If you're the key point of contact for employee benefits, you know how crucial it is to be fully equipped to assist, especially with employees who are approaching retirement. A smooth transition into retirement benefits everyone, and the ASRS provides a wealth of information to facilitate this process.

As an employer participating in the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS), it's crucial to understand your responsibilities when implementing reduction in force (RIF) measures. This article outlines the necessary steps to notify ASRS and accurately complete Ending Payroll Verification forms for terminated employees seeking a refund of their ASRS account due to a RIF.

Notification to ASRS Regarding RIFs

As an employer participating in the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS), it's important to understand what information the ASRS is statutorily allowed to release and how to guide your employees with questions about their ASRS accounts. While the Employer Relations Team strives to provide you with the information you need to assist your employee through ASRS processes like withdrawing their contributions, retirement or purchasing service, we are limited by statute in what information we can share.

As an ASRS employer, you play a crucial role in securing your employees' financial future. Actively facilitating their enrollment in their Arizona State Retirement System’s online Secure Account isn't just a procedural task – it is a vital step that benefits both your employees and your organization.

Why is Online Enrollment Essential?

When it comes to the security of your Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) Employer Secure Account, one of the most important guidelines to follow is to never allow the sharing of login credentials. Sharing account access can lead to numerous unwanted security breaches from someone gaining access to information they should not see to one user making changes that are recorded under another user’s name. If ASRS identifies shared credentials, we will deactivate employer account access and require new user accounts to be created.

Two of the most popular retirement dates are July 1 and January 1, and both of these dates begin a busy retirement season filled with questions from retirees and employers. Many of these questions revolve around returning to work post-retirement and the ASRS Working After Retirement online smart form, also known as the Return to Work (RTW) form. As we approach the next retirement season, we want to revisit some frequently asked questions from employers and address some of the scenarios that can cause confusion when hiring retirees.

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.

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.”

The ASRS Employer Reference Materials webpage should be a go-to resource for all our ASRS employer partners. It puts all our manuals and guides in one place, has the handouts for recent Basics or Employer Conference sessions, and links to previous editions of this employer newsletter. Additionally, below are links and explanations of other important employer resources and webpages that provide helpful information.