Purpose

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

Affected Employees

CUNY 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

SUNY employees who currently have any of the following deductions are affected:

Deduction Code Narrative Description

404 SUNY 403(b) Plan

412 SUNY 403 Roth

Education Department, School for the Blind, and School for the Deaf 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 not increase for 2021 and will remain at $19,500.
• 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 2021.
• An additional deferment is also available to CUNY (NYT TDA code 414 only) 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 2021.
• o SUNY participants with deduction codes 404 and 412, CUNY participants with deduction codes 400, 403, and 413, and Education Department, School for the Blind and School for the Deaf employees with deduction code 432 are not eligible to participate in the 15-Year Rule as determined by CUNY, SUNY and State Education department respectively.

Effective Dates

Effective beginning Administration checks dated January 6, 2021 and Institution checks dated January 14, 2021.

OSC Actions

To help prevent employees from making excess 403(b) deferrals in 2021, 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 6, 2021 and January 14, 2021. These effective dates are as follows:

The new effective-dated row will reflect:

• The employee’s current biweekly deferral election.
• The regular maximum contribution amount of $19,500 for 2021 in the Goal Amount field.

Agency Actions

If a change to the employee’s current deduction or Goal Amount for 2021 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 18, 2020 for Administration agencies and December 24, 2020 for Institution 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 2021 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 2021 deferral limit. Agencies must also ensure the employee’s date of birth is correctly reflected in PayServ to allow the “age 50 and over” limit to be reached.

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.

To prevent employees from making excess 403(b) deferrals in 2021, 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 the Payroll Retirement mailbox.