16 CSR 10-6.020 - Source of Funds
(1) Each
employer reporting to The Public Education Employee Retirement System of
Missouri shall report required data on employees and all contributions to the
retirement system using the Online Automated System Integrated Solution
(OASIS).
(2) Employers shall use
OASIS to report salary payments made to all employees, contributions withheld
from employees included in the retirement system, and supporting information
required by the board of trustees. Transmission of data must be sent to the
board of trustees no later than ten (10) working days after the last day of
each calendar month of the school year in which salaries are paid.
(3) Employers of persons included in the
retirement system shall withhold from each salary payment issued to such
persons during the school year in which the services are rendered an amount
which is the percent of salary rate required by the contribution rate then in
effect; and employers shall transmit to the board of trustees, not later than
ten (10) days after the last day of each calendar month of the school year,
twice the amount withheld during the month.
(4) All deductions of contributions from
salary payments made by employers for the retirement system are declared and
shall be considered to be funds belonging to the retirement system; and no
employer shall refund or repay any contributions or any part of any
contributions so deducted to any employee for any cause but shall transmit all
contributions deducted, together with an equal amount, to the board of
trustees, which board shall settle all claims against funds so
deducted.
(5) All contributions
withheld from salaries paid to members along with an equal contribution of the
employer shall be transmitted to the board of trustees by check, bank draft,
electronic funds transfer, or any negotiable instrument collectible at par
through a bank in the state of Missouri, made payable to The Public Education
Employee Retirement System of Missouri.
(6) If remittance for the full amount of both
employee's and employer's contributions which are due the retirement system is
not received in accordance with these regulations, it shall be considered a
failure or refusal by the employer to transmit such amount and suit for
recovery of the amount may be instituted as provided for in section
169.620, RSMo.
(7) Errors by employers in reporting of
eligibility for membership, assigning of employees, and in remitting of
contributions will be corrected retroactively, provided the employer certifies
that an error was made, provides evidence adequate to support the correction,
and remits any balance due from the employer and employee. If the employer has
overremitted, the amount of the employer's portion of the overpayments will be
credited to the employer to be applied against future contributions. The amount
withheld by the employer from the employee shall be refunded to the employee in
a manner consistent with the Internal Revenue Code.
(8) Any refund of contributions remitted in
error for a member or an employee shall include the total interest, if any,
which was credited to those contributions by the retirement system. Any credit
provided to the employer for matching employer contributions required in such
an instance shall be equal to the total amount paid to the member or employee,
including interest. Any correcting remittance of contributions for a member
shall include the total interest, if any, which would have been credited to
those contributions by the retirement system had the contributions been
remitted on a correct and timely basis. Any matching employer contribution
remitted in such an instance shall be equal to the total amount remitted for
the member, including interest.
(9)
For purposes of determining retirement contributions and benefits, salary rate
includes medical insurance premiums (including dental and vision) paid by the
employer on behalf of the member and payments made by the employer on behalf of
the member to a self-funded medical benefits plan. The employer shall withhold
from the member's salary and remit to the system contributions on any such
premiums and payments, along with matching employer contributions. The payment
reported for each member covered by a self-funded medical benefits plan shall
be determined by the employer.
(A) Salary rate
also includes payments made by the employer on behalf of the member to purchase
an annuity, or fund a deferred compensation plan, in lieu of medical insurance
or a self-funded medical benefits plan.
(B) Premiums and payments for prescription
drug, life, and other ancillary benefits determined separately from premiums
and payments for general medical benefits are not part of salary
rate.
(C) Beginning July 1, 2017,
premiums paid by the employer on behalf of the member and payments made by the
employer on behalf of the member to a self-funded medical benefits plan for
prescription drug coverage shall be included in salary rate as defined in
section 169.600, RSMo, whether or not
such premiums or payments for prescription drug coverage were determined
separately from premiums and payments for general medical benefits.
Contributions transmitted to the retirement system before July 1, 2017, based
on salary rates which either included or excluded employer-paid premiums or
payments to a self-funded medical benefits plan for prescription drug coverage
for members shall be deemed to have been in compliance with this section. The
retirement system shall not refund or adjust contributions or adjust benefit
determinations with respect to any period before July 1, 2017, solely because
of the treatment of employer-paid premiums or payments to a self-funded medical
benefits plan for prescription drug coverage for members.
(D) Beginning July 1, 2020, certain payments
made by the employer on behalf of the member to a Health Savings Account (HSA)
shall be included in salary rate as defined in section 169.600, RSMo, whether
or not such payments were determined separately from premiums and payments for
general medical benefits. Payments made by an employer to a member's HSA shall
be included in salary rate up to the amount that is offered to all employer's
employees and not to exceed the applicable annual HSA contribution limit set by
Internal Revenue Code for single coverage. If a member elects family medical
coverage premium for the member and for other members employed by the same
employer, the other members covered under this premium waive his or her
insurance coverage, and the employer pays HSA payments for the member only, the
employer shall report and remit to the system contributions up to the amount of
the HSA contribution offered to all employer's employees to the member paying
the family medical coverage and remaining amount for the other members covered
under the family medical coverage premium. The annual contribution limit used
will be the one in effect for the calendar year in which a plan year begins.
Contributions transmitted to the retirement system before July 1, 2020, based
on salary rates which either included or excluded employer payments to a
member's HSA shall be deemed to have been in compliance with this section. The
retirement system shall not refund or adjust contributions or adjust benefit
determinations with respect to any period before July 1, 2020, solely because
of the treatment of employer-paid HSA contributions.
(E) Salary, salary rate, or compensation as
defined in section 169.600, RSMo, shall not be
reduced due to premium rebates or refunds received by the employer as a result
of the implementation of the "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,"
Public
Law 111-148 .
(F) If a member elects family medical
coverage premium for the member and for other members employed by the same
employer, the other members covered under this premium waive his or her
insurance coverage, and the employer pays more than the individual medical
premium rate when a member elects the family medical coverage premium, the
employer shall report and remit to the system contributions for the individual
employee medical coverage premium for the member paying the family medical
coverage premium and remaining amount for the other members covered under the
family medical coverage premium.
(10) Retirement contributions which are
withheld from compensation paid to members after June 30, 1989, shall be deemed
to have been picked up by the employer within the meaning of Section 414(h)(2)
of the Internal Revenue Code. The contributions shall be
withheld and credited to member accounts in accordance with the provisions of
sections 169.600-169.710, RSMo, but shall be considered to have been picked up
by the employer solely for the purpose of sheltering the contributions from
federal income tax until paid by the retirement system in the form of a refund
or other benefits. The contributions shall be subject to refund or benefit
claims by either the member or his/her surviving beneficiary in the same manner
as any other contributions in the member's account with the retirement system.
In reporting the contributions to the retirement system, every employer
included within the retirement system shall certify that-1) the employee
contributions were picked up by the employer in lieu of being paid directly to
the employees and 2) the employees had no option to receive the contributions
directly. The salary reported to the retirement system for each employee shall
include the contributions withheld, and the total contributions withheld and
reported shall equal the percentage of that salary required under the
then-prevailing contribution rate. In withholding and reporting federal income
tax to taxing authorities, however, the employer shall exclude from taxable
compensation the retirement contributions withheld. Nothing in this rule shall
be construed in any way as affecting eligibility for, the amount of, or the
process of paying any refund or benefit payable to either the member or his/her
surviving beneficiary.
(11) The
terms "salary," "salary rate," and "compensation" are synonymous when used in
regulations promulgated by the board, unless the context plainly requires a
different meaning.
(A) For purposes of
calculating contributions and benefits, those terms mean the regular
remuneration earned by a member as an employee of any covered district during a
school year, including (unless excluded by subsection (11)(B))-
1. Salary paid under the terms of the basic
employment agreement;
2. Wages,
except as excluded in paragraphs (11)(B)6. and 9.;
3. Payments for extra duties, whether or not
related to the employee's regular position. An activity is considered an extra
duty if it is set and approved by a school district's Board of Education except
for any activity including but not limited to fringe benefits, as defined under
16 CSR 10-6.020(11)(B);
4. Overtime
payments;
5. Career ladder payments
made pursuant to sections 168.500 to 168.515, RSMo;
6. Supplemental salary paid in addition to
workers' compensation;
7. Medical
benefits as specified in section (9) of this rule;
8. Payment for annual leave, sick leave, or
similar paid leave actually used by the member;
9. Payment for leaves of absence if at least
one hundred percent (100%) of previous contract rate;
10. Compensation on which taxation is
deferred under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 401(k), 403(b), 457,
414(h)(2), or similar plans established by the employer under the
IRC;
11. Salary reductions for
purposes of a plan established by the employer under IRC section 125;
and
12. Other similar payments that
are earned by a member as an employee of any other covered district during a
school year.
(B) Salary,
salary rate, and compensation do not include-
1. Payments for services as an independent
contractor, or any other payment that must be reported on IRS form
1099-MISC;
2. Payments made by an
entity that is not a covered employer and reported to the IRS under that
entity's tax identification number;
3. Payments made for unused annual, sick, or
similar leave time, except as provided by section 104.601, RSMo;
4. Payment for leaves of absence if less than
one hundred percent (100%) of previous contract rate, except as provided in
section 169.595, RSMo;
5.
Extraordinary payments such as bonuses, awards, and retirement
incentives;
6. Consideration for
agreeing to terminate employment, including retirement incentives, retirement
or separation notice incentives, or any other payment(s) received by an
employee in exchange for agreeing to terminate employment, regardless of if the
employee is required to also perform extra duties as a condition of receiving
the payment(s);
7. Fringe benefits,
except medical benefits as described in section (9) of this rule;
8. Any other payment that is not part of the
regular remuneration earned by a member as an employee of a covered district
during a school year;
9. Payments
resulting from employment disputes including severance pay, back pay awards,
payments in settlement of employment contract disputes, payments in
consideration for agreeing to terminate employment, and payments in settlement
of other employment disputes; and
10. Any salary, wages, payments, benefits, or
compensation not included in subsection (11)(A).
(C) While an individual is employed in a
position covered by the system, compensation received from all employers
participating in the system will be used to determine contributions and
benefits. Compensation includes payments for services rendered during the
regular school session, summer school, or interim periods. Individuals may not
have compensation covered by both Public School Retirement System (PSRS) and
Public Education Employee Retirement System (PEERS) for the same period,
provided individuals who contributed to both systems on compensation for the
same period during the 1996-97 school year may elect in writing to continue
that status. The election is irrevocable and must be made before September 30,
1997. If an individual is employed in a position covered by PEERS and
concurrently takes a position with a public community college under section
169.140, RSMo, both positions including any noncertificated work shall
automatically be covered under PSRS unless the PEERS member elects to remain
with PEERS.
(D) In determining
"final average salary" as defined in section 169.600, RSMo, the system will
disregard any increase in compensation in excess of twenty percent (20%) from
one (1) year to the next in the final average salary period. This limit will
not apply to increases due to bona fide changes in position or employer,
increases required by state statute, or district wide salary schedule
adjustments for previously unrecognized education related service. A bona fide
change in position, for purposes of applying the final average salary cap
occurs in the following situations:
1) the
essential duties of the position held change, or
2) there is a permanent change in hours
mandated by the employer. A mere title change without any of these factors does
not constitute a bona fide change in position, nor does the addition of extra
duties as set forth in subsection (11)(A).
Notes
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