You are not able to access your MOSERS defined benefit pension until retirement and it is not transferable to a pension plan in a different state. However, if you are no longer working in a MOSERS benefit-eligible position, and you are a member of MSEP 2011 or the Judicial Plan 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.

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.

Yes. Active members and retirees who have MOSERS basic life insurance* are eligible for travel assistance when traveling at least 100 miles from home or in a foreign country. Family members, including a spouse and children through age 25 are also covered. This includes help with trip planning, lost travel documents, and emergency medical or legal resources while you are away from home. The medical assistance includes help with locating medical care, 24-hour access to nurses by phone, and emergency transportation services. (Please note: Travel assistance is not the same as travel health insurance. Please contact your health insurance provider regarding health care coverage when travelling.)

For more info, check out the Travel Assistance Service Overview. You can get the most out of Travel Assistance with the Assist America Mobile App.

*MOSERS' life insurance is not available to employees of the Department of Conservation or state regional universities except for Lincoln University and State Technical College of Missouri.

The General Assembly passed the FY23 state budget on Friday, May 6. This budget will be effective beginning July 1, 2022. Within the FY23 budget, the General Assembly appropriated and fully funded the amount requested by the Office of Administration of $610 million to fund the State’s annual employer contribution to MOSERS. 

In addition, the General Assembly passed a $500 million one-time extraordinary payment to MOSERS. For more information, visit our Legislation page or view HB 3005. 

No, there are no legislative proposals to change benefit payments for retirees or beneficiaries from monthly to biweekly.

Your MOSERS 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, 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.

IRS Tax Penalties: Taking your MOSERS defined benefit (DB) pension at age 57 does not subject it to IRS tax penalties. However, taxes and/or penalties related to other distributions include:

• There may be a 10% IRS tax penalty if you are younger than age 59 ½ at the time of payment, elect BackDROP*, and take a lump-sum cash payment. If you terminate employment in or after the year you reach age 55, this penalty will not apply. Additionally, MOSERS is required to withhold 20% of a BackDROP cash payment for federal taxes. More details are available in the Special Tax Notice brochure on our website. In such a situation, you can avoid the IRS tax penalty by rolling over the BackDROP payment to a qualified retirement account such as with MO Deferred Comp and not withdrawing it until you meet all IRS regulations (generally speaking, that is after you attain age 59 1/2 but there are exceptions, see page 4 of the Special Tax Notice brochure (BackDROP and Refunds), including one for public safety employees).
• If you have made pre-tax contributions to the MO Deferred Comp plan (an internal revenue code section 457(b) plan), distributions from that plan following retirement or termination of service at any age are subject to ordinary income tax only.
• Employer “match” contributions made on behalf of an employee to a 401(a) plan are subject to an additional 10% penalty if withdrawn prior to age 59 1/2.

Be sure to check with your financial institution or a tax advisor for information about your tax liability when you begin withdrawing your funds.

*BackDROP is available only to general state employees who are members of MSEP & MSEP 2000 and who work at least two years beyond normal retirement eligibility.

The maximum cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for MOSERS retirees and beneficiaries is 5%. If the percentage change in the CPI from one year to the next were 5%, the COLA would be 4% (80% of 5%). If the percentage change in the CPI from one year to the next were 6.2%, the COLA would be 4.96% (80% of 6.2%). If the percentage change in the CPI from one year to the next were 10%, the COLA would be 5% (80% of 10% is 8% but the maximum COLA is 5%).

The COLA that our retirees or their beneficiaries will receive this year is 3.758%. 

As an actively employed MOSERS member, you receive basic life insurance equal to one times your annual salary at no cost to you. Your employer pays the premium. The only time your basic life insurance coverage increases is if your salary increases. However, as an active member, you may be able to purchase additional optional life insurance coverage for yourself and your dependents.

To do so, complete and submit the Enrollment/Change-Optional Life Insurance form at myMOSERS and also the Standard Medical History Statement.

MOSERS offers an Annual Life Insurance Review Period every October for member coverage. The review period gives eligible members the chance to increase their own optional coverage in increments of $10,000 without completing additional medical history forms. We will notify you each September if you are eligible. A family status change, such as marriage, also allows you to apply to increase your coverage within 31 days of an eligible life event without proving insurability. You may be eligible to purchase optional life insurance any other time during the year, but you will need to submit evidence of insurability.

HB 2234 does not change the current statutory rules for converting sick leave to service credit or BackDROP.

You will get one month of credited service for each block of 168 hours of unused sick leave you have at retirement. While this will increase the amount of your benefit, unused sick leave cannot count toward eligibility for retirement or as part of the BackDROP period. That is, the months of unused sick leave will not make you eligible for retirement (or BackDROP) sooner, but will increase the amount of your payment once you have retired.

Your W-2 form comes from your employer, not from MOSERS. You will need to reach out to your employer for your W-2.

MOSERS provides retirees and benefit recipients with a 1099-R tax form. We mailed 1099-R forms at the end of January. You can also access it online by logging into myMOSERS. You will find it under Personal Information and available for you to print. This form lists your 2021 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. 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.