Purpose:

The purpose of this bulletin is to provide agency instructions for processing the PEF FY 2025-2026 Higher Education Differential.

Affected Employees:

Employees in the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (PS&T) Unit (BU05) who meet the eligibility criteria are affected.

Background:

Chapter 190 of the Laws of 2023, which implemented the 2023-2026 Agreement between the State of New York and PEF, provides for a lump sum payment of up to $600 to eligible employees who hold an earned Associate’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree, or Doctorate from a college or university or a professional license issued by the New York State Education Department. These monies will not be added to base salary, are not subject to salary increases, and are not pensionable.

Effective Dates:

The PEF FY 2025-2026 Higher Education Differential should be processed using the following effective dates beginning with the following check dates:

Eligibility Criteria:

Employees who meet the following criteria are eligible to receive the PEF FY 2025-2026 Higher Education Differential.

• Employees must hold a qualifying degree or professional license and provide proof, such as a copy of their diploma or license, to their agency human resource office.
  Note: Each agency human resource office shall notify employees on how to submit such proof.
• Employees must be in a BU05 position with an Employee Status of Active, Leave With Pay, or Leave of Absence on the applicable Effective Date in the Effective Dates section.
  • Employees with an Employee Status of Leave of Absence with an Action/Reason code of Leave of Absence/MLS (Mil Stip) can receive the payment starting on the applicable Check Date provided in the Effective Dates section.
  • Employees with an Employee Status of Leave of Absence with an Action/Reason code other than Leave of Absence/MLS (Mil Stip) are eligible for the payment if they return to the payroll on or before the applicable End Date in the Effective Dates section.

OSC Actions:

OSC has provided the following Additional Pay Earnings Code to process the PEF Higher Education Differential:

In addition, OSC provided the following Time Entry Earnings Code to pay the additional overtime monies owed to hourly employees for overtime hours worked between the PEF Higher Education Differential Effective Date and End Date:

Agency Actions:

Calculation of PEF Higher Education Differential Payment Amount
Employees’ Comp Rate Code and work percent on the applicable Effective Date in the Effective Dates section determines the methodology used to calculate the PEF Higher Education Differential. If an employee has an Employee Status of Leave of Absence with an Action/Reason code other than Leave of Absence/MLS (Mil Stip) on the applicable Effective Date, the employee’s Comp Rate Code and work percent immediately prior to the leave should be utilized to determine the appropriate methodology.

Full Payment Amount:  The following employees must receive the full payment amount of $600.

• Employees with an Employee Status of Active or Leave With Pay whose Comp Rate Code is 21P, ANN or CAL and work percent is 100% on the applicable Effective Date.
• Employees with an Employee Status of Leave With Pay with an Action/Reason code of Paid Leave of Absence/SKL (Sick Lv) whose Comp Rate Code is 21P, ANN or CAL and work percent is 50% on the applicable Effective Date.
• Employees with an Employee Status of Active whose Comp Rate Code is 21P, ANN or CAL and who is on a voluntary reduction in work schedule (VRWS) on the applicable Effective Date.
• Employees with an Employee Status of Leave With Pay with an Action/Reason code of Paid Leave of Absence/MLS (Mil Stip) whose Comp Rate Code is BIW and work percent is 100% on the applicable Effective Date.
• Employees with an Employee Status of Leave of Absence with an Action/Reason code of Leave of Absence/MLS (Mil Stip) whose Comp Rate Code is 21P, ANN or CAL and work percent is 100% on the applicable Effective Date.

Payment Amount for Employees with a Comp Rate Code of FEE: The following employees must receive a payment amount based on the percent of time worked or the percent of obligation completed.

• If the employee is per diem and has a Comp Rate Code of FEE, the agency must determine the percent of time worked between 10/01/2024 and 03/31/2025.  Round the result to four places, multiply by the full payment amount of $600 and round to the nearest cent.
• For all other employees with a Comp Rate Code of FEE, the agency must determine what percent of the employee’s obligation was completed between 10/01/2024 and 03/31/2025.  Round the result to four places, multiply by the full payment amount of $600 and round to the nearest cent.

Prorated Payment Amount Based on Work Percent: The following employees must receive a prorated payment amount determined by multiplying the full payment amount of $600 by the employee’s work percent in effect on the applicable Effective Date.

• Employees with an Employee Status of Leave With Pay with an Action/Reason code of Paid Leave of Absence/MLS (Mil Stip) whose Comp Rate Code is BIW and the work percent is less than 100% on the applicable Effective Date.
• Employees with an Employee Status of Leave of Absence with an Action/Reason code of Leave of Absence/MLS (Mil Stip) whose Comp Rate Code is 21P, ANN or CAL and work percent is less than 100% on the applicable Effective Date.
• Employees with an Employee Status of Active whose Comp Rate Code is 21P or CAL and work percent is less than 100% on the applicable Effective Date.
• Employees with an Employee Status of Leave With Pay with an Action/Reason code of Paid Leave of Absence/SKL (Sick Lv) whose Comp Rate Code is 21P or CAL and work percent is less than 50% on the applicable Effective Date.
• Employees with an Employee Status of Leave With Pay (except with an Action/Reason code of Paid Leave of Absence/SKL) whose Comp Rate Code is 21P or CAL and work percent is less than 100% on the applicable Effective Date.

Prorated Payment Amount Based on Hours Worked: The following employees must receive a prorated payment amount based on the number of hours worked as described in the Calculation section.

• Employees with an Employee Status of Active whose Comp Rate Code is ANN and work percent is less than 100% on the applicable Effective Date.
• Employees with an Employee Status of Leave With Pay with an Action/Reason code of Paid Leave of Absence/SKL (Sick Lv) whose Comp Rate Code is ANN and work percent is less than 50% on the applicable Effective Date.
• Employees with an Employee Status of Leave With Pay (except with an Action/Reason code of Paid Leave of Absence/SKL) whose Comp Rate Code is ANN and work percent is less than 100% on the applicable Effective Date.
• Employees with an Employee Status of Active or Leave With Pay whose Comp Rate Code is HRY on the applicable Effective Date.

Calculation: The prorated PEF Higher Education Differential amount based on hours worked must be calculated as follows:

• Total the hours worked between 10/01/2024 and 03/31/2025, including hours charged to accruals and hours while on an authorized leave of absence.
• Hours associated with the following Earnings Codes must be included in the total hours worked.

•  If the employee’s Comp Rate Code is ANN, the total hours worked must be divided by 1,040 (130 workdays between 10/01/2024 and 03/31/2025 x 8 hours per day).
• If the employee’s Comp Rate Code is HRY and their regular schedule is based on 8 hours per day, the total hours worked must be divided by 1,040 (130 workdays between 10/01/2024 and 03/31/2025 x 8 hours per day).
• If the employee’s Comp Rate Code is HRY and their regular schedule is based on 7 ½ hours per day, the total hours worked must be divided by 975 (130 workdays between 10/01/2024 and 03/31/2025 x 7 ½ hours per day).
• The result must be rounded to 4 decimal places. This is the proration percentage.
• The full lump sum payment amount of $600 must be multiplied by the proration percentage and rounded to the nearest cent. This is the prorated PEF Higher Education Differential payment amount.

Submitting Payment

To pay the PEF FY 2025-2026 Higher Education Differential to eligible employees, agencies must submit the following information on the Additional Pay page or the Automated Interface (NHRP573):

Overtime Calculation:

The PEF Higher Education Differential must be included in the calculation of overtime compensation.

Annualized Employees

The PEF Higher Education Differential will be included automatically in the calculation of overtime earned from the OT Eff Date through the End Date on the employee’s Additional Pay page for Earnings Code HED.

Hourly Employees

The PEF Higher Education Differential for hourly employees will not be included automatically in the calculation of overtime. Therefore, an overtime adjustment is required for all overtime hours earned between the PEF FY 2025-2026 Higher Education Differential Effective Date and End Date.

To pay the overtime adjustment to eligible hourly employees, the agency must submit the following information on the Time Entry page or the Time Entry Interface (NPAY502) using Earnings Code BO9 or BOO.

Ending Overtime Eligibility

If an employee has received the PEF Higher Education Differential and is appointed to a position which is not eligible to receive the payment, the PEF Higher Education Differential cannot be included in the compensation calculation of any overtime earned on or after the date of the appointment.  Therefore, the agency must insert a row on the Additional Pay page or the Automated Interface file (NHRP573) at the Effective Date level of Earnings Code HED and enter the following information:

Retirement Information and General Deductions:

The PEF Higher Education Differential is not included as salary for members of the New York State and Local Retirement System. Additionally, the payment is not subject to PEF union dues, but deductions will be taken from the payment for garnishments and levies.

Tax Information:

The PEF Higher Education Differential monies are supplemental taxable income subject to all employment taxes and income taxes, will be included in the employee’s taxable gross, and reported on the employee’s Form W-2.

Federal, State, and New York City income tax withholding will be calculated using the Aggregate method. Yonkers income tax withholding will be calculated using the Flat Rate method (1.95975% for Yonkers residents and 0.50% for Yonkers Non-residents).

Special Wage Payments for Individuals Who Filed for Retirement Social Security Benefits:

Per Internal Revenue Service Publication 957, OSC will be reporting retroactive payments made to individuals who have filed for Social Security benefits to the Social Security Administration (SSA).

As PayServ does not include this information, OSC will be mailing a Request for Special Wage Payment Report to inactive individuals who are 62 or older in the calendar year and to active employees with the New York Retiree Indicator checked in Modify a Person who receive the retroactive payment. Recipients of this mailing will be asked to fill out the request and return it to OSC for inclusion on the Special Wage Payment Report to SSA. This report will be submitted to SSA after the close of the 2025 tax year.

It is important that agencies ensure the New York Retiree Indicator box is checked for rehired retirees. Please see Payroll Bulletin No. 1728 – New York Retiree Indicator for further details on the New York Retiree Indicator box.

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice:

The Earnings Code (HED, BOO, BO9) and the amount paid will be displayed on the Payroll Register. The Earnings Description (Higher Education Differential, Bonus Overtime Hourly Override, HighEduDifOvertimeHRY$600 2080) and the amount paid will be displayed on the employee’s paycheck stub or direct deposit advice. If the number of earnings codes exceeds 13, agencies should utilize Locked Query LQ_PCD_PAYCHECK_EARNINGS_BY_ID to identify a complete list of earnings.

Undeliverable Checks:

When a valid payroll check is undeliverable due to the agency’s inability to locate the employee, the agency should follow the Agency Actions identified in Payroll Bulletin No. 1786 – Non-Negotiated and/or Undeliverable New York State Payroll Checks.

Checks issued to eligible employees who are now deceased should be submitted as a Stop Payment Request with a reason of Exchange in PayServ. The Report of Check Exchange (AC 1476-P), Next of Kin Affidavit (AC 934-P), and original death certificate should be submitted to the Payroll Reversal and Exchange mailbox at the same time as the Stop Payment Request. If a Next of Kin Affidavit has been previously submitted for a deceased employee’s payroll check, OSC will accept a photocopy of this form along with a new Report of Check Exchange.

Questions:

Questions regarding eligibility may be directed to the Office of Employee Relations.

Questions regarding this bulletin may be directed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.

Questions regarding deductions may be directed to the Payroll Deduction mailbox.