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  • Withdrawing Funds

    Jul 14, 2023, 1:44 PM By MOSERS
    can we withdraw from retirement? 

    If you are actively employed as a state employee, you cannot opt-out or withdraw any funds from your MOSERS defined benefit retirement plan. If you participate in MO Deferred Comp (the supplemental savings program), you may contact them at (800) 392-0925 or (573) 893-1053 to ask about making an emergency withdrawal from your savings.

    Members of MSEP 2011 or the Judicial Plan 2011 who leave state employment may choose to either request a refund of their employee contributions (if they don’t anticipate returning to state employment) or leave their contributions with MOSERS (if they do anticipate returning to state employment).

    Please note that, there is a 90-day waiting period and if you take a refund, you will forfeit all your credited service. Alternatively, you may leave your contributions with the System if you think you might return to work for the state at some point in the future and would like for those years of service to count toward an eventual retirement benefit. To learn more, please visit our Refund of Employee Contributions page. 

    If you saved money with the MO Deferred Comp Plan while employed with the state, you do have the option to withdraw your 457 savings penalty-free upon leaving state service or you may roll your savings balance to another qualified retirement savings plan. Please visit www.modeferredcomp.org for more information.

    We encourage you to contact a tax professional or financial advisor for advice specific to your situation.

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  • Attending a Ready to Retire Session...Again!

    Jun 13, 2023, 1:38 PM By MOSERS

    I have taken the retirement class previously, but now that I am closer to retirement, can I take it again for more clarification?

    Absolutely! We encourage members to attend a Ready to Retire session more than once in the years leading up to retirement. Now that you are nearing retirement, it would be a great choice to attend again.

    Please note that our system will not allow you to enroll in more than one session in a calendar year. This is to keep seats available for those who are very close to retirement.

    Visit our Education page to learn more and register today!
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  • Updating Your Beneficiaries

    Jun 1, 2023, 12:00 AM By MOSERS

    Not a comment, but a question. How do I change the beneficiary of this pension? I didn't see an online form to make changes. 

    The number and types of beneficiaries you have depends primarily on your employment status and eligibility for MOSERS benefits:

    • Actively employed as a state employee or
    • Inactive-vested (worked long enough to earn a future pension benefit but no longer employed by the state and not yet retired) or
    • Retired

    ACTIVE: You may have beneficiaries for life insurance (if provided through MOSERS) and/or employee contributions (if you are a member of MSEP 2011 or the Judicial Plan 2011).

    INACTIVE-VESTED: You may have beneficiaries for employee contributions (if you are a member of MSEP 2011 or the Judicial Plan 2011). However, you won’t make decisions about your future MOSERS defined benefit pension benefits, including those about survivor beneficiaries, until you apply for retirement.

    RETIRED: You may have beneficiaries for life insurance (if provided through MOSERS and you retained life insurance coverage in retirement) and/or employee contributions (if you are a member of MSEP 2011 or the Judicial Plan 2011). You may change the above beneficiaries at any time. You are allowed to change your survivor beneficiaries for your MOSERS defined benefit pension only under the following circumstances:

    • You were married at retirement, elected a joint & survivor benefit payment option and your spouse passes away. See more information about reporting a death.
    • You were married at retirement, elected a joint & survivor benefit payment option and you get divorced after retirement. Go to the Life Events page and scroll down to Divorce.
    • You were single at retirement, elected the Life Income Annuity benefit payment option and then got married. Go to the Life Events page and scroll down to Marriage.
    • You elected one of the “life income with guaranteed payments” benefit payment options at retirement and want to change your beneficiary(ies).

    Log in to myMOSERS and go to Forms. If any of the above apply to you, you will see the forms to update your beneficiaries. If you still have questions, please contact a MOSERS benefit counselor at mosers@mosers.org, (800) 827-1063 or (573) 632-6100.

    If you participate in MO Deferred Comp, which is a supplemental savings plan separate from your MOSERS defined benefit pension plan, you may update your beneficiaries with MO Deferred Comp, on their website. 

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  • Security of Benefits

    Apr 5, 2023, 7:53 AM By MOSERS
    Is our pension fund safe? The fed is considering bail-ins. Have you backed our pension funds with gold and silver or other tangible assets? We all worked for years to get to retirement. Our little pensions mean the world to our living standards. Please tell me you are protecting our pension fund.

    Your promised pension benefits are an obligation of the state and they are secure. Unlike individual retirees, MOSERS invests over a very long-term time horizon. Our portfolio is well-diversified and designed to weather the volatility of the financial markets. We encourage you to visit our Funding page to learn more.

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  • Understanding the BackDROP Period

    Apr 4, 2023, 4:07 PM By MOSERS
    I am eligible for retirement January 1, 2025. If I choose to do a backdrop say for instance for 5 years. So continue working until January 1, 2030. Can I continue working after the 5 year back drop? I am aware that my pay will remain the same pay rate the day I retire until I leave employment. 

    Yes, you may continue working as many years as you like beyond your initial retirement eligibility date. If, at retirement, you elect BackDROP, this would affect when your BackDROP period would start. Your BackDROP period will always be the period immediately prior to actual retirement date.

    Based on your example:

    If you are initially eligible to retire 1/1/2025, but decide to work to 10 more years, retiring in 1/1/2035, and elect a 5-year BackDROP, your BackDROP period would start 1/1/2030.

    If you elect a BackDROP, we will calculate your monthly benefit using your final average pay (FAP) and credited service as of your BackDROP date. We would look at your entire pay history prior to the BackDROP period and find the highest 36-consecutive months of pay. We will not include any service credit or pay (including pay increases, overtime, etc.) earned during the BackDROP period to calculate your monthly pension payment.

    See the BackDROP page on our website or contact a MOSERS benefit counselor for more information.

    Note: BackDROP is available only to general state employees (including university employees) in MSEP and MSEP 2000. 

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  • The BackDROP Period

    Feb 21, 2023, 11:37 AM By MOSERS
    If an employee is eligible to retire and stays more than 5 years past normal retirement eligibility ( I will use 10 years as an example), does the 5 year Backdrop period start from the time of normal retirement eligibility or does it start 5 years prior to whenever the employee actually retires? If so, which time period is used to calculate the FAP at retirement?

    In the example you gave and assuming the employee elected a 5-year BackDROP, the BackDROP period would be the 5 years prior to when they actually retire.

    The BackDROP period is the period of time between the employee’s BackDROP date (the day their BackDROP period begins) and their actual retirement date. The maximum BackDROP period is five years. The BackDROP date can move depending on when the employee actually retires and the BackDROP period they elect at retirement.

    For example:

    If the employee is initially eligible to retire 3/1/2023, but decides to work to 10 more years, retires 3/1/2033, and elects a 5-year BackDROP, their BackDROP period would start 3/1/2028.

    If they elect a BackDROP, we will calculate their monthly benefit using their final average pay (FAP) and credited service as of their BackDROP date. We would look at the employee’s entire pay history prior to the BackDROP period and find the highest 36-consecutive months of pay. We will not include any service credit or pay (including pay increases, overtime, etc.) earned during the BackDROP period to calculate their monthly pension payment.

    See the BackDROP page on our website for more information.

    Note: BackDROP is available only to general state employees (including university employees) in MSEP and MSEP 2000. 

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  • Public Pension Exemption

    Feb 21, 2023, 7:55 AM By MOSERS
    Good morning. How exactly does the public pension exemption work? Do I have to sign up for that or does someone automatically know that I qualify due to the amount I make? I’m confused on how this works. Thanks for any help you can give me.

    Your MOSERS pension benefit is subject to normal federal taxes. It is also subject to normal Missouri state income taxes if you are a resident of Missouri. However, because you are a Missouri resident, you may qualify for the Public Pension Exemption as it relates to Missouri state taxes.

    In order to be eligible for the full deduction, your Missouri adjusted gross income must fall within certain income limitations. These limitations are not decided by MOSERS, you may contact the Missouri Department of Revenue to see if you qualify or ask your tax professional. If your income exceeds the limitation, you may qualify for a partial exemption. Visit the Missouri Department of Revenue's Public Pension Exemption page or read our Missouri Public Pension Exemption flyer for more information.

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  • How to change direct deposit account

    Feb 9, 2023, 9:55 AM By MOSERS
    How do I change my direct deposit account to a different account?

    To update your direct deposit information, just log in to myMOSERS. Once logged in, click Forms, then select Direct Deposit. From there you can begin to fill out and complete the Direct Deposit Authorization form online or you can complete the paper Direct Deposit Authorization form and mail it to MOSERS.

    If you need assistance, feel free to contact a MOSERS benefit counselor at (800) 827-1063 or (573) 632-6100.

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  • Annual Benefit Statements

    Feb 8, 2023, 7:56 AM By MOSERS

    When will the 2022 Annual Benefit Statements be available?

    We send Annual Benefit Statements in March to all active members. You can access last year’s statement by logging in to myMOSERS, clicking on Online Documents, and selecting Document Express. It is available to print or save as a PDF. Once all 2023 statements are sent, we will send you an email and you will be able to access this year’s statement by logging in to myMOSERS. If you have opted to receive paper notifications, we will mail your statement to you. Please be sure your email address and mailing address is up to date with us!

    Retirees get their Annual Benefit Statement each year on the anniversary of their retirement date or BackDROP date. We send benefit statements to elected officials and members on LTD in July, and we send statements to vested former state employees once every 5 years. 

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  • How to Submit Tax Withholding Forms

    Feb 7, 2023, 9:48 AM By MOSERS
    I wanted to change my tax withholding and after talking to the operator at Mosers, I understand I can't complete the form I used to for a change in the amount. I got the Authorization completed online and printed off to sign, but was unable to fill out the W-4P online so I printed and now am completing by hand. I guess I will have to mail the forms; didn't see instructions that I could email them to you online. And of course since I am needing to complete by hand the W-4P I am unable to email

    You are correct, there is a new form, which is required by the IRS as of January 1, 2023, IF you want to make any changes to your tax withholdings. (If you don’t want to make changes, no action is required.) Once you have completed both the Tax Withholding Authorization and the IRS W-4P forms and you have signed and dated them, you can return them to us by:

    1. Faxing them to (573) 632-6103,
    2. Scanning them and sending them as an attachment via email to mosers@mosers.org,
    3. Submitting them using the Document Upload feature after you have logged in to myMOSERS
    4. Depositing them in the drop box outside of our office or bringing them in to the receptionist, or
    5. Mailing them to us at MOSERS, PO Box 209, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0209
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Disclaimer

We strive to provide the most accurate information possible in our answers to Rumor Central questions. However, occasionally, laws, policies or provisions change and individual circumstances may vary. Please contact a MOSERS benefit counselor or see the handbooks in our website Library for more detailed information. If there is any difference between the information provided in this blog or on the MOSERS website and the law or policies that govern MOSERS, the law and policies will prevail. See our Privacy, Security & Legal Notices for more information.