Some employees work in positions with an individually negotiated contract. When these employees apply to retire, the Michigan Office of Retirement Services (ORS) performs a contract review. During this contract review, ORS checks that wages and hours are reported correctly. ORS may also review the contracts of employees who have a domestic relations court order or when an active employee dies.

ORS aims to finish every contract review quickly. When the contract review is related to a retiring employee, ORS sends the request about a month before the person’s retirement. ORS wants to put each retiree on payroll by their retirement date. For this reason, ORS can’t grant extra time to submit your documents. When you send detailed files quickly, you help your employees get their first pension payment on time.

What to expect

ORS will email Reported Wage Detail (R4203C) forms to a reporting unit for each school year that needs review. Fill out these forms with as much detail as possible. You must complete the following boxes on every page:

• Base Contract Amount: This is the exact amount listed in the contract or on the salary schedule. A salary schedule is a forward-looking outline of the position’s base salary. For more information on salary schedules, review the Salary Schedules and Allowable Salary Increase FAQ.
• Detail: This is a list of each reportable type of payment the employee received other than the base contract amount. For each line in the Detail box, provide:
• Payment type: Describe the payment type, such as longevity pay or overtime.
• Amount paid: Show the amount of the payment type paid in that fiscal year.
• Documentation provided: Enter the name of each proof and specific page numbers or section numbers. This helps ORS find details quickly in large files. Example: “2020 Contract – pg. 4, item #5.”
• Total Wages: This amount must equal the Base Contract Amount plus all additional wages earned.

In the Comments box, add any notes that help prove wages. For example, if an employee didn’t work a full year, write how many days they actually worked and how many days they were contracted for.

Detailed supporting documents

You must send documents that prove the base contract amount and every additional payment on each form. You must provide a contract and salary schedule for these employees, as well as documents like contract addendums, memos, or board meeting minutes. If you don’t provide proof, ORS considers that pay nonreportable. This means ORS can’t include that pay when calculating retirement benefits.

Most delays happen because documents don’t have enough detail. Records should clearly prove the amount paid. They must also state the employee’s name and how they earned the pay. These records may include contracts, emails, or memos. They must include:

• The date the agreement started.
• A description of the work being paid.
• The amount paid.
• A schedule for regular payments.
• Timesheets for work paid by the hour or day.

Spreadsheets and payroll screenshots are usually not enough to prove that a payment is reportable. These are only tools to track data. They don’t prove a formal agreement exists between the employer and the employee.

Submitting files

Give each file the same name found on the Reported Wage Detail (R4203C) forms. ORS cannot accept files that use password protection. ORS also cannot open files saved on cloud services like Google Docs. You should send your documents as PDF attachments instead.

Once you finish the forms and gather all documents, email them to ORS-Contract-Review@Michigan.gov.

Review process

ORS will compare your files to the data on the reporting website. If ORS can’t verify all wages or if information is missing, ORS will email you. Please reply quickly and include additional documents to avoid delays.