The Michigan Office of Retirement Services (ORS) is a 2024 Savings Champion Award recipient from America Saves.

ORS was honored for effectively and actively promoting savings strategies during America Saves Week, which ran April 8-12, 2024, during Financial Literacy Month. ORS was 1 of 18 organizations recognized out of 4,600-plus participants.

During America Saves Week, ORS highlighted savings strategies that help with retirement savings and urged saving for what matters most. You can do that by saving automatically, for the unexpected, for major milestones, and at any age. Also, realize that paying down debt is saving.

All state agency call centers are able to receive customer calls again. We continue to monitor systems given the widespread nature of the global IT outage and will provide additional updates if necessary.

A known global technical outage is currently impacting customers' ability to access some government services, mainly through state call centers, including ours. We’re aware of the concern and taking appropriate steps to bring our systems back online.

Our members and retirees can access our services through miAccount, including the miAccount Message Board. Please continue checking this page for updates.

ORS is Plan Sponsor of the Year for Government DC plans with $1 billion or more in assets.

Among 10 winners of 2024 Plan Sponsor of the Year recognition announced in Chicago at the 2024 PlanSponsor National Conference June 4-7, ORS outperformed two other finalists in our category.

 The focal point for the ORS honor is Small Steps, the program that helps State of Michigan 401(k) and 457 Plan participants better prepare for retirement. Administered by Voya Financial for ORS, Small Steps is a program that increases participant contributions by 1% annually up to 15% unless they opt out. Small Steps is for Michigan public school, State of Michigan, and Michigan State Police employees    eligible for the employer match as Defined Contribution (DC), Pension Plus, and Personal Healthcare Fund participants.

For the 2024 Small Steps program, 97.9% of eligible participants retained the 1% increase to their DC plan as of April 30, 2024. More than 2,000 increased their contributions to 15% or greater, according to Voya.

Public Act (PA) 158 will take effect on Feb. 13, 2024. The new law allows for a child to remain on retiree insurance until the month in which that child turns 26, regardless of enrollment in post-secondary education or dependency status for tax purposes. For more information, please see Dependent Coverage.

If you wish to enroll a child who is now eligible as a result of this change, you may do so as soon as March 1, 2024 by completing and submitting an Insurance Enrollment/Change Request (R0452B) and all required proofs on or before February 29, 2024. When ORS receives your enrollment request and required proofs, coverage will be effective the first of the following month, if your request is received prior to September 1, 2024. If ORS receives your enrollment request and required proofs on or after September 1, 2024, coverage will start the first of the sixth month after receipt. ,

Published on Feb. 2, 2024

Public Act (PA) 4 of 2023, also known as the Lowering MI Costs Plan, takes effect Feb. 13, 2024. 

PA 4 of 2023 phases in an income tax reduction over the course of four years for retirees who receive a pension, beginning with the 2023 tax year (filed in 2024). Michigan’s 2023 tax return, forms, and instructions (e-file and paper format) incorporate all retirement and pension benefit subtraction options – including those created in the new law. Retirees who filed their taxes prior to the law’s effective date need not file an amended return. The Michigan Department of Treasury will work impacted returns as they are received and prepare them for release after the law’s effective date. For more details, see the Michigan Department of Treasury website.

For joint returns, the birth year of the older spouse can be used.

Judges FAQs for Public Act 4 of 2023 - Retirement State Tax Changes

The Michigan Office of Retirement Services will continue to evaluate what the law means for our members as the phase-in continues. Please consult a tax professional regarding any questions you may have. To learn more about PA 4 of 2023, see the Michigan Legislature's page.

Published on March 7, 2023
Updated on Feb. 13, 2024