DRS Notice 25-025, Correction to prior notice on DCP employer contributions; New ERA edit messages

Posted on November 25, 2025

Applies to: DCP Employers
Subject: DRS Notice 25-025, Correction to prior notice on DCP employer contributions; New ERA edit messages

Correction:

A previous notice about DCP employer contributions was incorrect. DRS verified that employers can make catch-up contributions for those age 50 and older and are not limited to the normal IRS limit, which is $24,500 in 2026.

Employer catch-up contributions are not allowed for highly compensated employees, since they must be Roth contributions.

A bar chart with pretax or Roth contributions made from January to December by the employer or employee. Once the normal IRS limit is reached, any catch-up contributions must be made by the employee. For highly compensated employees, must be Roth.

How to report employees as highly compensated

In January 2026, employers will need to report in ERA which employees are highly compensated.

Instructions on how to report can be found in Chapter 13 of the Employer Handbook: Enter a DCP attestation

For employers who rely on the Human Resource Management System (HRMS), this reporting will be done by the Office of Financial Management (OFM).

New DCP ERA edit messages

If the employee is reported as highly compensated and reaches 80% of the annual limit, you’ll get this message warning:

Edit message warning: Employee was identified as age 50+, highly compensated and is approaching mandatory Roth status. Additional contributions beyond {0} must be designated as Roth.

If you try to report contributions beyond the normal annual limit, you’ll get this message:

Edit message reject for highly compensated: Employee is age 50+ highly compensated and has entered mandatory Roth contribution status. Additional contributions must be reported as Roth.

What’s Next: You’ll receive final instructions and training aids in December.

Previous notices about SECURE Act 2.0 and Section 603:

July 10: DRS Notice 25-013, New requirements coming for age 50+ catchup contributions

Aug. 14: DRS Notice 25-018, Employer contributions for DCP

If you have any questions regarding this DRS Notice, please contact Employer Support Services at 360-664-7200, option 2, or 800-547-6657, option 6, option 2.