In 2016, Senate Bill 1428 was passed into law which requires that new members who join the PSPRS (not CORP or EORP) on or after July 1, 2017 be provided with a new set of benefit provisions, including the option to join a Defined Contribution (DC) plan, or the traditional Defined Benefit (DB) plan.  In order to help the employers and local boards administer these new set of benefit provisions, this page contains several documents that we hope will guide you in the process:

PSPRS Matrix of Plan Provisions (summarizes benefits for Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 members)

Webinar:  SB1428 Overview (conducted January 10, 2017)   (PowerPoint Presentation)

Video:  Pension Reform Overview (short 3-minute video on basic reform measures from SB 1428)

Decision Tree for Tier 3 Members (shows options available to Tier 3 members)

Video:  Tier 3 Choice: DB vs. DC Plans (explains options available to Tier 3 members)

Video:  Tier 3 Defined Benefit Plan (describes the defined benefit plan for Tier 3 members)

Video:  Tier 3 Defined Contribution Plan (describes the defined contribution plan for Tier 3 members)

Brochure:  Choose Your Plan (briefly describes differences between options for Tier 3 members)

Webinar: Tier 2 and Tier 3 (conducted April 13, 2017)    (PowerPoint presentation)

Nationwide Employer Contributions Packet (information about Nationwide, the DC Plan third party administrator, including enrollment forms for employers not currently enrolled)

Employer Payroll and Contribution Submission

As of July 1, 2017, PSPRS will require new and additional data elements in payroll and contribution files submitted through the Employer portal from employers.  This change applies to all plans, not just to Public Safety.  PSPRS is also implementing a web-based ACH electronic payment option at no cost to employers.  The following documents explain the changes.

PSPRS Employer Payroll and Contributions Submissions (document showing new data structure for payroll submissions) UPDATED June 12, 2016

Contribution Code Matrix (shows how the new payroll codes are used)

Excel Contribution File Template (Spreadsheet with column headings in place--just add data)

Webinar:  Payroll and Contribution Submissions (conducted March 22, 2017)    (PowerPoint Presentation)

As of June 9, 2017, The PSPRS Employer Payroll and Contributions Submissions and the Webinar powerpoint documents have been updated as follows:           

• ADDS - if non-payment reason code QU is submitted, the employment status and effective date must be submitted first using the Employee Demographic File Tool available July 1^st through the PSPRS Employer Portal.
• ADDS - Employers may submit contributions in Excel and CSV format and provides a file specification.
• ADDS – Data element Employee Contribution is not required with contribution codes DBCN, DCCN and DCDT if a member is in the supplemental benefits plan per ARS 38-961 and the member’s employment status is set to SBP using the PSPRS Demographic File Tool
• CLARIFIES - corrections to previous pay periods are submitted as the correction amounts only (positive or negative) and provides an example correction.

As part of PSPRS' enhanced online tools available through the Employer Portal, beginning July 1, 2017, employers will have the ability to electronically provide employee demographic information changes (including notification of new hires, leaves, terminations, etc.) to PSPRS and to perform system-wide employee lookups to facilitate the hiring process.  Demographic updates will be provided to PSPRS using the demographic file and employee lookups will be performed using the employee lookup file.  Information about the file layouts is available in this File Specification document.  Employers can also download example spreadsheets that can be used for the demographic file and employee lookup file.

Once employers have successfully submitted their contributions to PSPRS, PSPRS will create an invoice for the amount due and email that invoice to the employer.  Employers are encouraged to sign up to use a free payment service through Wells Fargo called E-bill, which allows employers to process ACH payments.  The invoices will be displayed in E-bill, and employers can authorize payments to pay the invoices.  For more information on the payment process, review this E-Bill Training PowerPoint and this E-Bill Step by Step document.