Arbitration Awards, Settlements, Grievances, Litigation | Cafeteria Plans | Consultants | Contract Settlements and Contract Changes | Excellence in Teaching | Fringe Benefits | Latchkey or After-School Programs | Leaves of Absence | Strike Payments | Termination Pay |  Voucher Payments | Workers’ Compensation | Reportable Payments | Non-Reportable Payments
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HOW TO REPORT

The following pages have been designed to provide you with guidance on how to report certain types of payments to TRS. If you have any questions on this material, please contact our Employer Reporting Unit at 1-800-356-3128, Ext. 6220 (447-2900 if calling from the Albany area).

ARBITRATION AWARDS, SETTLEMENTS, GRIEVANCES & LITIGATION

Payment for arbitration awards, settlements, grievances and litigation may be reportable to TRS depending on the situation and the wording of the agreement. You should provide us with copies of all documentation for our review.

CAFETERIA PLANS

Non-taxable fringe benefits provided to teachers pursuant to a legitimate, non-discriminating, qualified cafeteria plan established under IRS Code Section 125 generally constitute compensation reportable to the System.

CONSULTANTS

Consultant, or independent contractor, salaries are not reportable to the System since the member is not considered an employee for such service. However, in order to determine if the member is a consultant, the following information should be provided to TRS:

CONTRACT SETTLEMENTS AND CONTRACT CHANGES

Because contract salaries are used in the calculation of service credit, it is important that the system be aware of pending salary negotiations which may result in revisions to contract salaries for one or more report periods.

If at the time you prepare your Employer Report, your location is still negotiating salaries or expects retroactive contract salary changes during the year, you should report the contract salary currently in effect.

You MUST inform the System if contract salary changes are anticipated and, if so, must notify us when the changes take place and of the date to which the new contract salaries are retroactive. We need to know if all or only some of the teachers in your district are affected by this change. As an example, you should inform us of categories of employees (administrators, teacher assistants, substitutes, hourly employees, etc.) not affected by this change.

Forms for reporting pending salary negotiations or anticipated CONTRACT SALARY changes will be mailed to non-SUNY locations before the start of each school year. They are as follows:

Once your negotiated agreements have been completed, a copy of the agreement should be forwarded to the system. This is requested of administrators' agreements as well as teacher agreements.

If payments for late settlements are not made in the affected school year, the SALARY EARNED and CONTRACT SALARY figures on your report should reflect this payment even though it will not be included in the SALARY RECEIVED reported. It is equally important to adjust the SALARY EARNED reported the following year to remove this retroactive amount.

EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING (EIT)

EIT payments made pursuant to Section 3602 of the Education Law should be included in SALARY RECEIVED and SALARY EARNED unless paid as termination pay. If paid as termination pay, they should be included in SALARY RECEIVED only.

EIT payments may be included in the CONTRACT SALARY if these payments are considered part of the member's base salary. EIT payments will be used in the calculation of a member's 3-year Final Average Salary unless paid as termination pay.

FRINGE BENEFITS

Tier 1 members should have their taxable fringe benefits reported to the System as SALARY RECEIVED and SALARY EARNED, whereas non-taxable fringe benefits are not deemed "compensation," and therefore not reportable. An exception is a member’s participation in a bona fide salary reduction plan which is considered compensation even though it is non-taxable. If you have questions on the taxability of fringe benefits, they should be directed to the Internal Revenue Service. Questions on the reportability of fringe benefits should be directed to our Employer Reporting Unit at 1-800-356-3128, Ext. 6220 (447-2900 if calling from the Albany area).

Taxable fringe benefits are not included in the calculation of a member's 3-year Final Average Salary. These benefits will be used when calculating a 5-year Final Average Salary for eligible members.

Fringe benefits are not reportable for Tier 2, 3 and 4 members.

LATCHKEY OR AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS

Compensation to members for after-school programs which have an established curriculum and provide instruction to students is reportable as SALARY RECEIVED and SALARY EARNED. If the program is non-instructional, compensation would not be reportable.

LEAVES OF ABSENCE

Members who are on approved sabbatical, military, sick or maternity leave of absence may receive additional service credit if they are on leave at pay but less than leave at full pay.

In order for these members to be credited properly, form QTR-96, Leave of Absence Report, should accompany your Period 2 report to the System. Specific instructions for completing this form are indicated on the reverse side.

STRIKES

If teachers in your location go on strike, the salary docked for strike days cannot be included in the SALARY RECEIVED or SALARY EARNED. However, the salary for a day worked which is considered a penalty day must be included in the SALARY RECEIVED and SALARY EARNED. It should be noted that a penalty day is actually a day of service rendered and the salary for that day is taxable.

TERMINATION PAY

Termination payments are any payments made as a result of cessation of employment due to resignation, retirement, death, etc. These payments include, but are not limited to, retirement incentives, payments for unused vacation or sick leave or other payments for time not worked. These payments should be reported for Tier 1 members under their member number and only included in salary received. These payments should not be included in salary earned or contract salary amounts on your report. You should review Sections 2, 3 and 15 for additional information on this topic. Termination payments paid by voucher rather than through regular payroll should also be included in your report.

Termination pay is not reportable for Tier 2, 3 and 4 members.

Deductions for Tier 3 and 4 members should not be taken from such payments.

VOUCHER PAYMENTS

Monies paid to members for teaching-related duties, such as supervising extra-curricular activities, are sometimes paid to the member by separate check upon submission of a voucher, where the negotiating agreement provides. These earnings must be reported through the normal employer reporting process for employees at your location. Please note that earnings for independent contractors should not be reported.

WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

Disability payments made directly to members from the Workers’ Compensation Board or an insurance carrier should not be reported to STRS. However, if these payments are made by the employer (even if the employer is reimbursed by the Workers’ Compensation Board or the carrier), they should be included on your employer report.

GUIDE TO REPORTING PAYMENTS

The following chart has been prepared as a general guide to employers to enable them to quickly identify payments which should and should not be reported to STRS. It is by no means all inclusive. Should you have any questions, please call our Employer Reporting Unit at 1-800-356-3128, Ext. 6220 (447-2900 if calling from the Albany area).