In addition to administering the state Employees’ Deferred Compensation Section 457 and 401(k) Plans for regular State employees, the Employees' Retirement System operates the “State of Georgia Employees’ Qualified Trust 401(k) Retirement Plan” to provide basic and supplemental retirement benefits for employees newly hired on or after July 1, 1994 by the regional mental health services organizations known as Community Service Boards (CSBs), as well as for employees of the Georgia Lottery Corporation (GLC) - regardless of the date of hire. All questions and answers to this second Plan, otherwise known as the CSB/GLC 401(k) Plan, are applicable only to those employees of each participating Community Service Board who meet the eligibility criteria described below, as well as all employees of the Georgia Lottery Corporation. Those questions and answers in the previous sections regarding the 401(k) Plan also apply and should be reviewed.
How can I tell if I am eligible for my employer to make contributions on my behalf in the 401(k) Plan?
Full-time (30+ hours worked per week)personnel who are first employed by a participating Community Service Board on or after July 1, 1994 and who therefore are not eligible for basic retirement benefits through the Employees’ Retirement System (ERS), are automatically enrolled in the 401(k) Plan. The CSB makes an employer contribution at the rate of 7.5% of base salary per pay period.
Effective January, 1997, part-time and temporary CSB employees are also made eligible for the same rate of employer Plan contributions on a year-by-year basis, for each twelve-month period following initial CSB employment in which they have worked at least 1,000 hours.
All employees of the Georgia Lottery Corporation are eligible to participate and their 401(k) accounts are credited with the 7.5% base salary employer contribution each pay period, unless they chose to continue participation in the Employees’ Retirement System prior to adoption of the 401(k) Plan in December 1998.
CSB and GLC
employees enrolled in the Plan gradually earn “ownership” of the values of these
employer contributions over a period of years of continued service through a
process called “vesting.” It takes six years of service to become fully vested.
The full vesting schedule is outlined later in this section.
Some CSBs have chosen not to participate in the State of Georgia Employees’Qualified Trust 401(k)Retirement Plan. Check with your personnel or payroll office to determine whether your CSB has elected to contribute to this 401(k) Plan on behalf of its non-ERS-eligible employees.
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May I make my own contributions to the 401(k) Plan?
If you are eligible for the employer contribution, you are eligible to make your own contributions to the 401(k) Plan. Although some CSB part-time and temporary employees may lose eligibility for employer contributions in a given year because of inadequate hours worked, anyone who has made their own contributions is eligible to continue to contribute themselves, regardless of their eligibility for employer contributions.
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May I participate in the 457 Plan and the 401(k) Plan?
Yes, except GLC employees are not eligible to participate in the Peach State Reserves 457 Plan.
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What are the investment choices in the 401(k) Plan?
The investment choices in the 401(k) Plan are the same as those provided through
the 457 Plan. Contact CitiStreet at
http://myGApsr.csplans.com or 1-866-694-2777 to obtain the current lineup of funds.
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May I invest my own contributions into different investment options than those to which I invest my employer contribution?
No. Both employee deferrals and employer contributions must be invested in the same investment options. However, once the money is invested, you can then transfer the balances into other funds.
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Can I decide where the 7.5% employer contribution will be invested?
Yes. Your personnel office should provide you with information regarding your investment choices, a Participation Agreement for electing the investments, and a beneficiary form. Should a Participation Agreement fail to be completed, you will automatically be enrolled in the
Lifecycle fund most closely corresponding to a potential retirement date related
to your age.
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What does vesting mean?
The term “vesting” refers to when an employee gains an enforceable property right to a certain benefit. For example, if you are a member of ERS, you “vest” (acquire irrevocable right to receive future retirement benefits) after ten (10) years of ERS-eligible service.
Similarly, if you are a 401(k)-eligible CSB or GLC employee, you earn ownership of all or a portion of the Employer Contribution in accordance with a fixed schedule of vesting, based on employment service with the CSB or GLC. Access to the vested amount is not available until you separate from all state service.
Employer moneys contributed to the 401(k)Plan on behalf of an employee can be withdrawn after termination of service with all CSBs, the GLC, and all branches of State government and onlyto the extent that your employment service meets the Plan’s vesting schedule.
Transfer to a non-CSB or GLC State agency or to a non-participating CSB ends eligibility for further 401(k) employer contributions, but does not suspend accumulation of vesting employment service credit with respect to previous 401(k) Plan employer contributions. In addition, transferring employees may continue to make their own contributions to Peach State Reserves.
No further employer contributions would be made to the Plan, but all continuous future service with the State will continue to accumulate toward the 401(k) Plan employer contribution vesting requirements. Elective employee contributions under the 401(k) Plan would continue to be made available even if employees were at some point to be granted basic retirement coverage through the Employees’ Retirement System.
