Retirement Monitor - December 2018

Table of Contents

• REMINDER: Correcting ORBIT Employer Errors: The Time is Now!
• Annual Limits in 2019 for Retirement System Compensation
• Help Your Employees Update Beneficiaries
• Reminder for Employers with State Health Plan Members
• Watch for New State Health Plan ID Cards!​
• Kudos!

REMINDER: Correcting ORBIT Employer Errors: The Time is Now!

RSD is preparing to issue 2018 myNCRetirement Statements (formerly known as the Annual Benefits Statement) for active employees who contributed to their retirement system account before December 31, 2018.

To help us generate accurate myNCRetirement Statements for your employees, please respond to your Employer Reporting Team representative promptly so that any issues can be addressed and necessary adjustments can be processed as soon as possible. As a reminder, employers now have access to their monthly ORBIT Error Reports on our website: 

1. Log into ORBIT as an employer
2. Under the REPORTING options, select “Report Viewer”
3. Select the “Employer Reporting” report type
4. Select the “Detail Records in Error by Agency and Report Month – Self Service” report
5. Select the “Report Month” and “Report Year.
6. The “Exception Type” and “Source of Entry” are auto-populated and cannot be changed
7. Select the Export Type which is either “Adobe PDF” or “Excel”

You can now check your monthly ORBIT errors as soon as your report has posted. You may save this report and add your response on how to correct the error message, and then email the report to your ORBIT Employer Reporting Team representative. Your representative will correct these records in error status according to your written instructions.

All outstanding ORBIT reporting error responses should be submitted no later than December 31, 2018. If you fail to provide a timely response, then your employees may receive an incorrect myNCRetirement Statement, or they may not receive one at all!

Not sure who your Employer Reporting Team representative is, or have other questions? Call 877-627-3287, and select option 4 from the main menu.

Annual Limits in 2019 for Retirement System Compensation

Federal and state legal limitations on annual compensation for employees in pension plans apply to several North Carolina retirement plans, including the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System (TSERS), Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System (LGERS), Consolidated Judicial Retirement System (CJRS), and Optional Retirement Program (ORP). The limitations may be adjusted from year to year according to Section 401(a)(17) of the Internal Revenue Code. The limitations for calendar (tax) year 2019 are as follows:

• For any member of TSERS, LGERS or CJRS who was hired before January 1, 1996, or an ORP member hired before July 1, 1996, the annual limit on compensation subject to retirement contributions is $415,000 for calendar (tax) year 2019.
• For any employee hired on and after January 1, 1996, who is a member or becomes a member of TSERS, LGERS, or CJRS, or an ORP member hired on or after July 1, 1996, the annual limit on compensation subject to retirement contributions is $280,000 for calendar (tax) year 2019.

Since an employee’s membership service is credited based on the months when contributions are received by the retirement system, the employer needs to follow certain steps to ensure that a highly-compensated employee receives retirement credit for each month of service after exceeding the annual limit.

Reporting TSERS Members:

• Should be reported through ORBIT Payroll Reporting under the STG plan code from the beginning of the year to the month the member exceeds the annual limit.
• In the month after the member exceeds the limit, the employee should be reported as STMAX.
• If the member exceeds the limit in the middle of a month, the monthly salary should be reported as two separate records, one under STG and one under STMAX. The pay period for that month should also be split between the two plan code records.
• When reporting under STMAX, the salary should be included but no contributions should be reported. Membership service credit is accrued under both of these plan codes.

Reporting LGERS Members:

• Should be reported through ORBIT Payroll Reporting under the LOCG plan code from the beginning of the year to the month the member exceeds the annual limit.
• In the month after the member exceeds the limit, the employee should be reported as LOCMAX.
• If the member exceeds the limit in the middle of a month, the monthly salary should be reported as two separate records, one under LOCG and one under LOCMAX. The pay period for that month should also be split between the two plan code records.
• When reporting under LOCMAX, the salary should be included but no contributions should be reported. Membership service credit is accrued under both of these plan codes.

Reporting ORP Members:

• Should be reported through ORBIT Payroll Reporting under the ORPG plan code from the beginning of the year to the month the member exceeds the annual limit.
• In the month after the member exceeds the limit, the employee should be reported as ORPMAX.
• If the member exceeds the limit in the middle of a month, the monthly salary should be reported as two separate records, one under ORPG and one under ORPMAX. The pay period for that month should also be split between the two plan code records.
• When reporting under ORPMAX, the salary should be included but no contributions should be reported. Membership service credit is accrued under both of these plan codes.

If you have any questions regarding employer reporting, please contact the ORBIT Payroll Reporting Section by e-mail at OER@nctreasurer.com or by phone at 1-877-627-3287.

Help Your Employees Update Beneficiaries​

Please encourage your employees to visit our Designating Beneficiaries web page for information about how to update their beneficiaries for the NC pension plans, supplemental retirement plans, NC Flex plans and other retiree offerings. It is important that each employee review their beneficiaries regularly because payouts are made based on the beneficiary designation on file with each different plan.

Reminder for Employers with State Health Plan Members

Please make sure your employees enrolled in health coverage with the State Health Plan are aware of the following: 2019 health benefit premium amounts will be deducted from December paychecks or pension checks. This is a great time for your employees to make sure that all of their insurance elections (and credits) are properly deducted.

In addition, all plan members should receive a new ID card by mid-December (see below).

Watch for New State Health Plan ID Cards!

The State Health Plan ID card has been redesigned for all members on the 70/30 and 80/20 plans. New members may have already seen one, but all members will receive them in December. The new cards, which will reflect the action taken during Open Enrollment, have a new look to provide greater transparency about benefits as well as better descriptions of services and required copay amounts.

The new ID card also highlights the fact that the plan and taxpayers ultimately pay plan medical bills – NOT Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC). They process claims and provide a network of medical providers, but the money to pay medical bills comes from members and taxpayers. In short, the new design helps underscore the value of the plan benefit.

In addition, UnitedHealthcare (UHC) members will receive new cards in the mail this year. UHC members should be sure to watch for them.

Please take a minute to review the new ID card when it arrives in the mail, and make sure to keep it handy! However, if it does get lost, members may follow these steps to get a replacement.

Kudos!