Charters and Public School Academies
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)
Charters and Public School Academies
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Welcome to retirement reporting for the Michigan Public School Employees' Retirement System (MPSERS). Through the Employer Reporting system, payroll offices at Michigan public schools and the Michigan Office of Retirement Services (ORS) work together to ensure accurate account information and pension payments for our members. This Reporting Instruction Manual (RIM) will help you understand what you are reporting, why you are reporting it, and how to report it accurately and timely.
The Reporting Instruction Manual is a summary of basic plan provisions under Michigan's Retirement Act: Public Act 300 of 1980, as amended. Current laws, rates, and factors are subject to change. If there are discrepancies between this manual and the actual law, the provisions of the law govern.
This manual provides information about what must be reported as well as instructions for how to report. It is organized into two general sections: information and instruction. Chapters 1-6 provide information; Chapters 7-14 provide instruction. At the end is an appendix, which is made up of obsoleted sections for reference purposes only.
Information chapters (in addition to this Introduction)
Chapter 2: Employer reporting websites - This chapter provides general information about the website you will use to report to ORS and other websites that play a role in helping you report.
Chapter 3: Membership - Membership in the retirement plan is defined by statute. This chapter explains which employees are (or are not) members for whom you must submit wage and service information and remit contributions.
Chapter 4: Compensation - This chapter reviews all type of compensation or payment that an employee may receive and categorizes it as reportable compensation (as defined by statute) or nonreportable for pension purposes. Nonreportable compensation types must also be reported but in a different way. This chapter explains how each type of compensation must be reported.
Chapter 5: Service Hours - This chapter provides details on how your employees are credited with service (hours or years worked) toward retirement eligibility and how that service is to be reported to ORS. Service credit, along with reportable wages and the benefit plan, determine eligibility for a pension and is also used to calculate the pension benefit.
Chapter 6: Member Benefit Plans and Contributions - This chapter explains the various benefit plans members are in, depending on when they became members or what plan elections they made during retirement reform periods. It gives an overview of the member and employer contributions for each benefit structure. A benefit structure is the combination of retirement benefit plan and retiree health plan).
Instruction Chapters:
Chapter 7: Payroll Reporting - This chapter provides instructions for most reporting tasks associated with submitting retirement detail reports each pay period, as well as correcting and adjusting records so that each member's retirement account is accurate.
Chapter 8: Payments and Statements - This chapter provides instruction for submitting contribution payments to ORS, and associated tasks, such as setting up a bank for ACH payments. It explains how to view the employer statement and reconcile your payroll records with ORS' employer statements.
Chapter 9: Retirees Who Return to Work. - Legislation specifies how and when retirees of the retirement system may return to work for a MPSRS employer and what employer contributions (if any) are due for retirees you employ. This chapter provides instructions on reporting retirees.
Chapter 10: Tax-Deferred Payment Agreements - This chapter provides instructions for remitting member payments to the retirement system when the member has entered into a tax-deferred payment agreement. These payments are not contributions; you withhold money from the member's pay and send to ORS along with contributions. Most TDP agreements exist to allow the member to purchase service credit.
Chapter 11: Final Payroll Details - This chapter provides instructions for submitting information when a member applies for retirement. This task is crucial to ensuring that your retiring employees receive their benefits after retirement.
Chapter 12: Managing User Accounts - This chapter provides instructions for setting up and maintaining web user accounts for your payroll staff, so they can log in and use the ORS reporting system.
Chapter 13: Codes and Definitions - This chapter is a reference for codes needed in various detail records. It explains what the required codes mean and when they should be used.
Chapter 14: Programming - This chapter provides instructions for formatting report files to be uploaded to the ORS system. It is intended for use by the vendors some reporting units use to create file for upload. Format codes and file layouts for each section of the report must be programmed.
Appendices
Appendix A: Archive of obsoleted reporting information - Appendix A contains sections of the RIM that are no longer in effect or are obsolete. You may wish to refer to this chapter for reporting rules that were in effect in the past.
Appendix B: Archive of updated reporting information - Appendix B contains sections of the RIM that have been updated or revised. These sections may have information that is no longer in effect, but you may wish to refer to this chapter for reporting rules that were in effect in the past.
Last updated: 07/29/2022