Greetings to you all!

This edition of the MPERA Fiscal Year End Update has some very important information, such as finalizing your payroll schedule, fiscal year-end cut-offs, and the upcoming employer contribution rate decreases for SRS, GWPORS, and HPORS. Also included is a reminder to check your ERIC reports for 457(b) enrollments and deferrals, as well as making sure all your employees’ addresses are up to date.

PAYROLL SCHEDULES

You are now able to finalize your payroll schedule for Fiscal Year 2025, and the deadline for finalizing is June 15.  If you require assistance, check our website for the training video, or contact our employer call center at 1-844-304-5452 or in Helena at 406-444-3994.

FISCAL YEAR END CUT-OFFS

All June 2024 payroll reports and contributions are due to our office no later than July 8, 2024, (five working days after June 30). Please note the following regarding your payroll:

• Report all employees – All employees should be reported on your payroll. 
• Report according to your regular payroll schedule – Your payroll report needs to be submitted according to your regular payroll schedule. If you run your PERS reports first, contact the Employer Reporting call center if you have extra reports so that they can determine if an Off Cycle date needs to be set up in your schedule.
• Payouts without termination – Do not withhold retirement contributions from lump sum payouts of vacation, sick and compensatory leave paid if the employee has not terminated employment.
  • Reporting employees who have no hours for the summer – If you have employees who do not work through the summer, you can set the employee on a Seasonal Leave status when you report their last earnings of the fiscal year. Note: When you set the employee out on leave status, ERIC will not expect payroll details for the employee. 

CONTRIBUTION RATE CHANGES

Effective July 1, 2024, the employer contribution rates for SRS, GWPORS and HPORS members decreases for all employers. Member contributions will not change.

457(b) ONLINE ENROLLMENT
457(b) enrollment and the deferral process are available online at Empower ™. As a result, it is vital to use an ERIC report to update your payroll software with new enrollments, deferral changes and stops. 

You can find that report in ERIC on the left Navigation panel, under employer reporting. Just click on 457 SDA File and if there are any new deferrals or changes, they will show up there.

UPDATING EMPLOYEE ADDRESSES

Be sure all your employee addresses are up to date. MPERA will be sending Annual Statements later this summer and we rely on you to send us accurate information.

OKTA LOGIN INSTRUCTIONS

The ERIC reporting system has transitioned to Okta software for login security, authentication, and registration services. For login instructions, please visit our website: NewOktaAcctInstructions.pdf (mt.gov).