The following provides answers to some of the more frequently asked questions regarding membership and reporting requirements for SERS.
Q1. A member in an eligible position takes an extended unpaid leave of absence and does not have at least five months with 70 hours or more of compensated employment in a given 12-month period. Is this individual still eligible for membership?
A1. Yes. An unpaid leave of absence does not affect the eligibility of a position. If the position normally requires five months of 70 hours or more of compensated employment, then the position is still eligible. The employer should continue to report the employee on the monthly transmittal using status code B.
Q2. An eligible position continues for more than a year without requiring the individual in that position to work at least 70 hours a month for five months or more each year. Is the individual in this position eligible for membership?
A2. The employer should review the requirements of the position. If this is no longer an eligible position, the employer should separate the employee from the monthly transmittal. If this is still an eligible position, the employer should continue to report the employee on the monthly transmittal.
Q3. An eligible position is filled with two individuals each working three hours a day. Are the individuals eligible for membership?
A3. Yes. Although separately the individuals do not work 70 hours a month for five months or more each year, the position requires that much work. Each of the individuals is eligible for membership and should be reported on your transmittal.
Q4. An employee works in an ineligible position from March 1 through November 10. On November 11, you redefine this as an eligible position. When do you begin reporting the individual in this position?
A4. With November's report using November 11 as the begin date. You would report all retirement information for work performed by the individual worked during November--the information for the eligible position plus the hours for the ineligible position. All of an employee's work each month is considered as a single position.
Q5. During a review, it is discovered that a position that had been defined as ineligible has actually required the employee in the position to work 70 hours or more in at least five months in each of the last two years. What will happen in this case?
A5. The position will be declared eligible beginning from the first month of the first year in which employment was for at least 70 hours. The employee will enter membership beginning with that month. The employer must use the monthly transmittal to report all compensation, contributions and hours of service back to the first date of eligibility.
Q6. You hire a new employee on or after July 1, 2007. Does the member have a plan choice?
A6. It depends on the past membership history of the employee. First use Member Reporting Verification (MRV) to view the past membership history and to determine if they are eligible to make a plan choice. Then use Reporting an Employee to determine the correct reporting options.
A7. Beginning with July 27, 2003, an employee working in a substitute position in a school district or in an educational service district may elect to apply for service credit at the end of the school year. PERS Plan 1 does not have the option to apply for substitute service credit.
The definition of a substitute includes “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)]; See the New Hire Pyramid Substitutes for additional information.