Here's What's New!

More and more senior citizens are choosing to remain in the workforce, and we are receiving more Age 65+ Membership Waiver forms than ever. Questions regarding the proper use of this waiver came up often during our recent ASRS Employer Conferences, which tells us some reminders are in order.. 

For those who attended our ASRS Employer Conference recently and selected the Compensation and Contribution Reporting breakout session, you were reminded about Termination Incentive Programs. This article serves to reinforce what you learned, just with less legalese and more layman's terms. 

Basically, Arizona Revised Statute 38-749 makes sure that employers do not create an unfunded liability when they offer special programs to employees to retire. These programs are called "termination incentive programs.”

With our annual ASRS Employer Conference coming up next week, we want to highlight the resources we’ll be referencing in many of our presentations. The Employer Reference Materials webpage is where you’ll find many of the guides employers use on a regular basis. This page will also be updated with PDF copies of the general and breakout sessions. 

What is the ACR this year, and how is it determined?

For Fiscal Year 2024-25, which began July 1, 2024, the ACR is 10.19%. The ACR is determined on an annual basis along with the regular contribution rates (pension and LTD) for eligible employees and employers. The rates are typically approved by the ASRS Board of Trustees in November for the following fiscal year (beginning July 1), following a presentation by the ASRS actuary on the annual actuarial valuation of the plan.

Even though you’re already a member and have a myASRS account, if you’ve recently changed ASRS employers, it’s important to go through the online enrollment process again with your new employer’s enrollment code.

Enrollment Code

Are you still receiving paper checks from the ASRS for Health Insurance Premium Benefits or Excess Benefits Arrangements? Did you know you can receive payments five to ten days faster -- and more securely -- by taking advantage of direct deposit?

Employers are strongly encouraged to begin this process now by completing the Employer/Vendor ACH Direct Deposit form, available in your Employer Secure Account on the Forms & Packets page. This process will allow you to receive the payment five to ten days faster each month.

ASRS employers have unique and statutory obligations to ensure employee participation, make required contributions, and process retiring employees. One of our priorities at the ASRS is to utilize technology to create efficient, user-friendly products to make meeting those obligations as easy as possible.

To that end, employers can now submit ACH miscellaneous payments through their Employer Secure Account. We highly encourage employers to take advantage of the electronic deposit method as soon as possible.