NON - HAZARDOUS DUTY RETIREMENT OPTION INFORMATION
This communication is being sent only to assist those non-hazardous duty JPEU members who are not eligible to retire before July1, 2022 who belong to Tier 2 or Tier 2A and were hired by the Judicial Branch prior to July 1, 2011.
You have now received a letter from the State Comptroller asking you to sign a form by July 1, 2013. This form will either preserve your current retirement age at 60 with twenty-five years' service or age 62 with ten years' service, or the form will permit you to waive this benefit and have your retirement age be either age 63 with 25 years' service or age 65 with 10 years' service. Those choosing to keep the current age will pay up to a maximum of .72% (less than 1%) of salary in addition to your current contribution.
You have also received an email from Judicial HRM which states much of the same information as was contained in the Comptroller’s letter WITH SOME MAJOR DIFFERENCES. The most important difference between the two pieces of information is the DUE DATE for making your election. Judicial HRM has put a DUE DATE of June 3 rather than the July 1 date stated by the Comptroller. The reason for this is so Judicial HRM can process the forms and have them to the Comptroller before July 1.
The Union did speak with Judicial HRM representative Eileen Rausch. She, and one other person, will be handling up to 2000 separate forms. Whereas JPEU may only have 500 or so impacted employees, you must keep in mind that regardless of your election a form must be completed and returned to Judicial HRM. So the volume of forms for Ms. Rausch and her staff is understandable. Failure to submit a form will result in a default waiver and your retirement eligibility date will be the new age and years of service thresholds.
Ms. Rausch also reminded the Union that NO FAXED OR EMAILED FORMS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Please do not wait until June 3 to send in your form. Ms. Rausch could not anticipate what will happen with forms received after June 3rd.
If demand is such, the Union may host at least one information session on the form and the election options sometime in mid-May. The information session would be held at JPEU Headquarters in Hartford and be after normal work hours. If you are interested in such a meeting please call the Union office at 860-216-1550 and leave a message asking for the meeting to be held.
The Union is aware that plenty of questions are being asked by the membership and we are working on obtaining answers. Union Executive Board Member Mary Fortier, who is JPEU’s SEBAC representative, is willing to answer questions via email. She can be reached at
. Some questions that have already been raised are . . .
“Does my T.A.C. time count toward the calculation of service credit?”
“What if I was in a hazardous duty position but no longer am? Do I qualify?”
“How does unpaid leave, like maternity or FMLA, impact my eligibility?”
“How much will this cost me?”
“How can I find out how much service credit I have now?”
The State Comptroller’s website has the forms, some frequently asked questions and the payment calculator. Please use these resources when making your decision. While this information cannot take the place of financial counseling and each individual should consider all options thoroughly and make an independently informed decision.
Lastly, for those not qualified to retire prior to 2022, even if you plan to work until 70, keeping the option does act as sort of "insurance" in case a life event should change your plans.
You may review the State of Connecticut Comptroller's site at . . .
Again, we cannot offer you financial advice on this decision and this communication is solely for the purposes of ensuring that you will thoroughly consider your options before making your election.
