A recent law temporarily excludes overtime pay earned from April 1, 2022 through March 31, 2024 from the calculation of Tier 6 contribution rates. This may lower contribution rates for some Tier 6 members for State Fiscal Year 2024-25 (April 1, 2024–March 31, 2025) and State Fiscal Year 2025-26 (April 1, 2025–March 31, 2026).
Actions Required
Employers who are still using legacy reporting or started using enhanced reporting after April 2022:
- Action was required by January 31 to provide earnings breakdowns. Non-compliant employers must act by close of business Thursday, April 24.
- For your records: Contribution rates for SFY 2024-25 are available.
Employers who have been using enhanced reporting since April 2022:
- Action was required to update contribution rates for SFY 2024-25.
All employers:
- Action required beginning April 1: Update contribution rates for SFY 2025-26.
- Upcoming: NYSLRS will determine whether Tier 6 members whose rates were lowered for SFY 2024-25 are owed a refund of contributions. We will work with you to refund contribution overpayments in the next few months.
Providing Earnings Breakdowns
Only applies to employers who are still using legacy reporting or started using enhanced reporting after April 2022.
In January, Reporting Contacts received an email letting them know a notification is available in Retirement Online. The notification provides a link to the Summary Page, which lists the employees who may be impacted by the new law. Use this page to provide a breakdown of overtime and non-overtime earnings from April 1, 2022 through March 31, 2023 and April 1, 2023 through March 31, 2024.
NOTICE FOR NON-COMPLIANT EMPLOYERS
You must act by close of business Thursday, April 24. Your non-compliance may be affecting your employees. Without detailed earnings information from you:
- We cannot take the necessary steps to determine whether your employees’ contribution rates should be lowered.
- Your employees may be contributing at a higher rate than they should, which may mean they have been overpaying and could be owed a refund.
- Your employees may continue to contribute at a higher rate than they should for the upcoming fiscal year.
What You Need to Do
View Notification to Access Summary Page
View the notification in Retirement Online, which provides a link to the Summary Page.
- Sign in to Retirement Online.
- From Account Homepage, go to Notifications.
- Click View All link or search for the notification:
- Click Search Notifications link.
- Choose Location Code.
- Enter 12/31/2024 in Date Created or click calendar icon to select from date picker dialog box.
- Click Search button.
- Select notification, Provide overtime earnings for rate recalculation.
- Click Tier 6 Overtime Submission link.
Provide Earnings Breakdowns on Summary Page
Provide overtime and non-overtime earnings for the employees listed in the View All table.
For step-by-step instructions on how to manually report or use the file upload process, refer to the Summary Page How-To Guide.
If You Do Not Have Overtime Earnings to Report
For the system to identify your submission, you must review and click ‘Save’ on the Data Entry Page for at least one employee listed in the View All table. Follow these steps:
- Click a NYSLRS ID to access the member’s Data Entry Page.
- On the Data Entry Page, click Save. (Note: This step is essential.)
- Click Return to Search to go back to the Summary Page.
- On the Summary Page, click Submit.
Contribution Rates for SFY 2024-25
For employers who have been using enhanced reporting since April 2022:* In January, Reporting Contacts received an email letting them know updated contribution rates for SFY 2024-25 were made available in Retirement Online. Use these rates through the end of the current State Fiscal Year, ending March 31, 2025. We sent letters notifying members whose rates were lowered.
For employers who are still using legacy reporting or started using enhanced reporting after April 2022: If you provided the earnings breakdowns requested by NYSLRS for your Tier 6 members, their updated contribution rates for SFY 2024-25 are now available in Retirement Online for your records. No action is required by you at this time. We will send letters notifying members whose rates were lowered. Notice for non-compliant employers: You must provide earnings breakdowns by close of business Thursday, April 24.
Upcoming: NYSLRS will determine whether Tier 6 members whose rates were lowered for SFY 2024-25 are owed a refund of contributions. We will work with you to refund contribution overpayments in the next few months.
*Note: Some employers who have not been using enhanced reporting since April 2022 also received updated contributions rates for SFY 2024-25 in January because their employees’ earnings for April 1, 2022 through March 31, 2023 were reported exclusively using enhanced reporting.
Contribution Rates for SFY 2025-26
Reporting Contacts received an email letting them know contribution rates for SFY 2025-26 are available in Retirement Online.
If we had detailed earnings information on file or if you provided earnings breakdowns, we excluded overtime pay earned from April 1, 2023 through March 31, 2024 when calculating Tier 6 contribution rates for SFY 2025-26. Therefore, for most employers, we will not need to recalculate rates or issue refunds again.
What You Need to Do Beginning April 1
- Sign in to Retirement Online.
- Click Access Reporting Dashboard button.
- After choosing location code, click Member Contribution Rates link.
Members whose rates have changed will sort to the top of the table. Please review carefully.
Update your payroll system to withhold the correct amount beginning April 1, and use the new contribution rates beginning with your April monthly report (or if you do not report monthly, beginning with the report that includes earnings for April).
It’s important that you apply the new rates as of April 1, 2025. If a member’s contribution rate increased and you do not increase the amount withheld from their earnings, your employee will owe arrears and need to pay deficient contributions plus interest, which accrues monthly on unpaid balances. If a member’s contribution decreased and you do not decrease the amount withheld, your Report Summary will have “Excess Withholdings,” and you will need to refund contribution overpayments. The Improper Withholdings page in Retirement Online provides a breakdown of the amount owed to each employee.
Important: A Tier 6 member’s contribution rate is based on all employment reported to NYSLRS, not just their employment with your location. If a member’s contribution rate is higher than you expected, this could be the reason. If we have not received earnings breakdowns from their other employer, we could not recalculate contribution rates for SFY 2024-25, and contribution rates for SFY 2025-26 may also need to be recalculated.
Refunding Contribution Overpayments
We’ve begun calculating contribution overpayments retroactive to April 1, 2024 for members whose SFY 2024-25 rates were lowered.
If your employees are due a refund, over the coming months we will issue a credit to you for the total amount and provide a breakdown of the amount owed to each employee.
What You Will Need to Do
You will be responsible for reimbursing each employee per the information provided.
Information for Your Employees
We will send letters notifying members who are owed a refund.
If You Need Help
If you have questions or for help with Retirement Online, use our help desk form (select Monthly Employer Reporting or Retirement Online Troubleshooting from the dropdown) or call 866-805-0990 (press 1 to access the employer menu, then follow the prompts).
Rev. 4/25