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Enrolling in the
Public Employees' Retirement System
(PERS)

Table of Contents General Eligibility Criteria PERS Ineligibility Optional Enrollments Civil Service vs. Non-Civil Service   Civil Service Employing Locations   Non-Civil Service Employing Locations Part-time Hourly Employees Part-time Crossing Guards On-Call Employees   Monitoring Employment   Earliest Enrollment Date for On-Call Employees   Use Estimated Salary for Enrollment   Report Actual Salary after Enrollment Long Term Substitutes and Replacement Teachers Elected Officials Appointed Officials DCRP Enrollment for Officials Elected/Appointed on or after July 1, 2007 DCRP Enrollment for Employees Enrolled on or after July 1, 2007 Whose Salaries Exeed SSA Maximum Intermittent Employees Adjunct Faculty Members   Enroll in ABP or PERS? Veteran Status PERS Eligibility When Employed in a PFRS Title Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs)   LEO Eligibility   Required Forms   Compulsory Retirement, LEO Covered Positions   LEO Covered Titles under PERS Multiple Membership Volunteer Firefighters and Pension Eligibility Contribution Rate   PERS is a "Qualified" Pension Plan   PERS Deductions are Tax-Deferred   Temporary Reductions in Employee Contribution Rate (Historical) Required Form PERS Enrollment Application PERS Enrollment Application (Fill in and Print, Adobe Acrobat 4.0 and higher) Instructions for Completing Enrollment Application Interfund Transfer Form (for Download) Instructions for Completing Interfund Transfer Form Report of Transfer Form (for Download) Instructions for Completing Report of Transfer

General Eligibility Criteria

The general rules for membership in the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) are listed below. An employee is eligible for PERS membership if:

1. The employee earns an annual salary of $1,500 or more per year ($125 per month for those employed 12 months per year; $150 per month for those employed 10 months per year);
2. The employee's wages must be subject to Social Security taxes, and
3. The employee is in a permanent position or has had 12 months of continuous temporary or provisional service.
   

Eligibility determinations are then decided based on whether or not the employer uses Civil Service (NJ Department of Personnel) for hiring.

J-1 and F-1 visa holders are not eligible for membership in the PERS; nor are M-1 or Q-1 visa holders.

Employees working under other visa types whose earnings are subject to Social Security withholding may be eligible for PERS enrollment. If you are unsure about whether or not to enroll a visa holder in the PERS, please contact the Division of Pensions and Benefits.

PERS Ineligibility

General rules concerning those who are not eligible for membership in the PERS are as follows:

1. Persons who are retired from a NJ State-administered retirement system other than PERS (e.g., TPAF), or from a local New Jersey retirement system, are not eligible for PERS enrollment, but may assume a PERS-covered position and receive the full salary without consequence to any existing retirement allowance. (See Fact Sheet #21, Employment after Retirement, PERS, Fact Sheet #28, Employment after Retirement, TPAF, Fact Sheet #29, Employment after Retirement, PFRS, or Fact Sheet #57, Employment after Retirement, SPRS.)
   
2. Retired PERS members who earn $15,000 or less per year from all PERS-covered employment are ineligible for PERS enrollment. (See Fact Sheet 21, Employment ater Retirement, PERS.)
   
   
   
3. Certain students employed at the school, college or university in which they are enrolled and regularly attend classes may be ineligible for PERS membership, effective June 30, 2000. Federal and State legislation excludes many of these students from FICA and Medicare taxes. Since PERS membership is dependent on wages being subject to Social Security withholding, these student employees are not eligible. Revenue Procedure 98-16, 1998-5 I.R.B, IRC Sec(s). 3121, available from the Internal Revenue Service, sets forth some generally applicable standards for determining if services performed by student employees are eligible for this exclusion.
   
4. Those employees hired under the Job Partnership Training Act (JPTA) or the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, or one of its successors (See N.J.S.A 43:15A-7h).
5. Intermittent employees, who are defined as those whose work schedule is unpredictable in nature and who do not meet the normal criteria for regular, year-round employment.
   
6. Persons whose services are engaged as consultants, self-employed independent contractors, or other similar titles, who do not qualify as "employees" of an employing agency, are likewise ineligible to enroll in any State-administered retirement system. The stringent guidelines published by the Internal Revenue Service are used to determine if a person is considered an independent contractor. The actual nature of the relationship between an employer and a person who provides paid services is of central importance, not the title of "contractor" or "consultant" itself. See "Self Employment Issues."
   
7. Seasonal employees, who are defined as those who work occasionally in a position that the employer does not expect will lead to permanent employment, and whose work periods do not extend beyond six consecutive months for employing locations that report on a 12-month basis, or five months for employing locations that report on a 10-month basis. Further, the employer/employee relationship is severed at the end of the employment period, and such breaks in service last at least 30 days (See N.J.A.C. 17:2-2.3(a)5).

Optional Enrollments

Enrollment is optional for:

• Some part-time school crossing guards, and
• Some retired members of PERS elected to public office.

Prior to July 1, 2007, enrollment in the PERS was optional for some Non-veteran elected officials (see discussion on "Elected Officials" below; see also N.J.S.A. 43:15A-47.2). However, under Chapter 92, P.L. 2007 and Chapter 103, P.L. 2007, the enrollment rules for all elected officials have changed. Those officials newly elected on or after July 1, 2007 who do not currently have membership in the PERS will be enrolled in the Defined Contribution Retirement Program (DCRP), not the PERS.

Please see the August 2007 Certifying Officer Letter, "Chapter 92, P.L. 2007 and Chapter 103, P.L. 2007, Pension Changes for the PERS, TPAF, and DCRP" for more information.

Civil Service vs. Non-Civil Service

Civil Service Employers

If a person is regularly appointed to a classified position by a Civil Service employer, the PERS enrollment date will also be his/her date of regular appointment.

If an employee is provisionally appointed to a position, the enrollment date will be the beginning of the 13th month of continuous employment or the date of regular appointment, whichever comes first.

An employee in a regularly budgeted, unclassified position is eligible for enrollment as of the date of hire.

Non-Civil Service Employers

Employees at non-Civil Service locations who are hired into regularly budgeted positions should be enrolled effective their date of hire.

If hired into positions that are not regularly budgeted, employees may be considered temporary within the first year of employment, for pension purposes. If otherwise eligible and employment continues into the second year, the compulsory enrollment date will be the first of the 13th month of continuous employment.

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Part-time Hourly Employees

Anyone who is employed on a part-time hourly basis is eligible to belong and contribute to the PERS, provided the general eligibility requirements are met.

• If the position is regularly budgeted, then the part-time hourly employee must be enrolled on the date of hire.
• If the position is not regularly budgeted, then the part-time hourly employee will be eligible for PERS enrollment at the beginning of the 13th month of continuous employment.

Reporting and Certifying Salaries of Part-time Hourly Employees

In the past, the salary of a part-time, hourly employee was reported to the Division of Pensions and Benefits based upon an estimate of what the employee was expected to earn in coming quarters, made by the employer. The PERS Board of Trustees has changed this rule. Effective January 1, 2000, employers are instructed to report actual earnings for all part-time, hourly employees on the Quarterly Report of Contributions.

When enrolling part-time, hourly employees, an estimated salary is still required when certifying salaries on the PERS Enrollment Application in order to calculate the back deduction schedule. Again, only actual salary amounts will be reported for the Quarterly Report of Contributions, however.

Part-time Crossing Guards

Crossing guards are considered part-time if they work fewer hours than your other full-time (non-crossing guard) employees. Enrollment of part-time crossing guards depends on several factors.

• Enrollment is optional if the part-time crossing guard is receiving retirement benefits through any other pension system, including the federal government (whether military, civilian, or Social Security benefits).
• A crossing guard who has previously retired from any public retirement system in New Jersey, other than the PERS, is ineligible for enrollment, though he or she may be employed.
• If a crossing guard is retired from the PERS, and earns more than $15,000 total from PERS employment, then enrollment is mandatory. (If this is the case, please see "Mandatory Reenrollment" in the "Employment after Retirement" section of this manual to find out more.)
  

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On-call Employees

Monitoring Employment

An individual who assumes a position as an on-call employee, such as a substitute teacher, bedside instructor, or home bound instructor, is eligible to enroll in the PERS at the beginning of his/her 13th month of continuous employment, as long as the requisite number of days have been worked (unless the employee already has active PERS membership through other employment, see below).

Since on-call employees have unpredictable work schedules and their employment is usually temporary in nature, employers must use the rules and conditions set forth in N.J.A.C. 17:2-2.10 (2006) to determine the enrollment eligibility of on-call employees at their location:

• At employing locations where the regular work year is 12 months long (e.g., some charter schools), the employee must work at least 120 days within a 12 month period (10 days per month X 12 months) before becoming eligible for enrollment.

• At employing locations where the regular work year is 10 months long (e.g., most school districts), the employee must work at least 100 days (10 days per month X 10 months) before becoming eligible for enrollment.

• The date of eligibility for enrollment for on-call employees is the first day of the 13th month after the commencement of the 100 or 120 day period, assuming the required number of days have been worked—regardless of when in the year the 10- or 12- month period began. For example, if the employment began on January 1st, and the employee worked 10 days per month for the required number of months (10 months for an employing location with a 10-month work year, 12 months for an employing location with a 12-month work year), then the enrollment date would be January 1 of the following year*, regardless of when in the year the 10- or 12- month period began.

Please note that once the above eligibility requirements are met, enrollment is MANDATORY.

*The period in which eligibility is proven does not have to coincide with the regular school year (September to June). To determine the enrollment eligibility date, the employer must look for a period when the employee worked 10 days a month for the requisite number of months (10 or 12).

The employer’s responsibility to enroll is made harder by this rule. Checking on the enrollment eligibility of on-call employees who are not yet enrolled must be an ongoing process, month-in and month-out, instead of a yearly event in September. The penalty for failing to enroll an eligible employee on time is the employer liability that is assessed for delinquent enrollments — the employer pays ½ of the member’s total back deductions.

Consider the examples below (based on the chart that follows) to gain an understanding of how these enrollment procedures for an on-call employee would work:

Employee A begins employment at the Holly School District, a ten-month employing location, in February of 2005. By December of 2005, Employee A has attained the 100 days of service required for enrollment of on-call employees. His employer must wait until February 1, 2006 to enroll him, as that is the first day of the 13th month of continuous service for this employee.

Employee B also begins employment at the Westerville School District, a ten-month employing location, in February of 2005. But Employee B does not meet the enrollment requirements for on-call employees until Apri 1, 2006 — 100 days within a ten month period

Employee C's employment at the International Science Charter School, a 12-month employing location, begins in February of 2005. Employee C is enrolled on February 1, 2006, the first of the thirteenth month of continuous service, after working the required number of days (120) in a 12-month period.

The employer must monitor the employment record of on-call employees until they meet the above enrollment eligibility requirements. A 10-month employee that works 100 days or more in their first ten months of employment must enroll on the first day of the thirteenth month of employment; a 12-month employee that works 120 days or more in their first twelve months of employment must also enroll on the first day of the thirteenth month of employment. If an on-call employee does not meet the criteria for membership in the first ten or twelve month period, the employer must continue to monitor for eligibility on an ongoing basis until the conditions for membership are established, as explained above.

If an on-call employee works less than 10 days a month for the requisite number of consecutive months (10 or 12), he/she is not eligible for enrollment.

Monitoring of On-Call Employees after Enrollment

Once the on-call employee has been enrolled in the PERS, the employer does not need to monitor the number of days worked. Instead, the employer must now monitor the employee's monthly salary, because the employee must earn a minimum monthly salary for pension service credit and salary to be reported by the employer (see below).

Earliest Enrollment Date for On-call Employees

The first day of the thirteenth month of employment is the earliest that on-call employees may be enrolled.

For example, an on-call, ten-month employee was hired on February 1, 2003 and worked, on average, 20 days per month and accumulated 100 total days of service as of the end of June 2003. Even though this employee has reached 100 days of on-call employment with one employer by June 2003, the employee is not yet eligible for enrollment. Only when the employee returns to work in September 2003 and works through January 2004 can the employee be enrolled in the PERS on the first of the 13th month — February 1, 2004.

Use Estimated Salary for Enrollment

When enrolling on-call employees, an estimated salary is certified by the employer in order to calculate the back deduction schedule.

For example, if an employee is hired at $10 per hour and is expected to work approximately 15 hours per week, the weekly salary would be $150. If this person is a 12-month employee, he or she could reasonably be expected to work 50 weeks per year:

50 weeks x $150 per week = $7,500 per year estimated salary

This is the estimated yearly salary that would be certified for this employee on the enrollment application.

Report Actual Salary after Enrollment

Once the member has established his or her enrollment in the system and pension deductions have begun, the employer should report the member's actual salary.

There is a minimum monthly salary that must be earned each month for pension service credit and salary to be reported:

• When a 10-month member has a monthly reportable salary of $150 (one-tenth of $1,500) or more, the employer should deduct pension contributions and report one month of service credit for the member for that month.
• For a 12-month member, the employer should deduct pension contributions and report one month of service credit for the member for that month if the member has a monthly reportable salary of $125 (one-twelfth of $1,500) or more.
  

All months of service and salary must be reported from the date that payroll deductions are certified to begin.

If a member's salary falls below the minimum level for membership for a month, then that month's service and salary are not reported on the Quarterly Report of Contributions. Click here for more information.

Finally, once the member has established his or her enrollment in the retirement system, the employer does not need to monitor the number of days worked.

Long Term Substitutes and Replacement Teachers

A replacement teacher is an employee who assumes the duties of a teacher in a regularly-budgeted position for the length of time that teacher is on an approved leave of absence. Replacement teachers are eligible for PERS enrollment on the first day of the 13th month after the commencement of continuous service.

If a replacement teacher is replacing a teacher on terminal leave, he or she is eligible for TPAF membership.

A permanent, long-term substitute in a regularly budgeted position is eligible for PERS enrollment on the date of hire.

Elected Officials

Enrolling Active Elected Officials

The information below applies ONLY to elected and appointed officials whose enrollment in the PERS occurred before July 1, 2007. For elected officials and certain appointed officials whose enrollment occurs on or after July 1, 2007, click here.

• Non-veteran elected officials have the option to enroll in the PERS (or not) when they assume office, as long as the basic eligibility criteria are met: $1,500 per year minimum salary subject to Social Security withholding.
  
  If they choose not to enroll at the start of their elected term, but then decide to enroll at a later date, their PERS enrollment date would be the first of the month closest to the date the decision to enroll is made.
• Veteran elected officials must join if basic PERS eligibility criteria are met.

Enrolling Elected Officials Who Have Retired from the PERS

All retired PERS members have the option to reenroll if elected to public office, if the salary is more than $15,000.

There is one exception: Those retirees whose PERS service was comprised entirely of elected service must reenroll if the new elected position pays in excess of $15,000 per year.

Please note: Veteran status is not a factor in the enrollment of retired members who are subsequently elected to public office, as it is with active members elected to public office.

If a PERS retiree reenrolls:

• The first retirement allowance is cancelled and a new membership account is created.
• If the member retires again, the first pension allowance is reinstated and a second pension allowance is calculated for the second period of service, added to the first and paid in a single retirement check.
• If the member should die during the second membership, only active death benefits from the second membership are payable--no death benefits are payable from the first retirement allowance.

For a discussion of the consequences of reenrollment after retirement, see "Employment after Retirement—PERS" or Fact Sheet 21, Employment after Retirement, PERS..

Enrolling Elected Officials Who Are Considering or in the Process of Retirement

If an elected official is retiring from the PERS or the PFRS on basis of his or her elected position plus other, non-elected, position(s), the official may retire and receive a retirement allowance. In this case:

• Both salaries will be used for calculation of retirement benefits due;
• The retiree may continue as an elected official, even after retirement, with no penalty and no further pension deductions or reports of additional service credit; and
• No break in service will be required. (See N.J.S.A. 43:15A-47.2.)

If, however, an elected official is retiring from PERS, and his or her PERS career is composed entirely of service in elected positions, then the official must terminate all elected positions before retirement.

The Date of Enrollment for Elected Officials

The date of enrollment for elected officials will be the date when the person elected assumes the duties of his/her elected office.

Appointed Officials

An appointed official, that is, someone whose employment is through an appointment by an "appointing authority", must follow the same PERS enrollment eligibility rules and laws as any other PERS employee, see General Eligibility Criteria above.

Elected Officials and Certain Appointed Officials Whose Enrollment Occurs on or after July 1, 2007

Elected officials whose term begins on or after July 1, 2007, must be enrolled into the Defined Contribution Retirement Program, or DCRP, under Chapter 92, P.L. 2007, not the PERS. Under this law, their enrollment into the DCRP will not be optional.

Appointed officials whose appointment occurs on or after July 1, 2007 must also be enrolled into the DCRP, under Chapter 92, P.L. 2007; this includes Workers Compensation Judges appointed on or after June 8, 2007.

Intermittent Employment

An "intermittent employee" is one who does not work continuously throughout the year: Service with an employer is not continuous, is not full time or part time, and there are significant breaks between service periods [N.J.A.C.17:2-2.3(a)8)].

Example: An employee is hired in a municipal tax office to provide help during peak work times. This person works 30 hours per week during tax season, but does not work at other, less busy times. This person is not eligible for enrollment because the service is not continuous and, therefore, intermittent.

Similarly, if you hire an employee who has already established membership in the pension system for intermittent employment, do not complete a Report of Transfer form to enroll them at your location as a "multiple" member. The salary earned by an intermittent employee would not be reported for pension credit.

Adjunct Faculty Members

An adjunct faculty member (a faculty member who teaches part-time) at a public institution of higher education who is ineligible for enrollment in the Alternate Benefit Program (ABP), may be eligible for enrollment in the PERS.

To determine whether the adjunct faculty member is eligible for PERS enrollment, and at what point in time enrollment should occur, a number of factors must be considered.

• Adjunct faculty members must meet all of the eligibility criteria for PERS membership.
• Adjunct faculty members are generally eligible for enrollment in the PERS at the start of the second year of continuous employment (usually at the start of third consecutive semester) at an institution of higher education.
• If an adjunct faculty member is already enrolled in the PERS through other employment, he or she is eligible for PERS enrollment for the adjunct faculty position at the start of employment in that position.
• A full-time faculty member at a public institution of higher education who is enrolled in the Alternate Benefit Program and who assumes an adjunct faculty position with the same employer, is not eligible for enrollment in the PERS for the adjunct faculty position.
• A full-time faculty member at a public institution of higher education who is enrolled in the Alternate Benefit Program and who assumes an adjunct faculty position with a different employer, is eligible for enrollment in the PERS for the adjunct faculty position at the start of the second year.

ABP vs. PERS

Some faculty members and employees of the State colleges and universities have a choice of enrolling in either the ABP or the PERS. The ABP is a defined contribution plan, while PERS is a defined benefit plan. To learn more about the differences in benefits and administration, plus information sources available to your employees, you may visit any of the following links:

Alternate Benefit Program Member Handbook

Choosing Between the PERS and ABP

Request for PERS and ABP Retirement Income Illustrations (Allows PERS members thinking of participating in the ABP to compare retirement benefits under the PERS with retirement income available under any of the approved ABP investment carriers.)

ABP Information Page — Common Questions and Answers (Internet Users Only)

Enrolling in ABP

Fact Sheet #38, The Alternate Benefit Program

PERS Eligibility When Employed in a PFRS Title

Prior to April 17, 2000, individuals could not participate in any pension system until they were permanently appointed to a PFRS position. Effective April 17, 2000, the following rule change took effect.

• Any full-time employee hired on a provisional or temporary basis in an eligible PFRS title who is under the age of 35 must enroll in the PERS after completion of 12 months of continuous service.
• Upon permanent appointment to a PFRS title, the individual may be required to cease membership in the PERS and enroll in the PFRS. All PFRS eligibility criteria, including age, must be met. The individual may be eligible to interfund transfer the PERS membership to the PFRS.

Important Note: At State and county locations, all individuals who are age 35 or over upon permanent appointment to PFRS positions will continue membership in PERS.

At municipalities, all individuals who are one day or more past their 35^th birthday upon permanent appointment cannot enroll in the PFRS. These individuals are not permitted to continue participation in the PERS. Therefore, these individuals cannot remain in the PFRS-eligible position because participation in a State-administered pension system (PERS or PFRS) is a condition of employment.

Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs)

Chapter 257, PL 1955, established the Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) category as a special group of the Public Employees' Retirement System that includes employees at State and county employing locations. The LEO group is eligible for enhanced retirement benefits not available to regular PERS members. See Fact Sheet #46, LEO: Law Enforcement Officers and the Public Employees' Retirement System.

LEO Eligibility

Individuals who do not meet the age or medical requirements for entry into the Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS) as a result of employment in the titles listed below, are eligible to participate in the LEO category or as a regular member of the PERS.

Any person employed in an eligible job title who meets the enrollment criteria will be enrolled in the LEO category of PERS membership unless the member specifically signs a Law Enforcement Officers - Waiver Form within 90 days of receiving a LEO Eligibility Notification Letter. A LEO-eligible individual who signs the waiver form will be enrolled as a non-law enforcement officer in the regular PERS category of membership.

Forms Required for PERS LEO Membership

1. The PERS/TPAF Enrollment Application, completed in its entirety, is required for each new employee. To use the fill-in and print version, click here: PERS/TPAF Enrollment Application (Fill in and Print, Adobe Acrobat 4.0 and higher).

Please note that PERS LEO members may not be enrolled in the PERS via the Member Benefits Online System, or MBOS. The regular paper PERS/TPAF Enrollment Application or the fill-in and print PERS/TPAF Enrollment Application must be used to enroll PERS LEO members.

2. The Law Enforcement Officers - Waiver Form is required only if the member chooses to waive the enhanced retirement benefits he or she would be eligible for under the LEO title.

All employees holding LEO-eligible titles, regardless of whether they waive the right to participate in the LEO category, are subject to Compulsory Retirement, as described below. You may want to discuss this factor with an employee who is contemplating waiving LEO enrollment.

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Compulsory Retirement under LEO-Eligible Positions

Non-veterans must retire by the first day of the calendar month after attaining age 65. However, veterans who lack 20 years of PERS service credit at age 65 must retire as soon as they have 20 years of such service credit or on attainment of 70 years of age, whichever is earlier.

LEO Covered Titles under the PERS
	Currently, new employees in LEO titles may choose to participate in the LEO category of PERS, or as a regular member of the PERS. The following titles are covered by the LEO designation:
	Division of Fish and Game
		Conservation Officer
	Office of County Prosecutor
		County Detective Lieutenant of County Detectives Captain of County Detectives Chief of County Detectives County Investigator
	Office of County Sheriff
		Sheriff's Officer Sergeant Sheriff's Officer Lieutenant Sheriff's Officer Captain Sheriff's Officer Chief Sheriff's Officer Sheriff's Investigator
	Palisades Interstate Park Commission
		Patrolman Police Officer

 

Volunteer Firefighters and Pension System Eligibility

Police and firefighters must meet stringent age criteria in order to be eligible for enrollment in the PFRS. Those who have passed their 35th birthday cannot be enrolled in the PFRS. Those over the age of 35 who are employees of the State or of a county can still be hired in PFRS titles, but are enrolled in the PERS. However, State law prohibits the hiring of municipal police officers and firefighters over age 35.

There are two exceptions for municipal firefighters:

N.J.S.A. 40A:14-44 allows individuals who are over age 35 in a "part-paid" fire department (some of the department's firefighters are paid, the others are volunteers), to be hired to paid positions up to age 40 as long as they have served for at least two years as a volunteer in the same fire department immediately prior to the appointment. They are eligible for enrollment in the PERS, not the PFRS.

N.J.S.A 40A:14-56 allows individuals who are over age 35 in a "part-paid" fire department (some of the department's firefighters are paid, the others are volunteers), to be hired to paid positions up to age 40, if they are able to obtain an "Exempt Firefighter Certificate". Obtaining the "Exempt Firefighter Certificate" requires such individuals to meet a number of conditions. For more information, including a list of the conditions which must be met to qualify and a sample "Exempt Firefighter Certificate", please see the Municipal Volunteer Firefighter Exempt Certificate and Conditions. Please note that individuals who qualify for this exemption are eligible for enrollment in the PERS, not the PFRS.

Multiple Membership in the PERS

An employee already holding PERS membership through other PERS-covered employment, who takes (an) additional PERS-covered postion(s), must be enrolled in the PERS for the new position(s) immediately, as of the date of hire, if salary and Social Security eligibility requirements for the PERS are met, regardless of the member's employment status.

An employee who works for more than one PERS employer and is eligible for enrollment in the PERS through both employers is considered a "multiple" member.

For example, if a member is a municipal business administrator and takes an additional position as a tax assessor at another municipality, "multiple" enrollment will be mandatory due to the acceptance of the second covered position.

An employee who establishes "multiple" status will always be considered a multiple member for the duration of their membership, even if at a later date the member works for only one employer.

Please note: When hiring an employee who has already established membership in the pension system for intermittent employment, do not complete a Report of Transfer form to enroll them at your location as a "multiple" member. The salary earned by an intermittent employee would not be reported for pension credit.

Required Form for Multiple Membership

A Report of Transfer/Multiple Enrollment form ("Intrafund" Transfer) is required for each new employer; the "multiple" box on the top of the form should be checked.

The Report of Transfer/Multiple Enrollment form is available here for download and printing.

Contribution Rate

The full or normal PERS employee contribution rate is currently 5.5 percent of base salary.

The contribution rate was at 5 percent of base salary through June 30, 2007, but under Chapter 92, P.L. 2007 and Chapter 103, P.L. 2007, the PERS employee contribution rate increased to 5.5 percent, according to the timetable provided below.

The full rate of contribution is established by the legislature by enacting or amending pension law.

Member contribution rates for all other PERS members are listed below:

PERS Proscutors Part Members	8.5%
PERS LEOs	5.5%
PERS Workers' Compensation Judges Part Members	5.5%*
Legislators	5.5%*

*Group is closed to new enrollments, effective July 1, 2007.

Timetable for PERS Employee Contribution Rate Change

The increase in the PERS employee contribution rate was implemented in two phases: Phase One and Phase Two.

Those employee groups in Phase One include:

• State employees, except those working for the Judicial branch;
• Employees of an independent State authority, board, commission, corporation, agency, or organization;
• Employees of a board or commission under the authority of the Commissioner of Education or of the State Board of Education;
• Employees of a State public institution of higher education, except employees of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ);
• Teachers and other employees of a local school district, regional school district, county vocational school district, county special services school district, jointure commission, educational services commission, State-operated school district, charter school, or county college.

For employees included in the Phase One employee group, the increase in the member contribution rate from 5 percent to 5.5 percent was effective:

• Pay Period #15, beginning July 7, 2007 for the July 27, 2007 check date, for State employees paid through the State Centralized Payroll Unit who were already enrolled in the PERS or TPAF prior to July 1, 2007.
• July 1, 2007 for all new employees of the Phase One employee groups.
• July 1, 2007 for all other employees of the Phase One employee groups who were enrolled in the PERS or TPAF prior to July 1, 2007.

Those employee groups in Phase Two include:

• Employees of the Judicial Branch of State government,
• Employees of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ); and
• Employees of counties, municipalities, and other local employers not included in phase one.

For employees included in Phase Two employee group, the increase in the contribution rate from 5 percent to 5.5 percent was effective:

• Pay Period #15 beginning July 5, 2008 for the July 25, 2008 check date, for State Judicial Branch employees paid through the State Centralized Payroll Unit who were already enrolled in the PERS or TPAF prior to July 1, 2008.
• July 1, 2008 for all new employees of the Phase Two employee groups;
• July 1, 2008 for all other employees of the Phase Two employee groups who were already enrolled in the PERS or TPAF prior to July 1, 2008.

Temporary Reductions in Member Contribution Rates

The State Treasurer has the right to make temporary reductions in rate within the parameters of the law. Between 1998 and 2004, temporary reductions in the PERS employee contribution rate had been in effect. For specific information about these temporary reductions, click here.

Effective July 1, 2004, the PERS member contribution rate for PERS members who are State employees reverted to the full rate of 5 percent of base salary. At that time employers should have begun to deduct the 5 percent member contribution rate on the first payday on or after the July 1, 2004 effective date.

Effective January 1, 2005, the member contribution rate for local employees in the PERS also returned to the normal rate of 5 percent.

Member contribution rates for all other PERS members are listed below:

PERS Proscutors Part Members	8.5%
PERS Workers' Compensation Judges Part Members	5%*
Legislators	5%**

*Effective June 8, 2007, in accordance with Chapter 92, P.L. 2007, the Workers' Compensation Judges (WCJ) Part of the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) was closed to new membership. Members who were enrolled in the WCJ Part of the PERS (those employed by the Division of Workers' Compensation of the Department of Labor as Workers' Compensation Judges, see titles listed ) prior to June 8, 2007 will continue to be offered special retirement benefits through their membership in the WCJ Part of the PERS; they will see an increase in their member contribution rate to 5.5%.

Those who are appointed to a Workers' Compensation Judge title at Division of Workers' Compensation of the Department of Labor on or after July 1, 2007, including:

• Chief Judge
• Administrative Supervisory Judge
• Supervisory Judge
• Judge of Compensation

will be enrolled in the Defined Contribution Retirement Program (DCRP), a new plan established for "Elected and appointed officials" under the provisions of Chapter 92, P.L. 2007.

**Those elected as a legislator on or after July 1, 2007, will also be enrolled in the new Defined Contribution Retirement Program (DCRP), established for "elected and appointed officials" under the provisions of Chapter 92, P.L. 2007.

Back Deductions

Back deductions are mandatory pension contributions subject to IRC Section 414(h). They are the pension obligations owed from the date of enrollment or transfer to the date deductions are certified to begin.

Back deductions are calculated on the member's current annual salary, regardless of when the member is enrolled. If back deductions are owed for a time period exceeding 12 months, 8.25% interest is added.

The PERS is a Qualified Plan

PERS is a "qualified" pension plan under the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, Section 401(a)(17); therefore, the current federal ceiling on pensionable salary ($230,000 in 2008) applies to the base salaries of PERS members.* Salary earned by a member in excess of this amount is not pensionable; that is, it may not be used in determining member contributions and benefits. For more information about this topic, please see the History of Pensionable Salary Limits section of this manual.

*Chapter 103, P.L. 2007 imposes a maximum compensation upon which contributions will be made for employees who become PERS or TPAF members on or after July 1, 2007. The maximum amount will be the amount of base or the contractual salary equivalent to the annual maximum wage contribution base for Social Security, pursuant to the Federal Insurance Contributions Act.  For 2007, that amount is $97,500.  A new member for whom this annual maximum will be reached in any year will become a participant of the Defined Contribution Retirement Program, unless the member waives participation when first eligible, but permits the person to elect to participate at a later time, with such election effective on the January 1 following a participation request.  For the amount of compensation over the maximum compensation, 5.5% will be deducted as a contribution for the purposes of the program. When a TPAF or PERS member also becomes a participant in the Defined Contribution Program, the life insurance and disability benefit provisions of that program will be available for that participant.

PERS Deductions Are Tax Deferred

Since January 1, 1987, mandatory pension contributions have been federally tax deferred. Under the 414(h) provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, this reduces a members' gross wages subject to federal income tax. Purchases of service credit are voluntary pension contributions and are not tax deferred.

PERS Enrollment Online through EPIC — New Employees

An employer must log on to the Employer Pensions and Benefits Information Connection, or EPIC, and complete the online PERS Enrollment Application in order to enroll a newly hired employee in the Public Employees' Retirement System, or PERS; however, there are exceptions:

• If the newly hired employee is to be enrolled in a PERS special group, such as the PERS Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) group or the PERS Prosecutors Part group, the printed version of the PERS/TPAF Enrollment Application must be used.

• If the newly hired employee is TRANSFERRING into the PERS from another State-administered retirement system, such as the TPAF or PFRS, the printed version of the PERS/TPAF Enrollment Application, along with a fully completed Interfund Transfer Form, can be submitted (see below).

Employers are reminded to submit the online EPI