Employers' Pensions and Benefits Administration Manual (EPBAM)
   

 

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Enrolling in the State Police
Retirement System (SPRS)


     
   
   
   
   
   
 
The SPRS is a "Qualified Pension Plan"  
 
SPRS Contributions are Tax Deferred  
     

Eligibility

All persons hired to the position of State Trooper must be enrolled in the State Police Retirement System as a condition of employment. (Any member who became a full-time State Trooper or commissioned or noncommissioned officer of the Division of State Police after July 1, 1965, became a member of the System, as did all members enrolled in the former fund.)

Eligible candidates are persons between the age of 18 and 55 who satisfy the standards of health and physical fitness established by the Superintendent of State Police for members of the State Police.

Enrollment Procedures

Upon appointment, new recruits who have completed NJ State Police Academy Training are enrolled as a condition of employment. Both the member and the employer must complete the enrollment application, and the employer will send the completed application to the Division of Pensions and Benefits for processing.

Enrollment Procedures for Recruits Already Members of a State Pension System

For new recruits who have not yet completed training at the NJ State Police Academy, and who are already members of NJ State-administered retirement systems:

  • If a new recruit is already a member of PERS and not paid by the State Centralized Payroll, an intrafund transfer (Report of Transfer) form must be filed in order for the recruit to continue to receive PERS service credit while at the State Police Academy.
  • If a new recruit is already a member of PERS and is paid by the State Centralized Payroll, no action is required since Centralized Payroll will continue taking deductions.
  • If a new recruit is a member of the PFRS, the TPAF, or the JRS, make sure that Centralized Payroll stops any future deductions as of the date of hire.
  • If a new recruit is a member of the PFRS or the TPAF and is not in a Centralized Payroll position, deductions must stop at the former employing location since the position is not covered under either the PFRS or the TPAF (As per NJAC 17:2-2.8).

Required Form

A State Police Retirement System Enrollment Application must be submitted to the Division of Pensions and Benefits.

On the SPRS Enrollment Application, the member is asked to designate a beneficiary (or beneficiaries) for the return of pension contributions and life insurance benefits. If the member does not complete the "Designation of Beneficiary" portion of the application, the Division will still accept the enrollment application so that the enrollment can be processed in a timely manner, because delayed and forced enrollments can be costly to the employer.

When a member does not complete the "Designation of Beneficiary" portion of the application, the enrollment application will be processed with the member's estate listed as both group life insurance and pension beneficiaries. In such cases, an insurance packet and policy rider confirming the estate as beneficiary will be mailed to the member.

In order to change the beneficiary information in effect once enrollment has occurred, the member must submit a separate Designation of Beneficiary form. The "Designation of Beneficiary" section of the enrollment application will not be accepted in place of the Designation of Beneficiary form.

Proof of Age

Proof of age must also be submitted to the Division of Pensions and Benefits. For examples of acceptable proof of age documents, click here.

Contribution Rate

The contribution rate for members of the State Police Retirement System is 7.5% of the base salary.

Base salary for contribution purposes does not include overtime, bonuses, maintenance, or money a member receives as an adjustment before retirement.

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.

SPRS is a "Qualified Pension Plan"

The SPRS 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 SPRS 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.

History of Pensionable Salary Limits

SPRS Contributions 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.

For a fuller discussion of Purchasing Service Credit, click here.


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Last Updated: September 11, 2008