State Of Georgia Retirement System

Policy On Salary Administration And Incentive Rewards Program

Each University System of Georgia institution shall establish a compensation plan consistent with the guidelines issued in the Human Resources Administrative Practices Manual. Institutional compensation plans must be approved by the President or his or her designee and developed in consultation with the institutions chief human resources officer and chief business officer. Institutions may establish incentive compensation programs consistent with state law, Board Policy, and applicable procedures, however, institutional incentive compensation programs must be reviewed and approved by the USG Offices of Fiscal Affairs and Human Resources.

Institutions may adjust employee compensation as a result of multiple factors, including, but not limited to, merit adjustments, promotions, position reclassification, counter-offers, in-range adjustments. Adjustments to employee compensation is an institutional decision and should be consistent with the approved institutional compensation plan. However, cumulative fiscal year adjustments greater than or equal to ten percent above the percentage increase authorized in the USGs salary and wage guidance must be approved in advance by the Chancellor.

USG employees shall be paid exclusively by the USG institution or institutions at which they are employed from state appropriations and/or other appropriate fund sources held by the institution for work performed on behalf of their USG position.

Federal And State Taxes

All or most of your TRS monthly benefit is subject to federal income tax, with exact details furnished to you at the time of your retirement. As required by federal law, TRS will withhold income tax on the taxable portion of your pension payment, unless you elect no withholding on IRS form W-4P. Should you elect no withholding, you may be responsible for payment of estimated taxes to the IRS, and could incur penalties under tax rules if your estimated tax payments are insufficient. You should consult your tax professional before electing no withholding.

Each January, you will be mailed IRS form 1099R, showing the total benefits paid for the previous year, the taxable amount, and any taxes withheld for the preceding calendar year. Form 1099R, along with information sent with your first retirement check is used in filing your annual federal income tax return.

For Georgia residents, your monthly TRS benefit is subject to Georgia income tax. TRS will withhold Georgia income tax from your monthly payment upon receipt of form G-4P. The 1099R you receive each January will also show the amount of withholding for Georgia income tax. Residents of other states should contact that states Department of Revenue to determine the tax status of their TRS benefit payment.

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What Are The Exceptions To The Requirement To Being Enrolled In A Retirement Plan

If you are employed as an eligible, regular full-time employee and you are 60 years old or older, enrollment in the Employees Retirement System of Georgia is optional.

If you are an hourly employee and you are an active member of ERS or Teachers Retirement System of Georgia or you are a TRS or ERS retiree, you are not eligible to be a member of the Georgia Defined Contribution Plan.

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Get Your Retiree Lakercard

Visit the LakerCard Center in the James M. Baker University Center to pick up your Retiree LakerCard. This card allows you to access retiree perks and benefits including free admission to athletic events, free campus parking permit, use of Clayton State Library services, the active employee discounts at Spivey Hall and SAC Fitness Center, and an email account.

If you are a current staff member preparing to retire, please reach out to Human Resources at 466-4230 to get more information about the retirement process.

Acceptance Of Leave From A State Of Georgia Agency By The Usg

The USG shall accept up to a maximum of ninety-six hours of sick leave from a benefited employee who moves from a State of Georgia agency to the USG. For a USG unit to accept sick leave, the employee must have no more than a 30-calendar-day break in service. Written verification of the employees sick leave balance must be provided to the USG by the terminating State of Georgia agency.

Annual leave will not be accepted for a benefited employee who moves from a State of Georgia agency to the USG.

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Benefits Continuation Into Retirement

A USG retiree or career employee, who upon his/her separation of employment from the USG meets the criteria for retirement as set forth in Section 8.2.8.2 or Section 8.2.8.4 of this Policy Manual, shall remain eligible to continue as a member and currently enrolled in the basic, supplemental and dependent group life insurance and health benefits plans. The USG shall continue to pay the employers portion of the cost for only those benefits that included an employer contribution during the employees active service.

Types Of Retirement Systems In Georgia

Georgia offers several different retirement systems and pension plans for employees who meet its eligibility and service requirements. Specifically, this includes public employees, public school employees, teachers, judicial employees, General Assembly members and National Guard members. Furthermore, though ERSGA offers eight pension programs, the requirements for each varies.

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Voluntary Disclosure Of Drug Use

If, prior to arrest for an offense involving a controlled substance, marijuana, or a dangerous drug, an employee notifies his or her immediate supervisor that he or she illegally uses a controlled substance, marijuana, or a dangerous drug and is receiving or agrees to receive treatment under a drug abuse and education program approved by the institution President or by the Chancellor, such employee shall not have his or her employment terminated by the institution or the University System Office on account of the drug use that was voluntarily disclosed for up to one year from disclosure as long as the employee follows the treatment plan. Retention of such employee shall be conditioned upon satisfactory completion of the program.

The employees work activities may be restructured if it is deemed advisable in the opinion of the employees immediate supervisor in consultation with Human Resources, the institution President, or the Chancellor. The rights herein granted shall be available to a University System of Georgia employee only once during a five-year period and shall not apply to any employee who has refused to be tested or who has tested positive for use of a controlled substance, marijuana, or a dangerous drug.

Other Leave Inclement Weather

Education Support LeaveTo supplement work-life balance options for University System of Georgia employees, each full-time, non-temporary employee of the USG shall be eligible for up to eight hours of paid leave per calendar year for the purpose of promoting education in this state as authorized by O.C.G.A. § 45-20-32. Only activities directly related to student achievement and academic support will qualify for education support leave. Education support leave is not charged against any other leave. Education support leave does not accumulate or rollover and is not paid-out upon change of employment status.

Fair Labor Standards Act When an exempt employee is absent from work for less than one scheduled workday and his/her accumulated leave is insufficient to cover the partial day of absence, the employer will:

Such action by the employer will not disqualify the exempt status of the employees position .

Court DutyCourt duty leave with pay shall be granted to regular employees for the purpose of serving on a jury or as a witness. Such leave shall be granted upon presentation of official orders from the appropriate court.

Military Physical ExaminationAny regular employee required by Federal law to take a military physical examination shall be paid for any time lost to take such an examination.

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With Gseps Do I Have A Pension Or A 401

GSEPS is a retirement plan comprised of a Defined Benefit Pension Plan and a 401 Plan with a matching employer contribution. The maximum contributions to your GSEPS 401 is 5% of your earnings. For more information access the ERS website at www.ers.ga.gov or the DNR intranet at .

Employees With The Same Position And Employer

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Teachers Retirement System Of Georgia Explained

State lawmakers introduced several bills in the 2019 legislative session that could significantly alter the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia if passed in 2020. There are 390,000 current and former Georgia educators participating in the pension system as either active members or benefits recipients. Any changes to TRS have immense implications to the states education workforce as well as the financial health of the state of Georgia. This fact sheet explains the basic concepts of TRS, how it is funded and where it stands financially.

Employees With The Same Position

This dataset includes 1.06 million employees worked in public agencies and local boards of education of State of Georgia.The dataset contains the name, official title, total salary received during each fiscal year, travel reimbursements, etc.Each employee is disclosed with name, organization, job title, salary, etc.

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Jobs At Employees’ Retirement System Of Georgia

Check out Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia job postings to help you identifyhow fast Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia is growing, and determine how their purchase behavioris going to change over the next few weeks.

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Sick Leave Without Pay

Any employee unable to return to work after exhausting all accumulated sick leave and accrued vacation leave may be granted sick leave without pay for a period not to exceed one year. Furthermore, such approved sick leave shall allow the employee the right to elect to continue his or her group insurance benefits, and the institution will continue its share of the cost for such period. All other benefits are prohibited which otherwise would accrue to the employee.

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Voluntary Savings Plans/deferred Compensation Programs

Effective May 1, 2019, the USG will offer a system wide voluntary 403 retirement savings plan and a system wide voluntary 457 retirement savings plan to which all USG employees are eligible to contribute under the provisions of Internal Revenue Code Sections 403 and 457, respectively. USG institutions shall not offer any separate voluntary retirement savings plans or nonqualified deferred compensation plans after that date. Previously created institution plans will be consolidated into the system wide plans.

USG institutions shall utilize the USG deferred compensation plans when providing deferred compensation to employees. Any contribution to the USG deferred compensation plan by an institution for an employee other than the President must be approved by the Chancellor.

All USG institutions shall provide for employee deductions for the Georgia Higher Education Savings Plan under the provisions of Internal Revenue Code Section 529.

Public Pensions In Georgia

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Georgia public pensions are the state mechanism by which state and many local government employees in Georgia receive retirement benefits.

According to the United States Census Bureau, there were 56 public pension systems in Georgia as of 2016. Of these, 11 were state-level programs while the remaining 45 were administered at the local level. As of fiscal year 2016, membership in Georgia’s various pension systems totaled 630,350. Of these, 403,940 were active members.

HIGHLIGHTS

See the sections below for specific information on pension systems in Georgia:

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How Was It Determined What Retirement Plan I Am Eligible For

All newly hired, eligible, regular full-time employees hired on or after January 1, 2009, which have never worked for the state as eligible, regular full-time employees, are enrolled in the Georgia State Employees Pension & Savings Plan .

For re-hired, eligible, regular full-time employees that previously worked for the state as eligible, regular full-time employees, your employment history and refund of previous retirement contributions determine what pension plan you are eligible for.

Hourly employees are enrolled in the Georgia Defined Contribution Plan.

Report: Bill To Give State Retirees Benefit Boost Would Cost Georgia $5 Billion

Tens of thousands of retirees from state government jobs in Georgia havent received a cost-of-living pension increase in more than a decade, and a new audit report could dim their chances of getting one consistently in the future.

The report from the state auditor estimates that proposed legislation granting state government retirees the same annual 3% raises that former teachers now receive would cost $523 million in the first year and $5 billion over 20 years.

The $523 million is more than the state spends on its court system, on promoting agriculture and other businesses, on prekindergarten programs, on issuing drivers licenses. Its three times what the state spends investigating crimes and almost twice what it spends on public health care.

State House Appropriations Chairman Terry England, R-Auburn, who has been supportive of giving state retirees a boost, said the costs would be less, but he is skeptical the General Assembly will pass a measure backed by Senate Democrats to mandate a 3% annual cost-of-living adjustment for state government retirees.

I am not going to say no, England said. I think were going to look at it.

State Sen. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta, sponsor of Senate Bill 167, the pension bill, said Georgians who worked for state agencies were promised cost-of-living raises for decades before they were ended during the Great Recession.

Pensioners can also receive Social Security.

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Tips For A Successful Retirement

• When preparing for retirement, you may run into some questions along the way. This is why you should seek the professional guidance of a financial advisor. A financial advisor can ease the savings and retirement plan process and push you closer to your financial goals. SmartAssets financial advisor matching tool can help you find the best advisor suited to your needs.
• Another important factor to consider when thinking of retirement is location. Location greatly affects the amount of taxes youll pay or the deductions you can earn from retirement income. Therefore, the state in which you retire could either push you closer or farther from your savings goals. Make sure to consider SmartAssets list of the most tax-friendly states before making a final decision.

Special Tuition Assistance Program For Nursing Faculty

The University System and the institutions encourage full-time faculty, staff, and administrators to participate in development activities and study by remitting tuition for those activities that have been authorized by the employees institution. Due to the current shortage of nursing faculty in the state of Georgia, the Tuition Assistance Program is available to Part-Time Nursing Faculty members seeking a graduate degree in Nursing. Any part-time nursing faculty member taking advantage of this program shall be required to work full time within the University System at least two years following receipt of the graduate degree in Nursing . The utilization of this program by part-time nursing faculty shall end in 2015, unless such utilization is extended by further action of the Board.

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Definition Of A Usg Retiree And Eligibility For Health Benefits Upon Retirement

Upon meeting one of the above conditions, an employee will be eligible for USG retiree benefits upon retirement. An employee must be enrolled in the benefits coverage at the time of retirement or disability to be eligible to continue coverage in retirement. The Board of Regents contributions to the retiree healthcare coverage will be established each year by the Board.

Effective November 1, 2002, to be eligible for retirement with benefits from the USG, an employee must meet one of the following four conditions at the time of his or her separation from employment, regardless of the retirement plan elected by the employee: