If you leave state employment prior to becoming eligible for normal retirement, you may request a refund of your employee contributions plus any credited interest. By law, there is a 90-day waiting period before we can issue a refund. By taking a refund, your forfeit all your credited service. Or, 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. See our Employee Contributions brochure for more information.

You can review the full list of MOSERS covered employers to see what state agencies receive our benefits. Generally speaking, an employee must work in a position normally requiring at least 1,040 hours per year to qualify for MOSERS benefits. It is important to note that it is the responsibility of the employer, not MOSERS, to determine if a position is eligible for MOSERS benefits. If you were to go to work for any other MOSERS covered employer in a benefit-eligible position, it would add to your existing state service.

Depending upon your plan membership (MSEP, MSEP 2000, or MSEP 2011), you may be able to purchase or transfer service from one retirement system to another, including the following types of service

• Service with MODOT or the Missouri Highway Patrol
• Service with a city, county, or public school in Missouri
• Prior military service
  

Purchasing or transferring service may increase your pension benefit and may make you eligible for retirement sooner. For more information contact a MOSERS benefit counselor and see

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

Purchasing and Transferring Service Guide for MSEP 2000 Members

Purchasing and Transferring Service Guide for MSEP 2011 Members

You are not able to access your MOSERS defined benefit pension until retirement. However, if you no longer work in a MOSERS benefit-eligible position, and you are a member of MSEP 2011, you may be eligible to request a refund of your employee contributions. By taking a refund, you will lose all your credited service and future rights to receive pension and LTD benefits from MOSERS. By law, there is a 90-day waiting period before we can issue a refund.

The MO Deferred Comp 457 retirement savings plan permits in-service withdrawals from your account under the following circumstances; you experience a qualifying, unforeseeable emergency that causes extreme financial hardship, or if your account balance is $5,000 or less – you may elect a one-time, in-service distribution, provided you have not made a contribution during the prior two-year period. Please visit www.modeferredcomp.org for more information or if you have any questions please call (800) 392-0925. 

We are working on a new system that will allow you to make a simple update without re-entering all information for your beneficiaries, but right now, with our current system, you must start over and re-enter all information about your beneficiaries if you want to update one of them.

To update your beneficiary designations, you must first log in to myMOSERS. Complete and submit the Designation/Change of Beneficiaries form (“Life Ins Beneficiaries” from the Forms drop-down menu) for basic and optional life insurance. This form also applies to deleting a beneficiary. You will need to enter the information of your new beneficiaries and submit the form. If you are a member of the MSEP 2011 or the Judicial Plan 2011, you should also complete and submit the Contribution Beneficiaries form for your employee contributions.

Visit our Life Events page for more information.

With BackDROP, you will get a lump-sum payment at retirement in addition to your monthly pension payments from MOSERS. Choosing BackDROP will, most likely, reduce the amount of your ongoing monthly benefit payments. We will provide you with Benefit Estimates at the time of retirement to show your BackDROP options and the impact of taking BackDROP on your monthly benefit payments. You can get estimates at any time by logging in to myMOSERS or by contacting a MOSERS benefit counselor.

At retirement, we will ask you if you want to elect BackDROP or not and, if so, how you want to take your BackDROP lump-sum payment. Your choices are to take it as a cash payment, as a direct rollover to an individual retirement account or eligible employer plan such as MO Deferred Comp, or as a combination of cash and rollover

Along with your first monthly pension benefit payment, we will issue your BackDROP payment (as either cash, rollover, or a combination) on the last working day of the month in which you retire.

Your question about how much you can draw from your BackDROP is really about taxes and possible IRS penalties.

• Cash Option: This is either one lump-sum payment at retirement or three annual installments. From any amounts paid in cash, we will deduct 20% for federal income tax (as required by the IRS) and any Missouri state income tax withholding you choose. You will be responsible for any IRS early withdrawal penalties that may apply.
• Rollover Option: We will send your tax-deferred distribution directly to a qualified employer plan. See the MO Deferred Comp flyer, Thinking About the BackDROP?, for more information.
• Combination Cash & Rollover Option: You can take a portion of the lump sum in cash (less 20% for federal income tax, as required by the IRS, and any Missouri state income tax you choose to have withheld) and roll the rest over to a qualified employer plan. You will be responsible for any IRS early withdrawal penalties that may apply.  

Visit the BackDROP page on our website for additional information.

Note: BackDROP is available only to general state employees in MSEP and MSEP 2000 who work at least two years beyond normal retirement eligibility.

Yes, overtime can increase a member’s pension benefits.

Retirement benefits for general state employees are calculated using a three-part formula: Final Average Pay (FAP)  x credited service  x  a multiplier =  Monthly Base Benefit

To calculate your pension benefit, we will use your highest 36 full consecutive months of pay – wherever that occurs in your individual pay history. 

In identifying your “high 36” months, overtime pay is included in the pay period for which it was earned. 

The multiplier for general state employees in MSEP is 1.6%; it is 1.7% for general state employees in MSEP 2000 and MSEP 2011.

You will need your 1099-R form from MOSERS to file your federal income tax return. You may have already received yours in the mail back in early February. If you prefer an electronic copy of your 1099-R or if you find you need a replacement copy of it, simply log in to  myMOSERS  and you will find it listed under Personal Information. It is available to print.

If you lived in Missouri at any point during the tax year, you may owe Missouri state taxes, but you may also qualify for the Missouri State Public Pension Exemption. Contact the Missouri Department of Revenue and state tax agency in Michigan for additional information about and to inquire if you will need to file a state tax return in either or both states. 

Yes, that is correct. The benefit you receive through MOSERS is considered a public pension for tax reporting purposes. If you are a Missouri resident, you may qualify for the Public Pension Exemption. Visit the Missouri Department of Revenue's Public Pension Exemption page or read our Missouri Public Pension Exemption flyer for more information. Additionally, you can visit the Taxes page on our website.

 Yes, there is an early retirement option for members who are members of the MSEP 2000. What we referenced in the previous Rumor Central post was just normal retirement eligibility, not early retirement eligibility. You can find more information on our MSEP 2000 web page.

To update your beneficiary designations, log in to myMOSERS. Complete and submit the Designation/Change of Beneficiaries form (“Life Ins Beneficiaries” from the Forms drop-down menu) for basic and optional life insurance. If you are a member of the MSEP 2011 or the Judicial Plan 2011, you should also complete and submit the Contribution Beneficiaries form for your employee contributions.

If you cannot log in to submit the forms online, contact a MOSERS benefit counselor at mosers@mosers.org, (800) 827-1063 or (573) 632-6100 to request paper forms, which we will mail to your home address.

If you participate in the state’s deferred compensation program, you may want to update your beneficiaries with MO Deferred Comp, as well.