Types of Service Credit
Rounding Out Your Retirement Plans
When your retirement application is processed, we forward your insurance information to the health, prescription drug, dental, and vision insurance carriers. You should receive insurance identification cards and materials a few weeks after your pension begins.
As a retiree, your state-sponsored life insurance continues for you and your dependents at no charge to you. Your coverage is 25 percent of the coverage you carried when you left work; your dependents' policies are capped at $1,000 each.
To view Long-Term Care Insurance (LTC) plan details, visit the Employee Benefits Division of the Michigan Civil Service Commission under Retiree Eligibility. If you previously enrolled in a state-sponsored LTCI plan with LifeSecure, Prudential or MetLife, you can call the vendor directly. For the LifeSecure Indiv
Eligible dependents for health, dental, and vision insurance plans include your spouse (as long as he or she is not also separately enrolled as an eligible state employee or retiree) and your unmarried children by birth, legal adoption, or full legal guardianship.
The Benefits for Life, the retiree-paid, optional coverage program offered through the state of Michigan offers you the opportunity to apply for coverage in key benefit areas. These offerings do not replace your state-sponsored benefit plans. Instead, the program offers additional financial protection with premiums payable through the convenience of pension deduction. Because the plans are optiona
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If you're leaving state employment but you're not yet eligible to retire, either because you don't have enough service credit or you're too young to qualify for a monthly pension, this information will help you understand how your retirement plan will be affected.
It's very important that you know, and understand, your vesting status. You are vested for your pension when you have sufficient service to qualify for a future monthly benefit, whether or not you continue working for the state. Most state employees are vested after the full-time equivalent of 10 years. If you are an unclassified legislative employee, executive branch employee, or Department of Community Health employee involved in a facility closing, you are vested with 5 years of service credit.
If you are vested, you'll want to take steps before you leave and while your pension is deferred to protect your pension rights for yourself, and possibly your eligible survivor. See I'm VESTED. What should I do?
If you're not vested, you won't qualify for a future pension unless you earn more service credit. But there are still things you need to know. Read the section I'm NOT VESTED. What should I do?
If you are vested for your pension when you leave state employment, you will be a deferred member from the time you terminate until you begin drawing your pension.
Here are answers to questions you might have. Please bear in mind, however, that the laws governing retirement provisions may change by the time you are old enough to qualify for your pension. Be sure to stay informed by periodically reviewing this website (or Public Act 240 of 1943) while you're in deferred status, so you know what you can expect and when.
As a deferred member, you will be eligible for your pension when you reach age 60. Be sure to apply three to six months before you reach age 60 — your pension won't be any higher if you wait, and you could lose money because we can't pay retroactively. Your pension will be calculated the same as a full retirement. For details about how your pension will be calculated and the different payment options see the Ready to Retire section of this website You can also make use of our online pension estimator or watch a pre-retirement online presentation.
Group health, dental, and vision insurances are available to retirees. Your insurance premiums may be covered, in part, by the retirement system. Deferred members aren't eligible for the group life insurance in retirement.
Rarely is it advisable to take a refund of your personal contributions once you are vested. A refund forfeits all rights to any future pension and insurance benefits for you and your beneficiary. Carefully weigh your personal contributions against the value of your future lifetime pension and insurance benefits.
You have personal contributions on account if you:
If you return to State of Michigan employment before you retire, you'll become a participant in the Defined Contribution (DC) Plan as of the date of your rehire. You'll retain your eligibility for your pension, insurances, and death and disability benefits under the Defined Benefit (DB) Plan.
If you die while in deferred status, a monthly survivor pension will be payable to your eligible beneficiary, if any, the month after you would have turned age 60.
When you leave state service, your human resources office will have you complete a Deferred Service Retirement Beneficiary Designation (R0134G) form. You can name your spouse, child or adopted child, parent, sibling, or grandchild as the beneficiary for your pension. If you have not designated a beneficiary, the monthly benefit is paid to your surviving spouse. If you have no surviving spouse, it is split among your children under age 18. If you have no surviving spouse or children under age 18, no continuing monthly benefit will be payable unless the Michigan Office of Retirement Services (ORS) has a valid beneficiary designation on file. You can change the beneficiary at any time while you are in deferred status, using the same form.
If no monthly pension benefit is payable upon your death, ORS will refund any personal contributions on account to your refund beneficiary or estate.
If you have been contributing to the state-sponsored 457 or 401(k) plans, Voya Financial will send you its Payout Guide once your termination is processed.
If you're not vested when you leave state employment, you're not eligible for a future pension. But there are a few things you should consider:
To find out how much credit you have, log in to miAccount and click Service Credit. Be sure your record is correct.
How close are you to meeting the vesting requirements? Can you work a bit longer in order to vest? Are you aware that certain types of service credit like public school and university employment, workers' compensation, and some military service may count toward your vesting requirement? You might want to take a look at the section of this website called Service Credit - Earning and Purchasing. But remember, additional service can be credited only while you are an active, contributing member of the DB Plan. Once you terminate or switch to the DC Plan, it is too late.
Yes. If you have contributions on account, you can request a refund (or transfer your personal contributions and interest to another qualified retirement plan) using miAccount at any time after you terminate your state employment.
You have personal contributions on account if you:
Consider the following points before you request a refund.
To request a refund, log in to miAccount and select Refunds on the left navigation. Once we receive your completed request, we'll either send:
If you return to State of Michigan employment before Jan. 1, 2014, you'll become a qualified participant in the DC Plan as of the date of your rehire. But you may continue to earn credit toward vesting for your DB benefits as long as you left your personal contributions on account with the retirement system. If you earn sufficient service credit for vesting, you will be eligible for a pension based on your final average compensation and years of service in the DB Plan. You would also become eligible for the retiree health insurance premium subsidy and death and disability benefits offered by the state.
If you return to State of Michigan employment on or after Jan. 1, 2014, you will not be eligible for pension or insurance benefits under the DB Plan. But you will participate in a Personal Healthcare Fund that can be used to pay for healthcare expenses in retirement.
Your state service might count toward retirement benefits in another public employer's retirement system or in a Michigan public school.
If you have been contributing to the state-sponsored 457 or 401(k) plans, the 401(k)/457 plan administrator will send you its Payout Guide once your termination is processed.
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If you're close to meeting the minimum age and service requirements for a pension benefit, be sure to review the pension eligibility requirements. |
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If you take a deferred retirement, be sure to file your pension application three to six months before your 60th birthday or you could lose money. |
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Print your Deferred Service Retirement Beneficiary Designation (R0134G) and keep it along with a copy of your Beneficiary Nomination form, with your will, insurance policies, or other important papers. This will ensure that your survivors contact ORS if you die before reaching pension eligibility age. |