2016 Year-End Payroll Reporting: Second Reminder

Please make sure the payroll contributions you submit between late December 2016 and early January 2017 are applied for the correct tax year to your participants’ CalPERS Supplemental Income 457 Plan accounts by working closely with Voya Institutional Plan Services, LLC, the company that handles recordkeeping administration for the 457 Plan. If you have already responded with the requested information below, you can disregard this reminder.

Here are the ways you can help your agency ensure accuracy during the 2016 year-end payroll reporting period:

Send an email to CalPERS_Plan_Admin@voya.com if the pay end date for the last payroll of 2016 is not the same tax year as your pay date/check date. Please confirm if the last payroll with a pay end date in 2016 will be applied to the 2017 participant W-2s. Please include your agency name and six-digit agency number in the email subject line. [Example: Your pay period of 12-18/12-31-2016 will be paid to employees on 01-03-2017 and will be your first contribution for the calendar year 2017.]

There is no need to contact Voya if the pay end date of your payroll period is in the same tax year as the pay date for the period. [Example: Your pay period of 12-04/12-17-2016 will be paid to employees on 12-20-2016 and will be your last contribution for the calendar year 2016.]

Send a fax to 1-888-228-6185 if your agency’s contact person(s) or address changed.

Save Time By Using CheckAppointments.com  

If you thought the Check Appointments website was only for 457 Plan participants, remember, it’s a convenient shortcut for you and your agency, too.

Visit www.calpers457.checkappointments.com any time you want to:

• Stay in touch with your CalPERS 457 Plan Account Manager between on-site visits. 
• Hand off the job of scheduling appointments for your employees during on-site visits at your agency. Your CalPERS 457 Plan Account Manager will create a flyer with a link to www.calpers457.checkappointments.com. When your agency sends out the flyer to your employees, they simply select their agency and the time slot that works best for them.

Keep in mind that you’ll still handle 457 Plan transactions and updates as your agency always has, not through this website.

• For changes to 457 Plan deferrals, addresses or beneficiary information, go to my|CalPERS.
• For assistance with 457 Plan accounts, call Voya Customer Service at 1-800-260-0659.

Enrollment Forms Without Hiccups

You play a vital role in enrolling your agency’s employees in the 457 Plan. Since the enrollment process is manual, everything slows down or stops when enrollment forms can’t be read or are incomplete. By double-checking everything before you submit the forms, you help:

• Your employees enroll in the 457 Plan promptly
• Ensure that 457 Plan contributions are posted in a timely way
• Cut down on delays, mistakes and employee complaints

Here are some proven tips for handling enrollment forms:

	If you can’t read what employees wrote on the form, no one else will be able to either! Contact the employee to confirm the name, address and other information. If the form needs to be redone, ask the employee to print neatly.
	Review what the employee has written in all spaces and sections, including the beneficiary section and the signature. If anything was left blank, contact the employee.
	Check the Social Security Numbers to be sure all nine digits are listed clearly for the participant and their beneficiaries. If not, ask the employee to supply complete SSNs.
	Spell out the employer name completely. Don’t use initials or abbreviations.
	Write in your Agency Plan Number so the participant gets enrolled in the right plan.
	Every form needs two signatures: the participant’s and the employer’s.
	If the form is incomplete, don’t submit it!
	When every blank on the form is filled, fax all pages to Voya® Institutional Plan Services, LLC at 1-888-228-6185.

Whenever you have questions or need assistance with enrollment forms, please contact your plan administrator at CalPERS_Plan_Admin@voya.com.

2017 Contribution Limits

Please remind all Plan participants that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) did not change the limits on contributions to the 457 Plan in 2017.

Make sure your employees who are close to retiring know that they could save more for retirement by making a catch-up contribution to the Plan if they are at least age 50, or if eligible, using the Three-Year Special 457(b) Catch-Up.

To use the Age 50+ Catch-Up, a Participant Change Authorization Form should be completed and submitted it to your Benefits Office.

Please work closely with your employees who may be eligible for the Three-Year Special 457(b) Catch-Up. If a participant is within three years of the year in which that individual will reach the Plan’s definition of normal retirement age, the participant will need to:

• Calculate the available amount under the Three-Year Special 457(b) Catch-Up in 2017 based on the participant’s prior contributions.
• Complete a Participant Change Authorization Form and Three-Year Special 457(b) Catch-Up Worksheet and return both to you.

Participants who want to increase their current deferrals to the Plan under one of these catch-ups must complete the Participant Change Authorization Formbefore the first day of the calendar month in which the compensation would be paid or made available.

IRS rules provide that both catch-up options cannot be used in the same tax year. Participants who are eligible for both can use the catch-up option that allows them to contribute the greatest amount in that tax year.

Updating Your Intranet The Easy Way

If your agency has intranet pages regarding the CalPERS Supplemental Income 457 Plan, you can use a new template that pulls in up-to-date plan information and forms for you, automatically.

The 457 Plan’s employer intranet template helps you:

• Be sure your employees access only the most current 457 Plan details and documents.
• Save time, since you don’t need to make manual updates anymore.
• Reduce the volume of internal email because your employees and staff won’t need to ask you for items they can find themselves on the intranet.

The employer intranet template includes information about the 457 Plan you can cut and paste into your intranet pages. Live links are included in the copy to allow your employees to schedule one-on-one appointments with a CalPERS 457 Account Manager, log into their accounts or download the latest forms for:

• 457 Plan enrollments, contribution changes and beneficiary designations
• Rollovers into the 457 Plan and inter-plan transfers
• Requests for distributions, in-service withdrawals/transfers and unforeseen emergency withdrawals
• Direct deposit applications
• Three-Year Special Catch-Up worksheets

Click here to give the intranet template a try or go to calpers-sip.com and select Employer Intranet Template.

Personal Phone Reviews

Your employees can get answers and help from experienced licensed representatives. When they use www.calpers457.checkappointments.com to set an appointment, they will receive a confirmation and reminder by email. Or they can call toll free 1-888-713-8244 weekdays 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (Pacific Time).

Securities and investment advisory services offered through Voya Financial Advisors, Inc. (member SIPC)

Contact Us

CalPERS Supplemental Income 457 Plan representatives are available to assist you.

For CalPERS 457 Plan my|CalPERS assistance, email us or call 1-800-696-3907, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Pacific Time).

To schedule onsite participant appointments or presentations, we encourage you to call your local Plan representative toll free, 1-888-713-8244 Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. (Pacific Time).