Blogs

One common budgeting oversight we see from members planning their retirement is comparing their estimated future pension amount against their current monthly bills to see if they can afford to retire. The oversight? Focusing on what their bills currently are, not what their bills will be. This is especially true when it comes to health insurance costs – and even more so if you won't be 65 and Medicare-eligible when you retire.

The Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to eligible public employees across the state. For participating employers, one of the most important responsibilities is ensuring that all eligible employees are enrolled accurately and on time. Online enrollment through the ASRS secure portal makes this process faster and more reliable, but it also requires diligence on the part of employers to meet statutory requirements.

An LTD Employee Claim Packet must be provided to the employee if any of the following apply:

• The employee has been approved for full-time or intermittent Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) due to their own medical condition 

• The employee has been approved for full-time or intermittent medical leave of absence based on a medical condition 

To ensure accurate processing of Long Term Disability (LTD) benefits, it’s important that employers provide timely pay stub documentation when an employee is working or receiving any form of pay while on LTD.

If an employee is receiving LTD benefits and also earning compensation from their employer, the employer must submit the employee’s pay stubs for every month that pay is issued. These pay stubs are essential for Broadspire to determine the offset percentage, based on the types of pay listed on the employee's pay stubs.

Now that the Live Chat feature has been in place for nearly a year, here are some helpful tips and reminders to make these chat interactions more beneficial to you.

Yes, You Are Chatting With an Actual Employer Relations Team Member

The LTD Claim Packet should be provided to the member in a timely manner, preferably within 30 days, when any of the following situations occur: 

Many members reach out to the ASRS hoping to borrow or withdraw funds from their ASRS account for many reasons, such as making a down payment on a home or supplementing household finances. Unfortunately, Arizona law does not authorize loans from ASRS pension accounts. As a result, active and inactive members are not permitted to borrow against or take partial withdrawals from their ASRS account.

Balance of Contract Pay is a concept frequently encountered by Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) employers, especially in educational institutions where employment contracts often span an academic year. Understanding how this type of compensation fits within ASRS rules is essential for accurate reporting and helping employees make informed retirement decisions. 

What is Balance of Contract Pay?

Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 401(a)17 limits compensation beyond which no further retirement contributions may be deducted from an employee’s earnable salary for a given year. This limit applies to all ASRS members, but the maximum compensation limits differ depending on an individual member’s enrollment date.

In today’s digital age, ensuring your personal information remains safe while communicating with ASRS is more important than ever. That is why ASRS offers our Member Secure Messaging (MSM) program, a trusted, confidential, and efficient way for members to get in touch with a representative.

A Safe and Secure Way to Communicate