Since a MOSERS pension is from Social Security covered employment in which you paid Social Security payroll taxes, it has no effect on your Social Security benefit. Additionally, your MOSERS benefit is a pension and, therefore, it does not count as salary or wages towards the annual earnings limit for Social Security.

We also suggest you speak to a tax professional or financial advisor for advice specific to your situation. 

Thank you for your email. While we mention the member’s responsibility for state taxes on BackDROP cash payments in the Ready to Retire seminar (and reference book) and on the BackDROP Distribution form, we appreciate your feedback and will try and highlight this point in the future. 

Unused sick leave does NOT count towards service for retirement ELIGIBILITY. In other words, it will not make you eligible for retirement sooner than you would have been without it. You must meet both the age and service requirements – not counting unused sick leave – to be eligible to retire.

However, as part of your retirement benefit calculation, we will add one month of additional service for each block of 168 hours of unused sick leave you have at retirement. This will increase the AMOUNT of your benefit payment every month in retirement. 

There are some specific situations in which unused sick leave doesn’t count:

• MSEP 2011 members: If you left state employment after January 1, 2018, and prior to being eligible for early or normal retirement, you will get no service credit for unused sick leave.
• MSEP retirees: If you leave state employment prior to being eligible for early or normal retirement, you will get no service credit for your unused sick leave.
• Legislators, statewide elected officials, and judges: You do not accrue sick leave.

It depends on where you transfer to. MOSERS defined benefit pension plan covers most, but not all, state agencies. If you are transferring from a benefit-eligible position with one MOSERS-covered employer to a benefit-eligible position with another MOSERS-covered employer, then yes, you can continue to find the information you need on our website and your personal information by logging in to myMOSERS. This is a nice advantage of working for the state since it gives you so many options.

If you move to an employer not covered by MOSERS, you should contact that retirement system. For example, employees of the Missouri Department of Transportation and the Missouri Highway Patrol are covered by the MODot and Patrol Employees’ Retirement System (MPERS).

If you are referring to your MO Deferred Comp contributions, when transferring to another state agency, your contribution to your deferred compensation account will not be interrupted. However, we recommend that you confirm with your human resources or payroll representative to ensure that all deductions are accurate. To view your deferred comp account for balance and contribution activity, you can either access through the ESS portal or by logging in at www.modeferredcomp.org.  

To establish your eligibility for retirement, you must submit an acceptable proof-of-age and lawful presence document with your retirement application. You can submit one of the following documents:

• U.S. Birth Certificate (certified with embossed or raised seal issued by state or local government)

OR a photocopy of one of the following:

• Valid Missouri Driver’s License or Missouri Nondriver ID

• U.S. Passport (current or expired)

• U.S. Certificate of Citizenship

• U.S. Certificate of Naturalization

• U.S. Certificate of Birth Abroad

You can mail in or drop off your birth certificate and we will return it.

To upload any of the other documents, log in to myMOSERS. Once you are logged in, click Online Documents and then Document Upload.

Once you upload a document, our staff must process it. Please allow 1-2 business days for it to show as complete in our system.

No, that is not true. A retired member may return to work with a MOSERS-covered employer as long they follow the termination and reemployment rules.

Before receiving a benefit payment from MOSERS, an employee must have a “bona fide termination". For purposes of the MOSERS’ board rules, a "bona fide termination" occurs when:

1. You have completely severed employment;
2. You have not entered into a prearranged agreement, prior to retirement, with any employer for subsequent employment on any basis (full-time, part-time, or other); and
3. You are not subsequently employed by any employer on any basis (full-time, part-time, or other) within 30 days after your employment with your prior employer has ended.

For purposes of these rules, “employer” means the State of Missouri or any other MOSERS-covered employer. See FAQs on Separation of Service for more information.

Upon meeting the termination and reemployment rules, you may return to work and continue receiving your monthly pension payment, as long as your position is not a MOSERS or MoDOT and Patrol Employees’ Retirement System (MPERS) benefit-eligible position.

This is a great question! The source you reference is comparing the change from just the month of December in 2020 to just the month of December in 2021. According to Missouri state law, each January, MOSERS must compare the average monthly values of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the calendar year just completed (2021) to the average CPI from the prior year (2020) to determine the percentage change between the two years. For example, while the difference from the month of December 2020 to the month of December 2021 was nearly 7%, the difference from January 2020 to January 2021 was 1.38%. We must use the average change from one year to the next. Please see the 2022 COLA Calculation Memo for details.

 As you noted, for general state employees, COLAs are based on 80% of the percentage increase in the average (CPI) from one year to the next. The maximum increase is 5% (minimum 0%). Please see the article, The 2022 COLA is Here, for additional information. 

You are correct. Upon meeting the termination and reemployment rules, you may return to work and continue receiving your monthly pension payment, as long as your position is not a MOSERS or MoDOT and Patrol Employees’ Retirement System (MPERS) benefit-eligible position (i.e. a position normally requiring at least 1,040 hours a year).

Contracted employees working directly under a private firm are not typically classified as state employees. Such employment should not interfere with your ability to receive your MOSERS benefit, however, we recommend that you contact the employer to confirm that anyone employed as such would not be considered a state employee.

If you return to work for the state of Missouri in a MOSERS or MPERS benefit-eligible position:

• Your monthly pension payment will stop.
• Depending on various factors (your plan, how long you work, etc.), you may or may not earn additional credited service during reemployment.
• When you retire again, your monthly pension payment will equal the amount you were receiving when you returned to work plus any additional benefit you may have earned during reemployment.

You are correct. For MSEP 2011 members we offer two in-person Ready to Retire seminars in Jefferson City. However, we also have two online webinars available this year on May 17^th and September 20^th. This is a great way to skip the commute and get important benefit information from your home.

You can visit our Ready to Retire page for more information and to learn how to register for a webinar.