding this bulletin may be directed to Payroll Retirement Mailbox