September 10, 2007: This posting contains the following questions:

Are you automatically covered for LTD through MOSERS if you are a state employee? When using the website's calculator, are the estimates based on the current year dollar value or are they projected to the year of retirement?  In other words, is it using projected COLA increases? Thank you and thanks for this site! When I retired last year, I chose to take the BackDROP.  How does this affect my reemployment by the state?  Can I work a non-benefit job now, or must I wait three years? Will you only be mailing out our 1099-Rs for this year or can we print it out online?  When would they be available?

Yes, if you are in a benefit eligible position, you are automatically enrolled for long-term disability (LTD) and covered on the first day you become a member of MOSERS, provided you meet the actively at work requirement.

The following groups are not in benefit eligible positions for MOSERS LTD:

• Members already eligible for normal (unreduced) retirement from MOSERS
  
  
• Employees of state colleges and universities (except Lincoln University and Linn State Technical College)
  

If you are using the “Select a Date” estimate through the secure Member Login area of MOSERS website, your estimates are based on the most current information we have at the time. That means, if you are looking at a future date, we are calculating your final average pay as though you would continue to earn pay at the same rate you are currently earning. We do not make any assumptions regarding any possible salary increases you may receive.

There is a COLA feature that comes into play once your benefit estimate has been calculated. In order to see how your benefit payments might increase over time, you can select a COLA percentage and it will calculate your benefit payments over a period of years using the COLA percentage you selected.

The fact that you took a BackDROP payment has no bearing on whether or not you can return to work for the state. Working for the state in a position that is not eligible for benefits does not have any impact on your retirement benefit. You may work in such a position and continue to receive a retirement benefit from MOSERS. Be sure to discuss your situation with the human resources staff at the agency where you are considering employment. They will be able to tell you whether or not the position is eligible for benefits.

If you retire and later return to work in a benefit eligible position covered by MOSERS, your retirement benefit will be stopped as long as you continue working. Once you retire again, your benefit will resume but again, it would have no bearing on the BackDROP payment you received at the time of your retirement.

Reemployed by HTEHPRS
If you become employed in a position covered by the Highway and Transportation Employees’ and Highway Patrol Retirement System (HTEHPRS), your MOSERS benefit will be stopped until you retire again.

• MSEP retirees will not receive additional service credit or additional retirement benefits from MOSERS for the period of service while reemployed under HTEHPRS.


• MSEP 2000 retirees will receive additional service credit and monthly retirement benefits from MOSERS for the period of service while reemployed under HTEHPRS.

We are required to mail 1099-Rs to retirees by the end of the month each January.

We are reviewing the Internal Revenue Service’s requirements to determine if we can develop a process to allow members to reprint the 1099-R forms electronically. We will let members know if this process will be available next year.