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PLD Benefit Information |
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The Maine Public Employees Retirement
System (MainePERS) administers benefits for employees of
participating local districts who are members of the System.
For a general summary of the benefits available, see
MainePERS Benefits for Members in the Participating Local
District (PLD) Consolidated Plan.
Below is information on main areas of
interest within the plan:
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Cost-of-Living Adjustment
(COLA)
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Military Time |
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Disability Benefits |
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Purchasing
Service Credit
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Group Life Insurance
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Qualified Domestic
Relations Order |
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Health Insurance and
MainePERS |
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Retirement Eligibility
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Life Changes |
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Sick and Vacation Leave
Credit
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Member Statement
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Social Security and
MainePERS
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Membership Eligibility |
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Taking Refund of
Your Contributions |
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Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA)
If your retirement plan includes this provision, a COLA will
be applied to your service retirement benefit beginning in
September each year, once you are eligible. COLA adjustments
are linked to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for
all Urban Consumers (CPI-U). This index is compiled by the
United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor
Statistics.
You become eligible to receive a COLA after you have
received retirement benefit payments for at least six
months. You begin receiving a COLA the September after you
have met this requirement. If you retire effective on March
1 (or earlier) of any year, you will begin receiving a COLA
in the following September. For example, if you have an
effective retirement date of March 1, 2011, you will receive
a COLA in September 2011, but if your effective date is
April 1, 2011, you will receive a COLA in September 2012.
If your service retirement benefit is based on more than one
retirement plan, and one or more of these plans do not
include a COLA provision, you will not receive a COLA on
that part of your benefit.. This may happen if you worked
for more than one MainePERS-covered employer. It may also
happen if (1) you worked for the same Participating Local
District before and after Consolidation and (2) your
retirement plan before Consolidation did not include a COLA
provision, but your retirement plan after Consolidation does
include a COLA provision.
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Disability Benefits
See the
Disability section of this
website for information about the Disability Retirement
program.
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Group Life Insurance
The MainePERS Group Life Insurance program is available to
PLD employees whose employers participate in the program,
and whose positions are eligible for coverage. If you
complete an application for Group Life Insurance coverage
within the first 31 days of becoming eligible, you may
select coverage for yourself and your dependents without
having to show evidence of insurability. Additional
information can be found in the
Group Life Insurance section on
this Web site.
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Health Insurance and MainePERS
MainePERS does not administer health or dental insurance.
Contact your health insurance program for questions
regarding health insurance. Click
here for a reference list of
these organizations.
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Life Changes
Certain events in your life may affect your retirement or
beneficiary designations. It is important that you notify
MainePERS immediately when the following life changing
events occur:
• Termination of employment
• Birth/adoption of a child
• Marriage, divorce, legal separation, annulment
• Death of spouse or dependent
• An employment status change for you
• A court order results in the gain or loss of a dependent
Note: To ensure that all information is up-to-date, members
should periodically review their Designation of Beneficiary
forms for both pre-retirement
death benefits and Group Life Insurance.
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Member Statement
MainePERS sends annual Member Statements to most members.
The statement shows the amount of retirement service credit,
retirement plan, normal retirement age, known purchasable
service, as well as current beneficiary information. The
Member Statement information can help you plan for your own
retirement.
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Membership Eligibility
As a PLD employee, you become a member of MainePERS when you
are hired, if your PLD belongs to MainePERS at that time and
you meet the membership eligibility guidelines in effect
when you are hired.
For some PLD employees, membership is optional if you are:
- Employed by your PLD before the PLD entered MainePERS.
- Covered by Social Security (if your employer provides
Social Security under a federal
Section 218 agreement).
- Not subject to the Municipal Public Employees Labor
Relations Act.
- Elected or appointed official.
- Chief administrative officer.
- Not a part-time, seasonal, temporary employee of a PLD
electing to participate in an
employer-provided defined contribution or deferred
compensation plan that meets
specific requirements as provided by law.
As a member, you contribute a percentage of your earnable
compensation to MainePERS, and these contributions earn
interest at a rate set by MainePERS Board of Trustees. The
percentage you contribute depends on the service retirement
plan or plans your PLD has chosen. These plans are outlined
in the
PLD Member handbook. Your
employer payroll office can tell you which service
retirement plan or plans your PLD has chosen. Your employer
also contributes an amount to MainePERS that is a percentage
of your total earnable compensation. This percentage varies
from year to year.
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Military Time
MainePERS members who are on a leave of absence from their
MainePERS-covered positions to serve in the uniformed
services of the United States have, under federal and State
law, specific protections, or eligibility for protections,
with respect to their MainePERS membership and related
benefits. For more information, click
here.
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Purchasing Service Credit
As a contributing member of MainePERS, you may be eligible
to purchase additional service credit. There are
eligibility and verification requirements in order to make
these purchases. For more information, please see the
PLD Member handbook.
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QDRO
(Qualified Domestic Relations Order)
A qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) permits a
retirement system to make direct payment to the party who is
not the member, retiree, or beneficiary of the system.
MainePERS will not make a direct payment, even if the court
awards an interest in the benefits to the non-member or
retiree, unless the court enters an order that MainePERS
determines is "qualified." Also, even if the order is a
qualified domestic relations order, MainePERS makes no
payment to the former spouse until an amount is payable to
the MainePERS member or retiree or beneficiary. A qualified
domestic relations order does not entitle the former spouse
to immediate payment of the portion of the benefit awarded
to him or her by the court. Click
here
for more information.
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Retirement Eligibility
If your final termination from MainePERS-covered employment
was before October 1, 1999, you must have at least 10 years
of service credit in order to be eligible for a benefit at
age 60.
If your final termination from MainePERS-covered employment
is after September 30, 1999, you must have at least 5 years
of service credit in order to be eligible for a benefit at
age 60.
If you reach age 60 and have been in service for at least
one year immediately before then, you are eligible to
receive a benefit at the time you terminate your employment.
For more information regarding retirement eligibility and
qualification to receive a retirement benefit, see the
PLD Member handbook.
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Unused Sick Leave and Vacation Leave
You may be able to include payment for a maximum of 30 days
of unused sick and/or vacation leave at your final
termination from MainePERS-covered employment in the
calculation of your AFC. For purposes of this provision, a
“day” is considered your normal working day, up to a maximum
of eight hours. However, if your employer makes such a
payment as a retirement incentive/bonus, MainePERS will not
include it in the amount of earnable compensation used in
the calculation of your AFC. For more information on
retirement incentives, see the section titled “Retirement
Incentives” in the
PLD Member handbook.
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Social Security and MainePERS
If you are eligible to receive Social Security retirement
benefits either because you worked in a Social Security
covered job or because your deceased spouse did, the amount
of your Social Security benefit may be affected by your
receipt of a MainePERS benefit.
The relevant Social Security provisions are the
Windfall Elimination Provision
(WEP), which are Social Security benefits for your own work;
and, the
Government Pension Offset (GPO),
which are Social Security benefits as a spouse or widow(er).
Neither Maine law nor MainePERS policies cause the effects
of these provisions. The effects result from federal law
administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA). To
obtain information about any effect of receiving MainePERS
benefits on your Social Security benefits, please contact
SSA directly.
Social Security Administration (Augusta Office)
Phone: (207) 622-1451
Toll-free: 1-800-SSA-1213
Fax: (207) 622-8398
www.ssa.gov
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Taking a Refund of Your Contributions
If you terminate all your MainePERS-covered employment, you
may withdraw your contributions after completing a Refund
Application. The
Refund Application Package
includes information to consider before making a decision to
request a refund. By refunding your contributions, you give
up your rights to any MainePERS benefits. Since it may not
be in your best interest to withdraw your contributions, we
suggest you investigate the pros and cons of taking a
refund. For more information, see “Taking a Refund” in the
PLD Member handbook.
If you would like more information about your eligibility to
receive a refund or the effect of taking a refund,
contact MainePERS.
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