Volume 4: Issue 5
Issue Date: November 2005

Enrollment Deadline Extensions due to Hurricane Wilma

As a result of Hurricane Wilma, some newly hired FRS-covered employees with plan choice deadline dates of October 31, 2005 may have been prevented from filing timely elections. On an exception basis only, qualifying members who provide the State Board of Administration of Florida (SBA) with certification that they could not make an election by their October 31 deadline may be granted an extension.

Additionally, retirement choice kits for FRS members hired in July, August, September or October may have been lost due to the storms. If any of your new hires did not receive their kits, they may ontact the MyFRS Financial Guidance Line toll-free at 1-866-446-9377, option 4 to request a replacement kit, or request a PIN to enroll on MyFRS.com or at the toll-free number. NOTE: EZ FRS Enrollment Forms are not printed in mass amounts for mailing to employers for distribution.

Attached are more details on this special extension.
back to top

Senior Management Service Class Open Enrollment Window

The 2005 Legislature enacted CS/HB 1159 (Chapter 2005-205, Laws of Florida), which in part provides for a 6-month enrollment window for actively employed local government senior managers who elected to withdraw from the Florida Retirement System (FRS) completely rather than remain in the Senior Management Service Class. There are approximately 107 individuals affected by this provision in law. The open enrollment period will run from January 1, 2006 through June 30, 2006. During this period, each affected senior manager will have a one-time opportunity to elect to rejoin the FRS and participate in either the FRS Pension Plan or the FRS Investment Plan. Once the enrollment information is completed, we will mail each affected individual an enrollment package and provide copies of the information to FRS employers. We would appreciate your assistance in spreading the word since there may be some local senior managers who have not been reported to the Division of Retirement who are eligible to rejoin the FRS under this open enrollment window.
back to top

HIS Tax Exclusion information needed

The Division of Retirement recently mailed an information release reminding all FRS employers to report all qualified employee health premium costs for the Health Insurance Subsidy (HIS) tax exclusion. This exclusion is another no-cost benefit FRS retirees can take advantage of, so please provide the requested information to the Division as soon as possible.
back to top

Retirement Contribution Payroll Due Dates

The table below contains the calendar year 2006 dates your retirement contributions and payroll data must reach the Division of Retirement and the last date you can call the Department of Revenue to initiate the EFT transaction. (NOTE: This is for FRS payrolls only.)

Report Month	Date Due at Division of Retirement	Last Date To Call Florida Department of Revenue (by 5pm EST)
December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006	January 9, 2006 February 7, 2006 March 7, 2006 April 7, 2006 May 5, 2006 June 7, 2006 July 10, 2006 August 7, 2006 September 8, 2006 October 6, 2006 November 7, 2006 December 7, 2006 January 8, 2007	January 6, 2006 February 6, 2006 March 6, 2006 April 6, 2006 May 5, 2006 June 6, 2006 July 7, 2006 August 6, 2006 September 7, 2006 October 5, 2006 November 6, 2006 December 6, 2006 January 5, 2007

back to top

FRS Bulletins for Pension Plan Members being mailed in November

The latest issue of the FRS Bulletin for Pension Plan members is being mailed to member home addresses in November. We will also send a supply to all FRS employers, so be on the lookout for yours.
back to top

Employee Mailing Addresses Up to Date?

Please make certain that you keep your employees mailing addresses as current as possible with the FRS through your monthly payroll report. We use the reported home addresses to mail important information and benefit materials. An incorrect address leads to returned mail, which takes additional time to reroute and forward for delivery. To stay current and work efficiently, please urge your employees to keep their mailing address up to date.
back to top

Are Your Employees Using the Correct Election Enrollment Forms?

Please remind your employees to review closely the election forms they submit. We have had occasions where some of the retirement plan election boxes have been pre-filled and did not correspond with the employee?s wishes. It is the employee?s responsibility to ensure their election forms are completed correctly.

Please do not stockpile printed retirement election forms in your office since the forms on MyFRS.com are subject to change at any time as fees, funds and other information changes. If an employee requests a form from you, be sure to print them a current copy.
back to top

Beneficiary Designation Forms

Please remind your employees to keep their retirement beneficiary up to date, especially if their life circumstances have changed. Additionally, if you are providing your employees with a Beneficiary Designation Form, please be sure you are providing the correct form for the retirement plan the employee has elected to join. We are seeing a number of beneficiary forms for Investment Plan members submitted on the Pension Plan form and vice versa. These forms cannot be processed and must be returned to the member. The Pension Plan form is form BEN-01, and the Investment Plan form is IPBEN-1.
back to top

Important Enrollment Deadlines!

All enrollment forms must be mailed directly to the FRS Plan Choice Administrator, CitiStreet. To be considered timely filed, CitiStreet who must receive all forms by 4pm ET on the last business day of an employee's deadline month.

The table below lists the FRS new employee retirement plan enrollment deadlines for the next 12 months.