Purpose
The purpose of this bulletin is to provide agencies with instructions to update Tier 6 employees’ Savings Plans pages due to the two-year look back.
Affected Employees
Tier 6 VDC members are affected.
Background
On March 16, 2012, the Governor signed legislation creating Tier 6. This tier applies to employees joining a retirement system after March 31, 2012. This legislation authorized the creation of a new Tier 6 pension plan including a VDC plan. (See Payroll Bulletin No. 1256)
Effective April 2013, employee contribution rates are to be based on an employee’s annual wage as required by legislation.
Once a Tier 6 member has reached three (3) calendar years of membership, an employee’s contribution rate is based on annual pensionable salary from the earlier of the two prior calendar years.*
*Total salary should include VDC pensionable salary of all jobs, including salary not in PayServ.
Employee Contribution Rates
| Wages | Contribution Rate |
|---|---|
| $45,000.00 or less | 3% |
| $45,000.01 to $55,000.00 | 3.5% |
| $55,000.01 to $75,000.00 | 4.5% |
| $75,000.01 to $100,000.00 | 5.75% |
| $100,000.01 and Greater | 6% |
Benefit Plans and Narrative Descriptions
| Benefit Plan | Description |
|---|---|
| T6VDCB | VDC T6-3-6PCT-ER8PCT |
Effective Dates
Effective in Administration paychecks dated February 1, 2023, and Institution paychecks dated February 9, 2023.
Agency Actions
Agencies must update the Savings Plans page, changing the Percent of Earnings/Contribution Rate based on review of the “two-year look back” salary.
Locked query, LQ_RET_2_YR_LOOKBACK_VDC, provides employee earnings by Dept ID for the calendar year entered. If the query returns multiple rows for an employee, earnings from each row must be combined, determining the “two-year look back” salary. When the query prompts for:
- Calendar Year - Enter 2021.
- Minimum Elect Date - Enter 07/01/2013
- Maximum Elect Date - Enter 01/02/2020
Please note that this query is not yet available. This bulletin will be updated with the locked query as soon as it is made available.
The Savings Plans page must be updated for participants with a Payroll Status of Active, Leave of Absence, Leave with Pay, and Terminated, prioritizing active records over terminated records.
Updating Percent of Earnings/Contribution Rate
Agencies must adhere to the 2022-2023 Agency Submission Schedule when updating the Savings Plan panel in PayServ to affect the February 1, 2023 (Administration) and February 9, 2023 (Institution) check dates.
- Open the Savings Plans page. (Home > Benefits > Enroll In Benefits > Savings Plans)
- Enter Empl ID into search box.
- Click Search.
- Select correct Empl Rcd number for corresponding Job Record (if multiple records exist).
- Insert row in Coverage section and enter payroll period begin date into Deduction Begin Date and Coverage Begin Date fields.
- Enter the employee’s Date of Membership into Election Date field.
Note: The same election date should be carried forward from previous row. - Enter the employee’s Benefit Plan into Benefit Plan field.
Note: The same Benefit Plan should be carried forward from previous row. - Enter appropriate Percent of Earnings/Contribution Rate, dependent upon the employee’s total VDC pensionable earnings. (See charts in ‘Background’ section to determine new Percent of Earnings/Contribution Rate.)
- Save transaction.
- Enter General Comments: “VDC Savings Plans page updated for 2023 Two Year Look-Back.”
Questions
Questions regarding the VDC two-year look back may be directed to SUNY University-Wide Benefits at [email protected].
Questions regarding PayServ entries may be directed to the Payroll Retirement mailbox.