Welcome to the ORS website for members of the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System who began public school employment before July 1, 2010.

Your partners in planning.

Throughout your working career, your employer takes care of your pension plan deductions, wage and service records, and plan contributions. Regular reports are sent to ORS to become part of your personal pension record. When it's time to retire, your employer hands off all your final records to ORS, and we become your partner in retirement.

Review your account. Log in to miAccount to review your retirement plan changes.

You can also find details about the 2012 Retirement Reform on the Reform Tools Overview page. Another helpful resource is Retirement Plan Changes for Public School Employees, which is a supplement to Retirement Readiness: A Two-Year Countdown.

Inactive or deferred members: These changes may also affect you. Log in to miAccount to learn more.
Retired members: The legislation does not affect the amount of your pension payment.

If you are thinking about returning to work after you retire, please note the rules have changed: Effective December 27, 2012, a new law (as now added to MCL 38.1361) outlines additional rules for public school retirees returning to work as instructional coaches, school improvement facilitators, or substitute teachers. The law also reinstates the critical shortage provision. See the Working After You Retire page for detailed information about how returning to work may affect your pension.

If you first worked before September 4, 2012, and elected to switch to the DC plan or elected the Personal Healthcare Fund, your State of Michigan 401(k) and 457 Plan accounts will be set up with ING as of your transition date - the exact date depends on your school district's payroll cycle. You will receive the password you'll need to manage your accounts by early April. If you have any questions related to your State of Michigan 401(k) and 457 Plan accounts, contact ING at (800) 748-6128.

If you are an active Michigan public school employee who elected the Personal Healthcare Fund under the recent retirement reform (PA 300 of 2012), your 3 percent employee contribution to the Retiree Healthcare Fund, which started in July, 2010, ceases as of the day before your transition date, which would be the first day of the pay period that begins on or after February 1, 2013. The amount of the healthcare contributions you made between September 4, 2012 and your transition date will be paid to your 401(k) account no later than your first pay date after March 1, 2013. The amount of any Retiree Healthcare Fund contributions you made before September 4, 2012, remain in escrow by court order until the litigation against PA 75 of 2010 is settled. This case has been appealed to the Michigan Supreme Court. Once the lawsuit has been resolved, the contributions you made during that time will be returned to you.

The deadline for making the retiree healthcare and pension elections under PA 300 of 2012 has passed. Retirement plan changes due to P.A. 300 of 2012 will take effect the first day of your pay period that begins on or after February 1, 2013, as reported to ORS.

For more information about your retirement plan changes, log in to miAccount. You can also find more information on the Reform Tools Overview page.

Published January 9, 2013

Our office will be closed on the following dates:

• January 21 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• February 18 - Presidents' Day
• May 27 - Memorial Day
• July 4 - Independence Day

State office closings for holidays are regulated by the Michigan Department of Civil Service Regulation 5.08. Public Act 124 of 1865 is the Michigan law governing official state holidays.

Published January 3, 2013

The Governor recently signed SB 1360 that reforms the Michigan Public School Employees' Retirement System (MPSERS). This legislation closes the pension and retiree healthcare reform election window at 5:00 p.m. EST, on Wednesday, January 9, 2013, and changes the transition date to February 1, 2013.

If you have made your election choices, you can review them anytime by logging in to miAccount . Changes to your elections are permissible as long as the election window remains open.

If you have not made your election choices, we encourage you to log in to miAccount to understand your choices and make your elections while the window remains open.

Published on December 14, 2012

The insurance rates for public school retirees who retire after January 1, 2013 and for retirees who were not age 65 as of January 1, 2013 are available. View the rates now.

The Insurance Options Summary (R0379C) has been updated with 2013 insurance information. This form compares different insurance options available for public school retirees, giving a side-by-side summary of each option, as well as contact information for the insurance providers. Read the new summary now.

For more detailed information on insurance coverage, contact the health care provider directly.

Published on December 14, 2012

The Michigan legislature has recently passed SB1360 that reforms the Michigan Public School Employees' Retirement System (MPSERS). If the legislation is signed by the Governor and becomes law, it is scheduled to take effect immediately. This legislation would close the pension and retiree healthcare reform election window at 5:00 p.m. EST, on Wednesday, January 9, 2013, and changes the transition date to February 1, 2013.

If you have made your election choices, you can review them anytime by logging in to miAccount . Changes to your elections are permissible as long as the election window remains open.

If you have not made your election choices, we encourage you to log in to miAccount to understand your choices and make your elections while the window remains open.

Published December 12, 2012

On November 29, the court ruled that the public school reform was constitutional except for the 52 day window period. Earlier this month, legislation was introduced that closes the election window officially on January 9, 2013. This bill was passed by the full Senate on November 29 and will move to the House in the week of December 3. For the time being, the election window remains open.

If you have made your election choices, you can review them anytime by logging in to miAccount . Changes to your elections are permissible as long as the election window remains open.

If you have not made your election choices, we encourage you to log in to miAccount to understand your choices and make your elections while the window remains open.

Published December 3, 2012

Public Act 300 of 2012, Sec. 93 called for an independent third party to conduct a study of the current MPSERS retirement system and develop a proposed plan to ensure the long-term sustainability of the retirement system.  A copy of the study and plan, delivered to the legislature on November 15, 2012, is available here.

Published November 16, 2012

Temporary court order still in place; election window remains open

October 29, 2012: In PA 300 of 2012, the legislature set the date of election window close to be October 26. The court has said thus far that the October 26th date is not the end date of the election window, and anyone who has made an election can change it if the statute is found unconstitutional. The practical effect of this, while the temporary restraining order is still in place, is that the election window remains open and it is anticipated that elections will not take effect until after the window closes, a date that has not, at this time, been determined.

If you have made your election choices, you can review them anytime by logging in to miAccount. Changes to your elections are permissible as long as the election window remains open.

If you have not made your election choices, we encourage you to log in to miAccount to understand your choices and make your elections while the window remains open.

The temporary restraining order on PA 300 issued on September 5, 2012, prohibited the enforcement of the window period. Not knowing when it would be lifted, ORS felt obligated to support our members by encouraging them to log into miAccount to understand their choices. This situation has not changed and we still do not know when the window will close. While the window remains open, members who have not yet made their elections are still encouraged to educate themselves through miAccount.

Published October 29, 2012

The October 2012 issue of Connections, our semiannual retiree newsletter, is now available. Articles in this issue include:

• ORS no longer delivering pension payments through U.S. mail
  
• Michigan income tax rate changes
• Message from the director
• Tips to protect yourself from fraud
• Did you know?
• Ask an Expert
• When to Contact ORS

If you are facing a layoff, privatization, or leaving Michigan public school employment to pursue other opportunities, it's important to understand what will happen to your retirement benefits.

Visit the Leaving School Employment section of our website to learn what options are available to you so you can better manage your retirement plan.

Published on March 15, 2012

If you're considering purchasing service credit with a Tax-Deferred Payment (TDP) option, use our new calculator to see how much your payments would be and how long it will take to pay off your agreement.

Published on September 7, 2011

As more of our customers are using our secure online services, we want to remind you of what we do to keep your information safe. We will never send you an unsolicited email asking you to click on a link and then provide confidential information. Whenever you need personal information from us or we need personal information from you, we'll use our secure online tool, miAccount. ORS uses the latest industry standards for secure website transactions. For more information on safe internet practices, visit www.michigan.gov/cybersecurity.

Published on March 4, 2011