Missouri Code of State Regulations
Title 16 - RETIREMENT SYSTEMS
Division 10 - The Public School Retirement System of Missouri
Chapter 6 - The Public Education Employee Retirement System of Missouri
Section 16 CSR 10-6.020 - Source of Funds
Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, March 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This amendment clarifies the treatment of employer contributions to employee Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) as salary rate as defined in section 169.600, RSMo. The amendment also rearranges some existing language and adds subsections to better organize the regulation.
(1) Each employer reporting to The Public Education Employee Retirement System of Missouri shall report required data on employees and all contributions to the retirement system using the Online Automated System Integrated Solution (OASIS).
(2) Employers shall use OASIS to report salary payments made to all employees, contributions withheld from employees included in the retirement system, and supporting information required by the board of trustees. Transmission of data must be sent to the board of trustees no later than ten (10) working days after the last day of each calendar month of the school year in which salaries are paid.
(3) Employers of persons included in the retirement system shall withhold from each salary payment issued to such persons during the school year in which the services are rendered an amount which is the percent of salary rate required by the contribution rate then in effect; and employers shall transmit to the board of trustees, not later than ten (10) days after the last day of each calendar month of the school year, twice the amount withheld during the month.
(4) All deductions of contributions from salary payments made by employers for the retirement system are declared and shall be considered to be funds belonging to the retirement system; and no employer shall refund or repay any contributions or any part of any contributions so deducted to any employee for any cause but shall transmit all contributions deducted, together with an equal amount, to the board of trustees, which board shall settle all claims against funds so deducted.
(5) All contributions withheld from salaries paid to members along with an equal contribution of the employer shall be transmitted to the board of trustees by check, bank draft, electronic funds transfer, or any negotiable instrument collectible at par through a bank in the state of Missouri, made payable to The Public Education Employee Retirement System of Missouri.
(6) If remittance for the full amount of both employee's and employer's contributions which are due the retirement system is not received in accordance with these regulations, it shall be considered a failure or refusal by the employer to transmit such amount and suit for recovery of the amount may be instituted as provided for in section 169.620, RSMo.
(7) Errors by employers in reporting of eligibility for membership, assigning of employees, and in remitting of contributions will be corrected retroactively, provided the employer certifies that an error was made, provides evidence adequate to support the correction, and remits any balance due from the employer and employee. If the employer has overremitted, the amount of the employer's portion of the overpayments will be credited to the employer to be applied against future contributions. The amount withheld by the employer from the employee shall be refunded to the employee in a manner consistent with the Internal Revenue Code.
(8) Any refund of contributions remitted in error for a member or an employee shall include the total interest, if any, which was credited to those contributions by the retirement system. Any credit provided to the employer for matching employer contributions required in such an instance shall be equal to the total amount paid to the member or employee, including interest. Any correcting remittance of contributions for a member shall include the total interest, if any, which would have been credited to those contributions by the retirement system had the contributions been remitted on a correct and timely basis. Any matching employer contribution remitted in such an instance shall be equal to the total amount remitted for the member, including interest.
(9) For purposes of determining retirement contributions and benefits, salary rate includes medical insurance premiums (including dental and vision) paid by the employer on behalf of the member and payments made by the employer on behalf of the member to a self-funded medical benefits plan. The employer shall withhold from the member's salary and remit to the system contributions on any such premiums and payments, along with matching employer contributions. The payment reported for each member covered by a self-funded medical benefits plan shall be determined by the employer.
(10) Retirement contributions which are withheld from compensation paid to members after June 30, 1989, shall be deemed to have been picked up by the employer within the meaning of Section 414(h)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code. The contributions shall be withheld and credited to member accounts in accordance with the provisions of sections 169.600-169.710, RSMo, but shall be considered to have been picked up by the employer solely for the purpose of sheltering the contributions from federal income tax until paid by the retirement system in the form of a refund or other benefits. The contributions shall be subject to refund or benefit claims by either the member or his/her surviving beneficiary in the same manner as any other contributions in the member's account with the retirement system. In reporting the contributions to the retirement system, every employer included within the retirement system shall certify that-1) the employee contributions were picked up by the employer in lieu of being paid directly to the employees and 2) the employees had no option to receive the contributions directly. The salary reported to the retirement system for each employee shall include the contributions withheld, and the total contributions withheld and reported shall equal the percentage of that salary required under the then-prevailing contribution rate. In withholding and reporting federal income tax to taxing authorities, however, the employer shall exclude from taxable compensation the retirement contributions withheld. Nothing in this rule shall be construed in any way as affecting eligibility for, the amount of, or the process of paying any refund or benefit payable to either the member or his/her surviving beneficiary.
(11) The terms "salary," "salary rate," and "compensation" are synonymous when used in regulations promulgated by the board, unless the context plainly requires a different meaning.