On May 17, 2001, Governor
Ridge signed legislation adopting a new multiplier of 2.5 % for retiring school
employees and making a number of other changes to the Public School Employees'
Retirement System ("PSERS"). Act 9 does not automatically apply the
2.5 % multiplier to active PSERS members. Rather, PSERS members are required to
choose a new class of membership (Class T-D) in order to qualify. PSERS will be
mailing election forms to all members in the beginning of June.
Following
are some timelines that must be met or you could lose important rights:
You must be an
active or inactive member of PSERS on both June 30, 2001, and July 1, 2001,
in order to qualify.
You must file a
written election with PSERS of Class T-D membership by December 31, 2001 OR
before the date you terminate school or state service, whichever
is earlier.
Those planning to retire
at the end of this school year should submit a resignation/termination date
of July 1, 2001.
ü
If you have already submitted a
resignation of June 30, 2001, or earlier, you will need to submit a letter to
the school district requesting to rescind the original resignation date and
change the date to July 1.
ü
You will be an active member of
PSERS until your last day of work and an inactive member through and including
July 1.
ü
Your retirement cannot start before
July 2, 2001.
ü
You must submit your written
election prior to your resignation date.
Multiple
Service Membership
¨
If you have credited time with
state employment (SERS) that you wish to combine with your PSERS credit, and if
you are active on or after July 1, 2001, you can elect multiple service
membership if you notify PSERS between July 1, 2001, and December 31, 2003.
¨
To convert SERS membership to the
higher benefit class (Class AA), you must be an active or inactive member of
SERS on both June 30 and July 1, 2001, and you must file your election with SERS
by December 31, 2001, or before the date you terminate school or state service,
whichever is earlier.
PSERS is the agency
authorized to interpret the law. Visit the PSERS web site at www.psers.state.pa.us.
For
more information on obtaining the higher benefit, visit the authoritative PSERS
web site and consult with your PSERS regional representative.