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. Please view the list of MOSERS covered employers. There is no limit on how much you earn.

However, 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.

*Benefit Eligible Position: It is the responsibility of the employer, not MOSERS, to determine if a position is eligible for MOSERS benefits. Generally speaking, an employee must work in a position normally requiring at least 1,040 hours per year to qualify for MOSERS benefits. The number of hours required by a position should be based on the number of hours expected during the normal course of business over a one-year period by position, regardless of whether the position is intended to be temporary or permanent in nature.

Yes, you may postpone your retirement.

If you have already submitted a Retirement Application and decide to postpone your retirement date, you must send a written notice to MOSERS. We must receive your written notice prior to issuing your first benefit payment (ideally by mid-February in the situation described). Once your first benefit payment has been mailed or electronically transferred by MOSERS, your retirement election is irrevocable and cannot be changed. You may submit this request on paper or by email to mosers@mosers.org  from an email address we already have on file for you.

Your new retirement date must be the first of the month and within 120 days of the date of your application. If you choose a date that is more than 120 days from the date of your application, you must complete a new application.

Example: If you filed your application on January 6 for a March 1 retirement date, you may postpone until April 1 or May 1 since those dates are within 120 days of January 6. If you decide to postpone your retirement until June 1 or later, you must submit a new application since June 1 is more than 120 days from January 6. 

Once you are vested (5 years of service for general state employees), you are eligible to receive a future pension benefit from MOSERS, even if you leave state employment. Once you reach retirement age and complete the retirement process, you will receive a monthly pension payment for your lifetime.

You cannot increase your 4% employee contributions that go into the MOSERS trust fund, but you can certainly increase the amount of supplemental savings that you put in MO Deferred Comp. For many state employees, income in retirement comes from three sources:

1. Your MOSERS defined benefit pension (based on your years of service and final average pay)
2. Social Security retirement benefits
3. Supplemental personal savings, such as with MO Deferred Comp

Another thing to consider is that, even if you aren’t vested, you may leave your employee 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.  

However, if you leave state employment, 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. You can log in to myMOSERS and find your total employee contributions plus any interest. Once logged in, click on the Personal Information tab. Then, click on Contribution Calculator. Scroll all the way to the bottom for your accumulated balance. If you are unable to log in, you may contact a MOSERS benefit counselor for your balance. See our Employee Contributions brochure for more information.

We are unable to see members’ paystubs so we can’t speak definitively to that information. Please speak with your employer regarding your pay stub details.

However, it sounds like you are referring to your employer’s contributions to MOSERS. As a member of MSEP 2011, you are part of the contributory defined benefit pension plan. By law, you contribute 4% of your pay toward your future pension benefits. Your employer also contributes a percentage of your payroll toward your future retirement benefits. Employee and employer contributions go into the MOSERS trust fund. The third and largest source of System funding is investment income. 

You can log in to myMOSERS and find your total employee contributions plus any interest. Once logged in, click on the Personal Information tab. Then, click on Contribution Calculator. Scroll all the way to the bottom for your accumulated balance. If you are unable to log in, you may contact a MOSERS benefit counselor for your balance. 

As a member of MSEP 2011, if you leave state employment, you may request a refund of your employee contributions plus any interest. By taking a refund, you forfeit your service and eligibility for future retirement benefits. Alternatively, when eligible, you can retire and receive a monthly pension benefit for life. Your monthly benefit is based on your final average pay and years of service.

Please see our Employee Contributions brochure (MSEP 2011 & Judicial Plan 2011) and the MSEP 2011 web page for more information. 

We will not have all the data we need to calculate the 2023 COLA until mid-January. As you noted, by law, the maximum increase for the COLA in a single year is 5%. COLAs for most retirees are equal to 80% of the percentage increase in the average Consumer Price Index (CPI) from one year to the next, with a maximum of 5% (minimum of 0%). We will post the 2023 COLA to our website in January. Be sure to visit the COLA page on our website for more information. 

I believe you may be referring to a 1099-R form.

 A 1099-R shows distributions you have received from pensions and other retirement plans. A W-2 form comes from an employer, not from MOSERS. A W-2 shows income you’ve earned from your employer.

MOSERS provides you with a 1099-R tax form. This form lists your 2022 retirement benefit income from MOSERS. You will need this form to file your income tax return. If you receive more than one benefit from MOSERS, you may receive more than one 1099-R from us.

We will mail your 1099-R form by the end of January 2023. You can also access it online by logging into myMOSERS. You will find it under Personal Information and available for you to save or print. If you are unable to log in to myMOSERS, call us at (800) 827-1063 or (573) 632-6100 and we can mail you a replacement. For security reasons, we cannot email it to you.

Congrats on your upcoming retirement! Yes, we do offer our Ready to Retire session as both in-person seminars and online webinars. As a member who has less than 5 years until retirement eligibility, attending a Ready to Retire session is a great decision and one that will allow you to learn more about the retirement process and how you can prepare. Our seminars are full for the remainder of this year, however, we will be releasing the education schedules for 2023 in mid-December. Be sure to check the Education page on our website and watch your email for updates.  

In calculating pension benefit amounts, for final average pay (FAP), we use gross salary (before taxes, health insurance, cafeteria plan, etc.).

Thank you for contacting us to ask about Amendment No. 1 on the November 8^th voting ballot. It is relative to “state investments” and is not a provision related to the MOSERS trust fund or our investment program. This provision was passed by the General Assembly in 2021 under HJR 35 to be placed before Missouri voters. This ballot issue would expand authorized investments in which the State Treasurer may invest State treasury funds. 

The assets held for paying MOSERS members’ current and future retirement benefits are held in the MOSERS Trust Fund, which is governed by our 11-member Board of Trustees per state statute in Chapter 104. Likewise, this trust fund cannot be co-mingled with any other funds per state statute in Section 105.662, and is separate from State treasury dollars.

All eligible state employees are members of a retirement plan based on when they are first employed in a MOSERS benefit-eligible position and their vested status.

 Our records indicate that you are a member of MSEP. State law allows members of MSEP to choose either MSEP or MSEP 2000 at the time of retirement. A plan will not be picked for you. Your plan is not dependent upon if you attend a Ready to Retire seminar or not. Additionally, you are not required to make that decision a year in advance.

 It is important for you to learn about the retirement process and your choices at retirement. Below are options:

• We have a Ready to Retire webinar on December 1, 2022, which we have opened up to additional attendees. You may register via myMOSERS or contact us at MOSERSEducation@mosers.org.
• At any time of year, you may call or make an in-person appointment to meet individually with a MOSERS benefit counselor to discuss your options.
• In mid-December, we will post the education schedule for next year to our website. We encourage you to watch for that and, as soon as possible, register to attend an in-person seminar or webinar.