Introduction
By getting to this page, you have
already learned most of what you need to know to use this manual
successfully.
The key is to use the hyperlinks
which appear as underlined blue text.
These links will take you to other
parts of the manual that you choose to visit. By organizing
the manual this way, we hope your job as pension administrator
will be enhanced because you will not have to waste time sorting
through information you do not need.
Any time you find yourself in an
area you do not want to be in, or whenever you are finished and
wish to go back to the previous page, just hit the "Back"
button at the top of your Internet Explorer (or Netscape Navigator)
browser toolbar.
If you wish to start again at the
beginning of the manual, click the TOC
or Table of Contents link on the left
hand side of the screen.
Images Used in this Manual
About
Adobe PDF™ Files
This manual makes extensive use of
various images to simplify pension administration. We use
Adobe "pdf"™
images that load in your browser window that can be printed directly
from your PC. This will eliminate delays while you wait for a
forms request to be filled by the Division, or having to depend
on photocopies (of sometimes variable quality) for your forms
needs. The Adobe Acrobat© Reader™ needed
to view and print these documents is also included in the manual
for your convenience.
Fill-in and Print Forms
An enhancement included in this edition
of the Employers' Pensions and Benefits Administration Manual
is the capability of completing a number of forms on screen. These
forms are referred to in the Manual as "fill-in and print"
forms. You
simply use your keyboard and tab button to type in the information
requested for each item, and then
print and sign your copies and mail theme to the Division (New
Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits, PO Box 295, Trenton,
NJ 08625-0295). In this EPBAM
revision, the following "fill-in and print" forms are
among those included for your use: PERS/TPAF
Enrollment Application, the PERS/TPAF
Application for Retirement
Allowance,
the PERS/TPAF
Request for a Retirement Estimate, the Loan
Application, and
the Application for Withdrawal.
To use these forms, you must have Acrobat
4.0 or higher. In the near future, additional "fill-in and
print forms" will be added to the EPBAM, for your convenience.
PDF™ images of all the forms can
be accessed from anywhere in the Manual. There is always
a link to the form in the area that mentions it (e.g., a retirement
application can be accessed in the "Retirements" section),
or you can go to the Forms Index, accessible from the Navigation
Bar to the left of this screen.
Note: When you open a "PDF™"
image of a form, you will have to use the "Back" button
on your browser or click a link in the navigation bar on the left
side of your screen to exit that page.
Adobe Acrobat Reader ™ is available
free by following this link: 
About
GIF and JPEG Files
Some forms can be accessed as pictures
(GIFs or JPEGs) that will allow you to quickly obtain instructions
for completing the forms. This is particularly true in the
"Pensions" folder of this manual. These images
have "hot spots" generated in the body that will link
you to instructions. Just move the cursor on the screen to a line
or section you are interested in and click the left mouse button
on it (the pointer will become a hand on an active hot spot).
You will be taken to the appropriate instructions for that
line. To return to the form, just click "Back"
on your browser.
Note: GIF and JPEG files cannot be
printed easily. If you wish to print a form, be sure it
is in PDF™ format.
About Printing from the Manual
Nothing in this manual is copyrighted
material except the Web Browser and the Adobe Acrobat©
Reader™ software. You may feel free to copy or print
anything that is contained in the body of the manual for your
convenience.
Some two-sided forms must be printed
on both sides in order to be acceptable at the Division of Pensions
and Benefits. Forms such as the Enrollment Applications,
Retirement Applications, Beneficiary Designation forms, and others,
are legal documents and must be submitted in the legally prescribed
way. There are no exceptions to this rule, so please take
care to print and complete forms carefully!
A
WORD OF CAUTION: This Manual does not
replace pension law!
There are dozens of statutes and
codes that govern the administration of the NJ State-administered
pension systems. While the legal basis of pension administration
is reflected accurately in this "how to" manual, the
manual should never be confused with the laws themselves. Therefore,
except for specific references or quotations of State Statute
and Administrative Code, the information contained within this
manual should not be quoted as "law." If you ever
need a ruling that involves pension law, please write the Division
of Pensions and Benefits, and our expert staff will address
your specific question.