Retirement Monitor - August 2025

In this issue:

• myNCRetirement.com to myNCRetirement.gov
• Agency Number & Name
• Timely Reporting and Invoice Payments
• Run your own Monthly Error Reports
• Employer Payroll Reporting
• Contribution Rates for Employers
• Investment Returns in the Retirement Systems
• Efficient and Secure Payroll Submission for the NC 401(k) and NC 457 Plans
• Member and Employer Events
• Open Enrollment for Supplemental Insurance and the State Health Plan
• Finance Fridays with the Treasurer

The North Carolina Retirement Systems is changing its domain.  

Our official website will become myNCRetirement.gov on August 21.  

This change will increase security and searchability in our online presence and maintain domain integrity as eligibility is limited to qualified and approved government organizations and programs.  

This change will assure users they are accessing the official website of the North Carolina Retirement Systems. All services and trusted, reliable information will remain the same.

Share this news with your teams and make sure to update your bookmarks and saved access.

Agency Number & Name
Please remember to include both your ORBIT 5-digit Agency Number & Name both in the subject line on all communications and on all Forms.

Timely Reporting and Invoice Payments 
To maintain correct information, it is important that you take time to correct errors in ORBIT. 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.

Adjustment Codes must be used to prevent payroll errors:

Prior: Adding omitted salary to a previously reported pay period.
Retro: Adding omitted salary to a unique pay period that hasn’t been reported.

Run your own Monthly Error Reports – This is to assist you with updating your records as needed.

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”  

Employer Payroll Reporting

Your first point of contact is your assigned Employer Reporting Specialist, rather than the Orbit Employer Reporting OER@nctreasurer.com mailbox for:

• Payroll Reporting or Payroll error corrections.
• Employee Demographic changes (legible copies of Social Security card, Driver’s License, Passport or other Government issued ID) that verifies the changed information.
• Form ERRWK or Form 316 (all other Forms email to MemberRecords@nctreasurer.com)
• Please contact your assigned Employer Reporting Specialist (who sends your Agency Payroll Error report) directly to their email address or phone (919) 814-4590 (please listen to the options as they are subject to change and select Employer Reporting).

Employer Contribution Rates for TSERS, CJRS and LRS

On Aug. 6, 2025, Governor Stein signed HB 125 – Continuing Budget Operations.  

Section 3.6. – Salary-Related Contributions: Effective July 1, 2025, the Employer Contribution Rates for TSERS, CJRS, and LRS are adjusted. Please see the table below for the rates. RSD will issue Retroactive Rate Adjustment invoices (either positive or negative) for the impact of the individual adjustments on each employer dating back to July 2025 service. Please note, the new law only includes budgeted employer contribution rates for fiscal year 2025-26, but those could still change and are subject to further modification upon the passing of a full budget.

*The “supplemental retirement” contributions for State Law Enforcement Officers are paid to Empower for the NC 401(k) Plan.

______________________________________________________________________________

LGERS Contribution Rates

Employer contribution rates effective July 1, 2025, for employers participating in the Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System (LGERS) LGERS employer contribution rates effective July 1, 2025, are posted to the Retirement Systems' website.

The rates are posted publicly rather than mailing individual letters to every employer to improve efficiency and transparency and reduce costs. The table is ordered by five-digit employer code but is also searchable (by employer name) within a browser, or by downloading the PDF and using “Edit”->”Find” in Adobe.

If you have questions about this information after reviewing the document, you may contact Employer Reporting at 919-814-9816.  

Investment Return “Smoothing” in the Retirement Systems

The funding and administration of the Retirement Systems are based on the assumption that the funds can earn investment returns of 6.50% each year. In just the first six months of 2025 (January to June), the estimated total percentage investment return was 6.11%, a strong start to the year.

In thinking about what this may mean in the long term, it is important to understand that official actuarial measurements and recommendations are not based on market performance for a single month, quarter, or even year. Once the investment return for a calendar year is known, it is compared to the assumption of 6.50%, and any gains or losses work their way into the actuarial measurements over a five-year period. For example, if the investments earn 16.50% on market value in a calendar year, that would be a gain of 10%, which would increase the assets measured for actuarial purposes by about 2% per year for the next five years. The opposite is true if the investments earn less than 6.50% (i.e., a loss). It does not reduce the asset measurement immediately, but gradually over five years.

This “smoothing” is an intentional part of the actuarial methodology. It helps ensure that investment gains or losses can be validated over a reasonable period of time before lawmakers or the Boards of Trustees make policy changes or recommendations that could influence the long-term condition of the Retirement Systems.

If you are still submitting payroll files via paper roster for the NC 401(k) and NC 457 Plans, it is time to take action.

Submitting payroll files via paper roster is not as secure or efficient as uploading them to the Plan Service Center (PSC), Empower’s digital platform designed to connect you with the NC 401(k) and NC 457 Plans’ administrative tools and functionality.

This is why there is a transition underway for your payroll files — and any corrections using paper rosters— to be submitted using the File Upload process via the PSC in lieu of sending in paper rosters. A Payroll User’s Guide is attached to support the required steps below.

Switching to File Upload process via the PSC for payroll submissions and corrections offers key advantages:

• Provides a higher degree of visibility into the payroll process
• Allows you to access all payroll information you submitted from a centralized location
• Improves efficiency and is more secure than using email

If have questions or want join a coaching session to ensure your payroll is correctly processed and funded, please send an email to NCPlans@Empower.com.

Discover upcoming Retirement Systems webinars and events. Registration is required.

Dental, Vision and Identity Theft Protection for Retirees – Enrollment Sept. 15 – Oct. 31

Retirees have access to the following benefits through Pierce Insurance:

• UnitedHealthcare Dental – includes a hearing discount
• UnitedHealthcare Vision – includes a hearing discount
• LifeLock by Norton – identity theft protection with device security

For more information, visit ncretiree.com.

State Health Plan Open Enrollment 
Save the Date: Oct. 13-31, 2025

This is a reminder to make sure your employees keep their contact information updated with the State Health Plan. Keeping information current allows the State Health Plan to provide members with important updates on benefits, news, and upcoming events—including Open Enrollment. Quick tips for staying informed about your health plan benefits include:

• Make sure mailing address, email, and phone number are correct in eBenefits, the Plan’s enrollment system. eBenefits can be accessed on the Plan’s website at www.shpnc.org.
• Make sure employers have correct address. Retirees need to make sure personal information is current in ORBIT and eBenefits as the two systems do not coordinate.
• Sign up for the State Health Plan’s monthly e-newsletter, Member Focus, at www.shpnc.org/MemberFocus.
• Follow the State Health Plan on Facebook and Instagram!

Whether it is knowing what to do with your paycheck, paying for higher education, about how to improve their financial literacy.  

Brad Briner is an investor by trade, a dad and the Treasurer for the State of North Carolina. Each month, his team is creating a newsletter to break down the financial world into terms we can all understand.  

Being financially literate is something everyone should strive for from the kid in school, to the worker in your office or factory, to seniors who may be relying on pensions.  We’d love to have you join us on the financial journey.  

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