Each employer must certify the amount of member and employer contributions on each payroll and submit that amount to the ASRS on a due date prescribed by the ASRS Board of Trustees. (A.R.S. § 38-735)
Retirement and Long Term Disability (LTD) contributions, as well as alternate contributions at the current alternate contribution rate (ACR) for retired members who return to work for an ASRS employer, must be reported by the "pay period ending" (PPE) date (i.e., the last day of the period that will be included in a payroll run). All reports and correspondence submitted to the ASRS should refer to specific payroll periods by the PPE date, not by the date the employee is paid.
The appropriate payment of employee and employer retirement and LTD contributions and the ACR are due and must be received by the ASRS no later than 14 calendar days after the applicable PPE date. Receipt is established by the deposit date on the Online Contribution Reporting System.
Contributions received by the ASRS more than 14 calendar days after the PPE date are considered delinquent and subject to the assessment of interest charges until received. Delinquent contribution payments will accrue interest at the actuarial assumed rate of return, which is currently 7.5%, so essentially, what the contributions would have been accruing had they been reported timely.
Delinquent payments may be recovered by the ASRS by action against an employer in an appropriate jurisdiction or deducted from any other monies payable to the employer by the state.
If you are reporting a late fee at the time you are submitting a Contributions Summary Report (CSR), there is a designated field in the CSR Details table labeled "Late Charges." Enter the late fee amount in that field, which will be included in the total due for the CSR.
To make a stand-alone payment, visit your most recent completed CSR on the Pay Period Summary screen. Choose "Make Payment" on the right. Just add the amount and a comment to direct the money to Late Charges.
As always, if you have any questions on this or any employer process, please contact the Employer Relations team via Employer Secure Messaging through your secure employer account.
by Genevieve McBride, Employer Relations
Updated 2/26/2024
