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  • Membership Rules for Prior Periods
  • Questions and Answers
  • Definitions

Chapter 2: Membership

SERS Membership

SERS Plan Rules

Employees working in eligible positions for SERS employers must be enrolled as members. This section outlines current rules for membership in SERS. For prior period membership rules, see SERS Membership Rules for Prior Periods. If you have questions about SERS eligibility, please Employer Support Services.

Plan 2 or Plan 3 Membership

• Membership rules are the same for SERS Plan 2 and Plan 3.
• Refer to SERS Membership Definitions Plan 2 or Plan 3 for plan definitions.
• Prior retirement membership impacts current SERS Plan membership. Use Member Reporting Verification (MRV) to view an employee's prior retirement status before determining in which plan to enroll a new employee.
• If you have questions about SERS eligibility, please contact Employer Support Services.

How Eligibility Is Determined

The employer is responsible for the determination of the employee's eligibility for membership. The primary determination of eligibility for SERS is based upon the position. An employee who worked for one month in an eligible position before quitting would be entitled to SERS membership. In SERS, there are two ways a position can be eligible. A position is eligible if:

The position normally requires at least five months each year in which regular compensation is earned for at least 70 hours per month. [RCW 41.35.010(22), WAC 415-110-680]

• As used in this definition, "normally" means a position that requires at least five months of at least 70 hours for two consecutive years. Once a position is determined to be eligible, it will continue to be eligible if it requires at least five months of 70 or more hours of compensated service during at least one year in any two-year period. [WAC 415-110-010]
• "Year" means any 12 consecutive month period established and applied consistently by an employer to evaluate the eligibility of a specific position. In the case of ongoing positions, the year used by the employer must be the same for all positions. In the case of a project or temporary position, the year used may be specific to the position. The term generally will be limited to a school year. [WAC 415-110-010]

Or

The position is occupied by an elected official or person appointed directly by the Governor. Refer to Exemptions for Persons Employed in SERS Eligible Positions for additional information.

To determine if a position is eligible, you may find it helpful to ask the following three questions.

1. Will the position ever require 70 or more hours of compensated employment in a month?
• If the answer is no, the position is not eligible.
• If the answer is yes, ask question 2.
2. Will the position ever require five or more months with at least 70 hours of compensated employment per month in a 12-month period?
• If the answer is no, the position is not eligible.
• If the answer is yes, ask question 3.
3. Will the position normally meet this standard? That is, will the position require five months of 70 hours during each of two consecutive years?
• If the answer is no, the position is not eligible.
• If the answer is yes, the position is eligible.

Exceptions to Position Eligibility

In some circumstances a person may establish or continue membership even if he or she is employed in an ineligible position. In some circumstances a person may be excluded from membership even if he or she is employed in an eligible position.

• A SERS substitute may qualify for and may elect to establish membership in SERS at the end of the school year. See the New Hire Pyramid Substitutes for additional information.

A substitute is defined as "a classified employee who is employed as a substitute for an absent employee or is working in an ineligible position". [WAC 415-110-010(9)].

• A SERS member who leaves an eligible position to serve in a project position will continue in membership if the position requires at least seventy hours per month and the employee accepts the position conditioned on returning to a permanent eligible position at the completion of the project. [WAC 415-110-680 and WAC 415-110-010]
• If an employee, in an ineligible position, made member contributions for at least nine months, the employee will be treated as having been in an eligible position during such period of employment. When it is discovered the position is ineligible, submit an end date on the next monthly transmittal and stop reporting the employee to DRS. [RCW 41.35.040]
• A SERS disability retiree may not establish SERS membership if employed in an eligible position unless receiving comparable compensation. [RCW 41.35.440 and 41.35.690]

The employer must contact Membership Retirement Services to determine comparable compensation. If it is determined compensation compares to the compensation reported prior to the disability retirement, the employee must be reported in SERS retroactive to the first date of hire.

A SERS disability retiree who returns to work does not fall under the post-retirement employment provisions, but must be reported on the transmittal.

• A retiree from PERS, TRS, LEOFF Plan 1 or WSPRS that retired with 15 or more years of service may not establish SERS membership if employed in an eligible position. [ RCW 41.04.270]

Determining Plan Membership When Hiring a New Employee

Current membership status is impacted by prior retirement membership history. Use Member Reporting Verification (MRV) to determine if the member has prior membership history with DRS. Next, select from the following to determine current plan membership:

1. When the Employee is a Retiree
2. When the Employee Is Working In One Eligible Position
3. When the Employee is Working Concurrently In More Than One Retirement System
4. When the Employee Is Working As a Substitute In a School District or Educational Service District
5. When the Employee Is Working in More than One SERS-Covered Position for the Same Employer

When the Employee Is a Retiree

• When reporting a retiree returning to work, special rules apply. Those rules are summarized in the Retiree Returning to Work Reporting Charts.
• Use the same eligibility criteria for retiree and active member positions. All retirees who return to work must be reported on the transmittal report.
• Generally, retirees who are performing services for an employer as a contractor are exempt from the retiree reporting requirements. However, employers must report any SERS Plan 2 or 3 retiree, who retired using the 2008 ERF and has not attained age 65; if they are directly compensated for services performed as a contractor, or any other similiar compensated relationship. These contractors should be reported as if they are in an ineligible position.
• If a retiree chooses to reenter membership, the retiree must contact DRS. Report as a Retiree Return to Work until notified by DRS to report as an active member.
• A SERS retiree who returns to work in an eligible position is not required to return to SERS membership but may elect to do so.
• A retiree from PERS, TRS, LEOFF Plan 1 or WSPRS that retired with 15 or more years of service may not establish SERS membership if employed in an eligible position. [RCW 41.04.270]
• A SERS member who has retired on disability may be required to reenter membership if returning to work at a job with a salary comparable to the salary earned before the disability. If hiring a SERS disability retiree, notify PERS/SERS Retirement Services.
• See the Handbook Chapter 5 Employing Retirees and the New Hire Pyramid Retirees for additional information.

Return to Determining Plan Membership

When the Employee Is Working In One Eligible Position

Select from the following:

1. No Prior Membership

Beginning July 1, 2007, a new or potential SERS member with no prior membership history has the option to become a member of SERS Plan 2 or Plan 3 if hired into an eligible position.

• A new or potential member has 90 calendar days to make an irrevocable Plan Choice, or they are defaulted by the employer into Plan 3, rate option A, investment program WSIB.
• An employee employed in a SERS eligible position should initially be reported in SERS Plan 2, unless the employer receives the Member Information Form (MIF) from an employee choosing Plan 3 before the first payroll cutoff. If reporting for the first time, be sure to include the begin date, even if it is the same as the Plan Choice Date.

2. Has Prior Membership

• Use the SERS Reporting Chart to determine the correct plan for a new employee hired into a SERS eligible position when the employee has prior membership history.

Return to Determining Plan Membership

When the Employee Is Working Concurrently In More Than One Retirement System

An employee may work for you in a position that would be covered by SERS and in a position that would be covered by another retirement system; e.g., TRS. In such a case, the employee's eligibility for membership depends upon the types of positions the employee occupies. Refer to the following types of concurrent employment:

• SERS and TRS [WAC 415-110-728]
• SERS and PERS [WAC 415-113-200]
  
  

Return to Determining Plan Membership

When the Employee Is Working As a Substitute In a School District or Educational Service District

An employee hired into a substitute position must be reported on the transmittal report beginning with the 2004-2005 school year using the substitute reporting codes. Refer to the New Hire Pyramid School District and Educational Substitutes for additional information and for reporting charts.

SERS Substitute is defined as "any classified employee who is employed as a substitute for an absent employee or working in an ineligible position." [WAC 415-110-010(9)]

An ineligible position is one that normally does not require at least five months each year in which regular compensation is earned for at least 70 hours per month.

Example #1: A position requires part time work for 60 hours each month for the entire year.

Explanation: The position is not eligible because employment is for less than 70 hours each month.

Example #2: A position requires full time work for 3 months each year.

Explanation: The position is not eligible because employment is for less than five months each year.

Example #3: A new position is created that is funded for only one year and will then cease to exist. The new position will require full time work.

Explanation: The position is not eligible because it does not exist on an on-going basis. The position does not meet the definition of "normally."

Be sure to review ineligible positions at least annually and document your eligibility determinations using the Position Eligibility Worksheet, or you may develop a form to document eligibility decisions for your organization.

Return to Determining Plan Membership

Employees Working in More than One SERS-Covered Position for the Same Employer

All work an employee performs for you in a given month must be taken into account when determining an employee's eligibility for membership. If the employee's combined hours of employment meet the definition of an eligible position and if this is the employee's normal pattern of employment, the employee is eligible for SERS membership.

An employee's eligibility for membership is based only on his or her employment with you. An employee cannot combine hours of employment in positions with separate employers to establish membership in SERS.

Example #1: An employee normally works for you for 40 hours each month as a cook and for 40 hours each month as a bus driver.

Explanation: The employee is eligible for membership. The employee works a total of 80 hours each month for at least five months each year and this is the normal pattern of employment.

Example #2: An employee normally works for you for 40 hours each month as a cook. For one year, the employee takes on extra duties and works 40 hours per month as a bus driver.

Explanation: The employee is not eligible for membership. Although the employee works 80 hours each month for five or more months during the year, this is not the normal pattern of employment.

Example #3: An employee works for you for 40 hours each month as a cook and works for another employer for 40 hours each month as a bus driver.

Explanation: The employee is not eligible for membership. The employee cannot combine the hours of employment with separate employers to establish membership.

Return to Determining Plan Membership

Employees Working in Educational Staff Associate Positions

An Educational Staff Associate (ESA) is defined as an individual employed by a public school in any of the following positions:

• Communications Disorders Specialist
• Occupational Therapist
• Physical Therapist
• Reading Resource Technician
• School Counselor
• School Nurse
• School Psychologist
• School Social Worker

A person working in an ESA position in a public school must hold a certificate authorized by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Although ESA positions are generally TRS eligible positions, there are instances where a person who was employed as an ESA before June 7, 1984, may have rights to SERS membership. If you are a public school employer and you hire a person who served in an ESA position before June 7, 1984, contact ESS to help determine the membership options available to this member.