One of the first things all employers should do to assist their employees is to ensure that they are enrolled in their online myASRS account using their ASRS employer’s enrollment code. Online enrollment allows employers to review and verify three important pieces of demographic data, confirm the member’s employment, and verify that they are eligible for ASRS membership.
ASRS recognized for Financial Reporting and Plan Funding & Administration
The Arizona State Retirement System recently received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for its 2022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.
If you’re early in your career, you may think “retiree health insurance” isn’t a topic you should be terribly concerned about at the moment, but you might be surprised! If you plan on retiring before 65, when most are eligible for Medicare, then health insurance costs could be something you want to start thinking about now.
Your ASRS contribution rate actually consists of two main parts: the “Pension and Health Insurance Benefit” rate, which is a pre-tax deduction from your paycheck, and the “Long Term Disability Income Plan” rate, which is a post-tax deduction. If you look at your paystub, the pre-tax deduction is listed as “ASRSRET” while the post-tax deduction is labeled “ASRS LTD.”
What can you do when you’ve hired new employees, and they have questions about ASRS and all that is involved with being a member? Provide a printed or digital copy of our New Member Guide! You can find the New Member Guide on the New Employee Information page, located in the Employers tab.
As an employer who interfaces with the ASRS and members, it’s important to understand which processes are your responsibility and when you should point people to us for further assistance. To help clarify, here is an overview of some of the most important employer responsibilities.
One common error that frequently occurs during the enrollment process of new employees is with members who already have an existing ASRS account and need to enroll with their new employer. They often log into their account first, then attempt to complete enrollment. Note that the instructions do not advise these employees to log in first. The employee should simply click on the "First Time Registering?" link that is located at the bottom of the login screen. Logging into an existing account will bypass the enrollment process.
The Employer Relations Team is excited to host the annual ASRS Employer Conference starting on September 7, 2022, via Google Meet. Based on feedback received from the 2021 Employer Conference, ASRS is trying something different this year: virtual conference days that last from 8:00 a.m to 3:00 p.m. that include breakout sessions on topics relevant to your responsibilities.
While most retirees who return to work directly with an ASRS employer wait to do so until they can both work and continue to receive their retirement benefit, there are those who choose to or must suspend their benefit and become contributing members again. When they decide to resume receiving a retirement benefit again, they have to re-retire so their benefit can include the additional service they accrued in their recent employment.
We receive plenty of questions pertaining to ASRS contributions. Most of these questions center on members' desires to manage how their contributions are invested or wanting to contribute a different amount – whether less or more.