STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION		55 ELM STREET HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT 06106-1775 TELEPHONE: (860) 702-3480 TELEFAX:(860) 702-3489
MEDICAL EXAMINING BOARD for DISABILITY RETIREMENT
HEALTH CARE COST CONTAINMENT COMMITTEE
	STATE OF CONNECTICUT RETIREMENT SERVICES DIVISION OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER

RETIREMENT SERVICES DIVISION MEMORANDUM 2009-07

May 29, 2009

THE HEADS OF ALL STATE AGENCIES

Retirement Services Division (Division) Memorandum 2009-04 dated May 26, 2009 discussed the requirements that must be met by members of the State Employees Retirement System (SERS) in order to participate in the 2009 Retirement Incentive Program (RIP). One such requirement is that SERS members must elect to retire either on or before June 1, 2009 or July 1, 2009 and their applications must be received by the Division prior to the retirement date selected.

The RIP contains a special provision for certain SERS members whose retirements may, with their consent be deferred by the State on a case by case basis to a date no later than July 1, 2010. Those SERS members whose effective date of retirement may be deferred under the RIP are as follows:

1. Employees of the Office of the State Comptroller within the Retirement Services Division with primary responsibility for retirement benefit calculations and purchasing and within the Health Care Policy and Benefit Services Division who have primary responsibility for the administration of benefits to not later than June 1, 2010. Approval of qualifying employees to defer retirement shall be made by the State Comptroller.

2. Employees of the Office of Policy and Management determined to be critical to the legislative process or budgetary process, to not later than September 1, 2009. Approval of qualifying employees shall be made by the Governor.

 

3. Nonpartisan employees of the Joint Committee on Legislative Management determined to be critical to the legislative process, to not later than July 1, 2010.Approval of qualifying employees to defer retirement shall be made by the personnel policies subcommittee of the Joint Committee on Legislative Management.

 

4. Partisan employees of the Joint Committee on Legislative Management determined to be critical to the legislative process, to not later than January 1, 2010. Approval of qualifying employees to defer retirement shall be made by the officer of the General Assembly who is the head of the appropriate caucus.

 

5. Public Safety employees and direct patient care employees of a constituent unit of the state system of higher education determined to be critical to such unit, to not later than July 1, 2010. Approval of qualifying employees to defer retirement shall be made by the chief executive officer of each constituent unit.

 

6. Employees of the Auditors of Public Accounts determined to be critical to the auditing process of the office to not later than July 1, 2010. Approval of qualifying employees to defer retirement Shall be made by the personnel policies subcommittee of the Joint Committee on Legislative Management.

Requests to defer retirement shall be made by the appropriate authority in writing to the member with copies to the appropriate bargaining unit. This deferral provision, however, does not excuse such SERS members from the requirement that they be eligible for and elect to retire under the RIP on or before July 1, 2009. With respect to hazardous duty employees, this means that as of July 1, 2009, they must have twenty or more years of actual hazardous duty service at any age in SERS. With respect to non-hazardous duty employees this means that as of July 1, 2009, they must ten years of actual state service credited in SERS.

Obviously, for employees whose effective dates are being deferred, it would be impractical to mandate that all paperwork associated with the retirement application process be submitted to the Division prior to July 1, 2009. Accordingly, the purpose of this communication is to direct that Form CO-1101 (Rev. 5/09), a copy of which is attached for agency reproduction and use, be completed for each qualifying hazardous and non-hazardous duty employee whose effective retirement date is being deferred by the appropriate authority under the RIP. Every Form CO-1101 must be accompanied by the official documentation that such deferral was approved by the appropriate authority consistent with the provisions of the 2009 Retirement Incentive Program.

The completed forms will be utilized by the Division for the purpose of (1) establishing that the member applies for participation in the RIP before July 1, 2009, and (2) documenting the decision to defer such retirements.

For each qualifying employee whose effective date is being deferred under the RIP, a completed CO-1101 with official documentation must be submitted to the Division on or before June 30, 2009 ; absent timely submission of a completed Form CO-1011 with official documentation, benefits will not be paid under the RIP.

As stated on pages three and four of the May 26, 2009 memorandum announcing the 2009 RIP, the paperwork required to process a retirement application must be completed and submitted to the Division prior to the date to which the SERS member's effective date of retirement has been deferred; for example, the completed paperwork for a September 1, 2009 retirement must be delivered to the Division no later than close of business on August 31, 2009.

For each deferred retirement under the program, please print "DEFERRED" in red ink across the top of the Form CO-898- "Application for Retirement Benefits" and include the three incentive years as outlined in the aforementioned memorandum.

Very truly yours,

STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION
NANCY WYMAN, SECRETARY EX OFFICIO

BY:

Mark E. Ojakian, Deputy Comptroller and Division Director
Retirement Services Division

MEO/cn
Attachment

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