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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