Search with Ask George®

• Home

• Retirees

• Retirement Outlook
• Summer/Fall 2007
• Spotlight: Bob Smyth
• Pension Protection Act of 2006 offers tax benefits in certain situations
• Keep us in the loop
• Gain sharing changes affect retirees of PERS and TRS Plan 1
• Help change the world...
• The WSIB and your pension
• 2007 legislative update
• Retirement benefit disbursement schedule

Pension Protection Act of 2006 offers tax benefits in certain situations

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 was signed into law on August 17, 2006. Below are two provisions in the Act that may give you or your beneficiaries new tax benefits.

Beneficiary rollover options: A beneficiary who is not your spouse may now have the option of transferring any remaining plan contributions into an inherited Individual Retirement Account (IRA).

Retired public safety officers: If you are a retired public safety officer, you may be eligible to exclude up to $3,000 from your federal taxable income.

The exclusion applies to the purchase of qualified health, accident and long-term care insurance premiums that are deducted from your retirement benefit and paid directly to your insurance provider by DRS.

If you’re interested in knowing more, we have new publications on the subject available on our Web site.

• A quick three-question qualification checklist–Public safety officers’ tax savings on health insurance premiums
• A form to elect into the program–Public Safety Officers’ Health Insurance Premiums Exclusion Election
• A question and answer piece with the qualifications and how the program works–Public safety officers’ tax savings on health insurance premiums–commonly asked questions and answers

You can also contact us for more information about either of these tax benefits. We’ll be glad to help. Just call: 1-800-547-6657 (toll-free) or 360-664-7000 (Olympia area).

Summer/Fall 2007