1806 - Part-time, Seasonal, and Temporary Employees Retirement Program (PST) (Historical View)

** Effective: 12/30/2019 6:42:38 AM - 12/30/2019 6:43:28 AM **

Status: Active

Change Notes

Removed the word program

Category

Savings Plus

Audience List

Synopsis

This policy

Introduction

Statement

Enrollment

Employees are enrolled in PST by their Human Resources (HR) Office based on eligibility criteria.  Thereafter, PST payroll deductions must post into the employee’s PST account as soon as practicable, but no later than 15 business days after the paycheck was issued that reflects the withholding.  HR professionals are required to follow the PST reporting schedule established by Savings Plus to ensure timely deduction posting.

Eligibility Criteria

PST Program participation is mandatory for employees who meet the eligibility requirements, unless an exclusion applies.  Employees who are eligible for participation in the PST generally include the following employees, if excluded from membership in CalPERS:

The following employees are excluded from PST participation:

Contribution Rates

7.5 percent of the employee’s pretax wages are deducted and deposited into a PST account with Savings Plus.  PST accounts do not receive employer contributions or matching funds.  The account balance consists of employee contributions and attributable earnings or losses, and operating expenses that are netted out of the performance of the investments.

Investments

Savings Plus invests PST deductions in the Short Term Investment Fund-PST which seeks to maximize total return consistent with capital preservation.

Account Statements

Savings Plus produces PST account statements twice per year (February and August).  Employees may choose to view PST statements electronically by creating a user ID and profile on savingsplusnow.com or receive paper statements in the mail.

Plan Limit Coordination

PST is subject to Internal Revenue Code section 457(b).  This means that, if the employee becomes eligible to contribute to a 457(b) Plan (either with Savings Plus or another employer) in the same calendar year the employee participated in PST, the normal contribution limit that applies to the 457(b) Plan for that year must be reduced by the amount the employee contributed to PST in that year.

Retirement Eligibility Changes

HR professionals must discontinue PST deductions if employees participating in PST become eligible for CalPERS, JRS, LRS, or CalSTRS retirement benefits as a result of their state employment.

Account Closure

Separated employees are eligible to take a total distribution from their PST account after 90 days from the last transaction in their PST account.  Payments are reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as ordinary income.

A change in an employee’s retirement system eligibility is not a qualified distributable event under IRS regulations.  This means that employees covered by the PST who become eligible for coverage under a state retirement system are not eligible to take a distribution from their PST account prior to separation, but they are eligible to begin contributing to the Savings Plus 401(k) or 457(b) Plan and may do so by enrolling in either Plan online.  As described above, HR professionals must discontinue PST deductions when a PST participant becomes eligible for CalPERS, JRS, LRS or CalSTRS.  75 days after a PST participant becomes eligible for CalPERS, JRS, LRS, or CalSTRS, Savings Plus transfers the entire PST account balance to a 457(b) Plan account.  If the employee already has a 457(b) Plan account with Savings Plus, Savings Plus will transfer the entire PST account balance to the existing account.  If the employee does not have an existing 457(b) Plan account, Savings Plus will automatically establish one on behalf of the employee and transfer the entire PST account balance.  Savings Plus will notify the employee about the transfer and provide information about how to begin contributing to the newly established 457(b) Plan account.

Administrative Fees

Savings Plus charges each PST employee’s department an administrative fee based on the amount necessary to offset the recordkeeping and administrative costs associated with the PST.  The amount of the fee is reviewed annually.

Dormant Accounts

If a PST account remains inactive for 36 months or more, Savings Plus will:

Application

The PST is a mandatory program and there is no enrollment application.  However, when PST participants obtain membership in a pension plan, they may enroll in the 401(k) and/or 457(b) Plan online at www.savingsplusnow.com.

Authorities

Resources

Forms

PML

Web Pages

Authorized By

Michelle Berklacich
Chief, Savings Plus Division

Contact Person

Savings Plus Service Center
To speak with a service center representative say "representative", or press 0., , Savings Plus
Phone: 855-616-4776
Email: AskSavingsPlus@nationwide.com

Superseded Policies

Not Applicable.