In September, we sent you technical specifications for the Judicial Benefit Multiplier (JBM) program. Supreme Court justices and judges of the Superior, Appeals, District, and Municipal Courts are the only members who can participate in the JBM program.
There are new items we want you to be aware of:
Packets containing the following information were mailed on November 15, 2006 to each judge and justice currently contributing to PERS.
A Personalized Booklet which includes:
A JBM Program Information Booklet which includes:
A letter was also mailed to each district and municipal court judge employed with you who has never joined PERS. This letter informs the judge of the JBM program and their options; joining PERS before 2007 provides judges with different choices than joining PERS on or after January 1, 2007.
Judges and justices currently in PERS Plan 1, 2, 3 or TRS Plan 1 that choose the JBM program during the 2007 election period must complete and submit the JBM election form to their employer. You should only accept forms from judges or justices you report to DRS.
Instructions direct judges and justices to sign the form on the day they deliver the form to their employer. The employer section on the JBM election form has a “date form received” field. This date should be reported as the begin date with the JBM type code. If you receive the form prior to January 1, 2007, use January 1 as the begin date.
To document the transition into the JBM program, the following information must be reported on the transmittal report:
Note: The effective date for joining the JBM program described above replaces the information provided to you last September. We recognize the JMB program effective date can affect the payroll deduction process and reporting to DRS. With this in mind, you can inform your employees on the impacts to their check due to choosing a date other than the first of the pay period.
Refer to the original reporting requirements Email e06021 for enrollment instructions for judges or justices that choose to join PERS on or after January 1, 2007.
Review the JBM Election Form.
We periodically update the Frequently Asked Questions publication. It was updated last month and will be updated again later this week.
Should you have questions, please reply to this message or call Employer Support Services at 360-664-7200 (press option 2) or l-800-547-6657 (press option 6 then option 2).