The Pensioner: In the Moment |
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Welcome to the digital MPERS newsletter! The Pensioner: In the Moment contains news, updates, and important information for retirees of the Missouri Department of Transportation, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and MPERS.
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2022 Cost-Of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Announced |
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Retirees and benefit recipients are eligible to receive a COLA every year.
Closed plan members who were hired prior to August 28, 1997, and have yet to meet their COLA cap will receive a 4% COLA. If the COLA cap has already been met, their COLA will be 3.758%.
Closed Plan members who were hired on or after August 28, 1997, and Year 2000 Plan and 2011 Tier members will receive a 3.758% COLA.
To learn more about COLA calculations and the timing of receipt of COLAs on your monthly benefit, please visit the Cost-of-Living-Adjustments page on our website or view the short video below: |
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2022 Legislation Introduced |
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House Bill 2234 is the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System’s and MPERS’ cleanup bill. This bill, if enacted, will correct errors and references, as well as clarify confusing statutory language.
Senate Bill 1053 and House Bill 1984, if enacted, would change when MPERS’ elected trustees are elected. Currently, all four elected trustees are elected for a four-year term during the same election cycle. The proposed bill would change that so two trustees were elected together, then the second two, two years later, thereby staggering the terms.
In addition to providing you with updates during the session, we will update our website at the end of the legislative session to include any bills that pertain to MPERS business. If you would like to follow the progress of these bills, please visit the Joint Committee on Public Employee Retirement.
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Trustee Elections Are Coming Soon! |
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Trustee elections are right around the corner. If you are interested in running or voting in the upcoming election, consider the following:
- The four elected trustees include one active employee of the Patrol and one from MoDOT, as well as one retiree from the Patrol and one from MoDOT, all serving four-year terms, and status determined as of March 1, 2022.
- To be eligible for the ballot, each candidate must collect 25 signatures from their voting/nominating group. All signatures will be verified by MPERS. All nominations must be received by MPERS by April 1, 2022. Confirmed nominees will be notified that their names will appear on the ballot no later than April 5, 2022.
- Eligible candidates must provide a candidate statement to MPERS no later than April 15, 2022.
- Voting is done through MPERS Secure Member Access, myMPERS. You must have a myMPERS account to vote. If you have an account, please attempt to log in to be sure you still have a valid password. If you do not have an account, please set one up in advance of the voting period to avoid delays.
- The voting period is April 29 through May 26. All electronic ballots must be submitted by 4:00 p.m. on May 26, 2022.
- The successful candidates will begin their terms on July 1, 2022.
More detailed information will be available in next month’s newsletter and on our website in the coming weeks.
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1099Rs were mailed the last week of January. They are available in your myMPERS account if you need to print a copy.
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- If you retired in 2021, you will receive a W-2 from your former employer and a 1099R from MPERS for tax reporting purposes. If you also opted to take BackDROP, you will get an additional 1099R for each distribution of this lump sum.
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- Benefit Statements are provided during the month in which you receive your COLA. If you are a Closed Plan member, that is October. Year 2000 and 2011 Tier members it is the anniversary month of your retirement or BackDROP date.
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The IRS generally changes the federal tax withholding tables every January. The new tables are used to calculate your deduction if your withholding election is based on marital status and number of allowances (e.g., single with one allowance, married with two allowances, etc.). If you would like to make changes to your tax withholdings, you can do that in your myMPERS account, go to the Forms page on our website or call us to send you a new form to complete.
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- 11 - Lincoln’s Birthday, office open
- 17 - Pre-Retirement Webinar for Closed Plan and Year 2000 Plan members
- 21 - Presidents’ Day, office closed
- 25 - Board meeting
- 28 - Payday for benefit recipients
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We value your feedback!
What would you like to see in The Pensioner: In the Moment?
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