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SERS explains member lookup, membership records and tier 1/tier 2 retirement rules
Summary
SERS demonstrated how agencies can use the My Employee Lookup and member record screens, and reviewed tier 1 and tier 2 eligibility rules, including ages and service-credit requirements.
A SERS presenter showed agency staff how to search for employees using the My Employee Lookup and global employee search tools, how membership records are organized, and what the portal displays for basic, account and benefit information. The presenter also reviewed the differences between Tier 1 and Tier 2 retirement eligibility and common terminology used in benefit calculations.
The presenter explained that agencies can search by first name, last name, full Social Security number or last 4 digits, birthdate, phone number or a combination; search results display redacted SSNs and return a membership record with three tabs: Basic, Account and Benefit. The presenter said the Basic tab shows last payroll or disability postings and, for Tier 1 members, a tier summary indicating whether coding is based on salary or retroactive pay. The Account tab shows total service credit, total contributions, final average compensation (FAC) and related details. The Benefit tab lists retirement, disability and survivor benefit estimates and any reciprocal system records.
On eligibility, the presenter summarized SERS rules shown in the portal: under the regular formula, Tier 1 members (members who were part of SERS or a reciprocal system before Jan. 1, 2011) can retire at age 60 with at least eight years of service or by Rule of 85 (age plus service credit equals 85) or at age with 35 years of service for full benefits. Tier 1 alternative formula rules allow retirement between ages 50–54 with 25 years of service or ages 55–59 with 20 years of service for specified positions. Tier 2 members (who became members on or after Jan. 1, 2011) can retire at age 67 with 10 years of service (regular formula) or under an alternative formula at age 60 with 20 years of alternative service or at age 55 with 20 years for certain noncoordinated positions (police, investigators, firefighters listed in the portal).
The presenter clarified common terms used in the portal: “FAC” stands for final average compensation and “coordinated” denotes employees who pay into Social Security; “noncoordinated” means the position does not pay Social Security (examples listed include State Police and certain investigators). The presenter advised agencies to print the tier summary and use it to code payroll and personnel files correctly.
