Annual Life Insurance Review is Coming Soon!

Register for a University Ready to Retire Session this Fall!

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It’s that time of year again!

For employees who already have optional life insurance, October is their window of opportunity to increase their coverage without proving insurability (no medical history statement required).

Benefit-eligible employees actively employed before September 1, 2024, can increase coverage amounts (in increments of $10,000) by up to $20,000 without proving insurability, provided the coverage amount does not exceed six times their annual salary, or $800,000. Keep in mind that this opportunity does not apply to spouse and child(ren) coverage (see FAQs). If an employee wishes to maintain their current level of coverage, no action is required.

Remind Employees to Check Their Email

In late September, MOSERS will email eligible employees instructions on how to increase coverage. If eligible, they will find a personalized letter in their Document Express online mailbox outlining their optional life insurance coverage options. Please encourage them to read it carefully. If no valid email address is on file, MOSERS will mail a letter.

All MOSERS members have access to Document Express. Employees may use ESS and go to MOSERS or log in to myMOSERS and follow the prompts. Remind your employees that they must have a valid email address on file with MOSERS to create an Online ID and password. If an employee cannot enroll online, they may contact a MOSERS benefit counselor for assistance.

Instructions for Increasing Coverage

If your employee wishes to increase their optional life insurance coverage amount, have them access their MOSERS Member Homepage through ESS or log in to myMOSERS between October 1 and October 31, 2024 (midnight). On the MOSERS Member Homepage, the employee must click the Update Now button and follow the steps to increase coverage.

Confirmation of Election

If an employee increases their coverage, we will post a confirmation letter to Document Express, which they can access by logging in to myMOSERS. We will send an email notification once it is posted and ready to be viewed. If the employee opted out of electronic delivery, we will send a confirmation letter in the mail reflecting any changes to their coverage.

Important Details

• We will provide eligible employees with their current 2024 coverage amount and monthly premiums, as well as their new 2025 premiums.
• Any new elections in October will go into effect on January 1, 2025, if they meet the “actively at work” requirement. More information is available in the Life Insurance Handbook.
• Term life insurance proceeds are paid to the designated beneficiary(ies) when the employee dies. There is no cash or loan value.
• Employees can use the Optional Life Insurance Calculator to research premiums on their own.

Life insurance through MOSERS is not available to Department of Conservation or university employees (except State Technical College of Missouri & Lincoln University) because those employers provide their own life insurance benefits.

Updating Beneficiaries

The Annual Benefit Statement employees receive from MOSERS includes their primary life insurance beneficiary designation. If an employee has had a life event that may affect this information, such as a marriage, divorce, or death, please encourage them to update their beneficiary designations as soon as possible. Beneficiary designations can be updated online by following these steps:

• Log in to myMOSERS.
• Select Forms, then Life Insurance Beneficiaries in the top menu.
• Follow the instructions for completing and submitting the online form.

The new beneficiary designations will become effective upon receipt by MOSERS.

Optional Life Insurance FAQs

Q: Can employees decrease or terminate their optional life insurance coverage?

A: Yes. They must complete an Enrollment/Change - Optional Life Insurance form and submit it to MOSERS. Employees can complete and submit the form electronically by logging in to myMOSERS at any time during the year. Remember, to be eligible for future annual review periods, they must maintain at least $10,000 of optional life insurance coverage.

Q: Can employees continue their optional life insurance into retirement?

A: Yes. If they retire directly from active employment or within 65 days of leaving state employment, the state will continue to provide $5,000 in basic life insurance coverage at no cost to them. They may retain up to $60,000 in optional life insurance, provided they had at least that amount while actively employed. They may retain all their coverage until age 62 if they retire under the Rule of 80 in MSEP 2000 or under the Rule of 90 in MSEP 2011. At age 62, the coverage amount will automatically reduce to $60,000. They may reduce or terminate their optional life coverage amount after they retire, but they may not increase it.

Q: Can employees purchase (or increase) coverage for their spouse or dependent child in October?

A: They may increase or add coverage on a spouse at any time but must prove insurability. To do so, they must submit the following forms by logging in to myMOSERS:

• Enrollment/Change - Optional Life Insurance
• The Standard’s Medical History Statement

Eligible dependent child(ren) can be enrolled at any time without proof of insurability by submitting an Enrollment/Change - Optional Life Insurance form. Dependent changes can be requested at any time, not just during October. The coverage amount will remain $10,000 per child with a premium of $2 per month, regardless of the number of insured children.

For coverage purposes only, a child is defined as the member's child from live birth to age 26. This includes biological children, dependent stepchildren and grandchildren, adopted children, and children for whom the member is the court-appointed legal guardian, provided they live with the member. Full-time members of the armed forces of any country, regardless of age, are not included in the definition of an eligible child.

Disabled children older than age 26, who are continuously incapable of self-sustaining employment because of developmental, intellectual, or physical handicaps and are dependent on the member for support, are also eligible for dependent coverage. However, the member must provide proof that their child is disabled and be approved by The Standard Insurance Company for continued coverage. (The Continued Dependent Life Insurance for a Disabled Child form is available in our Online Library or can be requested from a MOSERS benefit counselor.)

Q: Can employees enroll in the Optional Life Insurance Plan if they are not currently enrolled?

A: If they have a family status change (including marriage, divorce, or legal separation; birth of a child; adoption of a child; or death of a spouse or child), they may be eligible to apply for up to $30,000 of optional life insurance coverage, in $10,000 increments, for themselves without proving insurability. They must complete an Enrollment/Change - Optional Life Insurance form within 31 days of the event and submit proof of family status change. Otherwise, the employee must submit the Medical History Statement along with the Enrollment/Change - Optional Life Insurance form and be approved by The Standard Insurance Company for the coverage to be effective.

Fall is almost here, and that means MOSERS will be on many campuses presenting Ready to Retire seminars designed for higher education institution employees who are within five years of retirement eligibility and are either MSEP or MSEP 2000

Seminar topics include pension plan features, the retirement process (due dates, etc.), benefit formula, cost-of-living adjustments, and the decisions employees will need to make during the retirement process, including benefit payment options, BackDROP, and termination and re-employment rules.

Encourage your university employees to register for an upcoming session by logging in to myMOSERS. Once they are registered, we will send confirmation and reminder emails to their Document Express online mailbox.

Registration closes one week before in-person seminars, so the sooner they register, the better! Remind your employees to check out our Education page for more details.

Please note: MOSERS may cancel any seminars with less than 15 enrollees at the time registration closes. If enrollment is low for any seminar, MOSERS will contact you at least a week before the registration closing date. 

Purchasing and Transferring Service Guide for MSEP (Closed Plan) Members - September 2024

Purchasing and Transferring Service Guide for MSEP 2000 Members - September 2024

Purchasing and Transferring Service Guide for MSEP 2011 Members - September 2024

Summary of Plan Benefits (All Plans) - September 2024

Summary of Plan Benefits (MSEP & MSEP 2000) - September 2024

BackDROP for General State Employees (MSEP & MSEP 2000) flyer - August 2024

Reminder: The Salary Verification Report is Ready to Work!

Invalid Address Report

Check Out the New Employer Reference Guide and Updated Employers Pages!

What’s the Difference? Defined Benefit vs. Defined Contribution

Register for a Statewide New Employee Benefits Webinar!

Instructions:

1. Log In: Sign in to the Employer Login.
2. Navigate: Hover over the Error Reports heading and click on the Salary Verification Report.
3. Review: Names of individuals responsible for working the report will appear. Select the appropriate name or department to view the report. Please ensure the individuals listed are aware of their requirement to work the report.
4. Submit: Responses will be recorded and submitted to MOSERS electronically.

Deadline: The report must be completed by September 5.

MOSERS is making final preparations for our Annual Life Insurance Review, which will occur in October. To ensure that all benefit-eligible employees receive their life insurance review information, it is crucial that we have correct mailing addresses on file. MOSERS does not send mail to members who have an invalid address on file in our system.

Action Required:

1. Log In: Sign in to the Employer Login.
2. Navigate: Hover over the Error Reports heading and click on the Invalid Address Report.
3. Review and Update: Submit any necessary changes.

Members who are new to MOSERS, as well as existing members, may not be aware that their MOSERS defined benefit pension and defined contribution plan through MO Deferred Comp are two separate benefits.

Remind your employees that their MOSERS pension and MO Deferred Comp savings plan deliver two completely different sources of income in retirement. They both work together to provide members with financial stability throughout their retirement.

If your employees want to save more in retirement, have them reach out to MO Deferred Comp. Their financial education professionals are happy to help!

Join us for Statewide New Employee Benefit Webinars starting in August!

These webinars will be offered bimonthly via Webex from 2:00 until 3:30 p.m. on the 1st and 16th of each month. They will allow all new state employees to learn about their benefits consistently and save time and effort for our benefit providers.

Statewide New Employee Benefit Webinars will include live benefit training and informational sessions with benefit providers from MOSERS, MO Deferred Comp, MCHCP, MO Cafe, and MoVLIC. If your new employees are unable to attend, they can access recorded webinars on the MO Benefits website.

Tax Withholding Authorization and IRS W-4P form - August 2024

We still have seats available at several in-person Ready to Retire seminars this summer. These sessions are designed for general state employees who are within five years of retirement eligibility. Members will learn about the decisions they will need to make and prepare for the retirement process.

How to enroll in a summer session:

Members can log in to myMOSERS, click on Education Enrollment, then on Ready to Retire. After reviewing the schedule, they can select the session they want to attend and complete the registration information.

Once registered, we will send a confirmation to the member’s MOSERS Document Express online mailbox, as well as reminders leading up to the session.

Remind your employees to check out our Education page to see all the remaining 2024 seminar dates!

Already enrolled? Bring a spouse or guest!

How members can prepare for the session:

• Use the Comparison Calculator to see the long-term impact of different retirement options.
• Log in to their MO Deferred Comp account and review their last statement.
• Open a mySocialSecurity account to review their most recent Social Security Statement.

Encourage your employees to save their seat for a Ready to Retire summer session today!

MOSERS will release the Annual Salary Verification Report in mid-August. Once the report is ready for your review, we will send a notice (including instructions). Employers must complete all salary verifications by September 5.

Eligible employees receive one times their annual salary in basic life insurance coverage. The amount of coverage adjusts each January according to the employee's annual earnings in effect on July 31 of the previous year (or the employee's first day of coverage if not covered on July 31).

• Annual earnings include normal earnings from a benefit-eligible position, including shift differential, security differential, and retention pay.
• Overtime pay and other irregular payments are excluded from annual earnings.
• If an employee works simultaneously in both a benefit-eligible and non-benefit-eligible position, only pay from the benefit-eligible position is included in annual earnings.

If you have questions about the annual salary verification process, please email employers@mosers.org. You can also watch the Life Insurance Verification tutorial on how to work the report.

RetireeNews - 2024 Summer Newsletter - July 2024

Total Compensation Calculator - July 2024

MOSERS Strategic Plan - June 2024

Investment Policy Statement - May 2024

New Employer Reference Guide Available

Reminder for Mid-Career Webinars!

As a reminder, the employer retirement contribution rates for MSEP, MSEP 2000, and MSEP 2011, as well as for the Judicial Plan and Judicial Plan 2011, are changing effective July 1, 2024.

The changes to the employer retirement contribution rates for the respective plans, effective July 1, 2024, are as follows:

There are no changes to the employer contribution rates for CURP, basic life insurance, and long-term disability benefits.

If you are a SAM II employer, contributions occur automatically as a percentage of payroll, and you do not need to take any additional action.

We have added an Employer Reference Guide to the Employers page of the MOSERS website. In it, you will find information relevant to your reporting duties to MOSERS, such as benefit eligibility, contributions, service and salary credit, employee status changes, and more. We encourage you to use the guide as a resource and to contact employers@mosers.org if you have any questions. We will inform you of additional updates and navigation changes to the Employers page, particularly as we approach deploying the new system, Phoenix.

As liaisons between MOSERS and our members, your diligence and efforts in educating your employees about the benefits we offer are truly valued.

We receive more than 3,000 service-related forms from employers each month, which significantly impacts how MOSERS is able to administer benefits to state employees. By submitting a leave of absence, transfer, or termination form, you ensure that your employees receive the credit they deserve.

You truly make a difference in people’s lives every single day.

Thanks for Joining Us!

Summer Education Opportunities

April Hiring Event Was a Success!

Reminder: Scheduling Appointments in Advance