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New Information
Retirement Board Election Update
The nomination period for the
2018 Retirement Board election ended on May 1. The terms of the three
designated board seats held by Donna Jasper (Accounting), (Ret) P.O. Matt
Tomasic, and (Ret.) Sgt. Gary Jenkins all expire in June. The candidates who
filed for the three seats are Scott Hummel (Crime Lab) for the seat designated
for a member of the Civilian Employees’ plan; Det. Chad Pickens (Narcotics
& Vice Division) for the seat designated for an active member of the Police
plan who has not attained the rank of Sergeant or above; and (Ret.) Deputy
Chief Tom Mills for the seat designated for a retired member of the Police
plan.
When only one candidate files
for a board seat there is no balloting and the candidate shall be declared
elected by the Retirement Board. The Retirement Board will certify the results
of the election and swear in the new Board members at the June 14 Retirement
Board meeting.
Thanks to Donna Jasper,
(Ret.) P.O. Matt Tomasic, and (Ret.) Sgt. Gary Jenkins for serving on the
Retirement Board and congratulations to Scott Hummel, Det. Chad Pickens, and
(Ret.) DC Tom Mills on their election to the Retirement Board.
2018 Cost of Living Adjustment for Retirees
The Retirement Board approved the following cost of living adjustment (COLA) for retirees and eligible surviving spouses at the Retirement Board meeting on April 12.
Provide a 2.0% COLA to the base pension for all members whose retirement or whose deceased spouse's eligibility to a pension were effective on or before December 31, 2017 as authorized by the Retirement Systems statutes. The COLA will be granted effective with the May 31, 2018 benefit payment for Police plan retirees and surviving spouses and the June 1, 2018 benefit payment for the Civilian Employees' plan retirees and surviving spouses.
Deferred Compensation Committee Information Sessions
The Deferred Compensation Committee will hold six information sessions to update active and retired plan participants on the work of the Committee and to answer questions about the Deferred Compensation Program.
All are welcome to attend the information sessions which will be held on:
Wed., April 18 - 6 p.m. at the FOP Lodge 99, 527 W. 39th St.
Tues., April 24 - 10 a.m and 6:30 p.m. at the Regional Police Academy, 6885 NE Pleasant Valley Rd.
Wed., April 25 - 1 p.m. at Police Headquarters 1st Floor Community Room, 1125 Locust
Wed., April 25 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. at South Patrol Division Community Room, 9701 Marion Park Drive
The attached summary of the work of the Committee includes important information for all current and future Deferred Compensation Plan participants. The information included in the summary will be the main topics for discussion at the information sessions.
2018 Retirement Board Election Notice and Schedule
The 2018 Retirement Board Notice of Election and Filing period will run from April 2 thru May 1. Click here for the Election Notification Letter and Election Schedule. The 3 designated board seats are up for election this year. According state statutes only members of the Civilian Employees' Retirement System of the Police Department of Kansas City can seek the board seat currently held by Donna Jasper; only retired members of the Police Retirement System of Kansas City can seek the board seat currently held by (Ret.) Sgt. Gary Jenkins; and only active members of the Police Retirement System who have not attained the rank of Sergeant or higher can seek the board seat currently held by (Ret.) P.O. Matthew Tomasic. (Ret.) Sgt. Jenkins, Ms. Jasper, and (Ret.) P.O. Tomasic have all indicated they will not be seeking reelection to the Retirement Board.
The Notice of Election and Filing Period begins on April 2. The Election Notification Letter will be posted in the Daily Informant and mailed to all retired members and surviving spouses. The Notification Letter includes the positions to be filled, dates of the filing period, instructions on how to file a candidacy, dates for balloting and election results reporting. (Ret.) Sergeant Robert W. Jones is serving as the Election Director and he can be reached at ajones6832@aol.com or through the Retirement Systems office at 816 482-8138.
If you have any questions about the Retirement Board election, please do not hesitate to contact the Election Director.
2017 Tax Information and Mailing Schedule for IRS Form 1099RThis year, as usual, your IRS Form 1099R for filing your 2017 taxes will be mailed to you by Northern Trust. Northern is the company that processes the Police and Civilian Employees’ Retirement Systems monthly benefit payments.
Northern has advised us that 1099R’s for both retirement systems will be mailed to all retirees prior to January 31, 2018. While the Retirement System can request a duplicate form, Northern Trust charges the Retirement System for each duplicate 1099R we request. If you do not receive your 1099R by February 9, 2018 please contact the Retirement Office. For those of you filing taxes in Missouri, below you will find additional information about Missouri’s Public Pension and Social Security Exemptions and Qualified Health Insurance Premiums. For those retired Police plan members who have their health insurance premium deducted from their monthly benefit check, below you will find a link to additional information about the IRS treatment of insurance premiums for retired public safety officers. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call the Retirement Office at 816 482-8138. Missouri Public Pension and Social Security Exemption Retired members of KCPERS that are Missouri tax filers may be eligible to exempt a portion of their pension and/or Social Security income from Missouri income tax. To claim the pension and/or Social Security exemption on 2017 returns, Missouri tax filers will need to file using Form MO-1040, otherwise known as the long form, or Form MO-1040P, short form. If filing on Form MO-1040, you will need to complete the worksheet in Part 3 of Form MO-A and file it along with Form MO-1040. If you were age 62 by December 31, 2017 and received Social Security benefits, you will also want to complete the section for the Social Security exemption in Part 3. If filing on Form MO-1040P, the calculation of the pension and/or Social Security exemption is found on page 2 of that form. Generally for 2017 tax returns, the pension exemption will be calculated as the amount of your taxable pension, limited to a maximum of $37,089 for each taxpayer, and then reduced by the amount of your nontaxable social security benefits, if any. The amount of your pension exemption may be reduced for married couples with Missouri adjusted gross income above $100,000 or for single taxpayers with Missouri adjusted gross income above $85,000. Your exemption is decreased by the amount your income exceeds the limit. For more information regarding eligibility please contact the Missouri Department of Revenue at (573) 751-3505 or www.dor.mo.gov, or consult your tax professional.
Qualified Health Insurance Premiums Missouri also allows a subtraction from federal adjusted gross income for qualified health insurance premiums. On 2017 tax returns, the subtraction is taken on Line 12 of Part 1 of Form MO-A and filed along with Form MO-1040. The Missouri Department of Revenue supplies a worksheet for Line 12 of Form MO-A which can be found in the MO-1040 instruction packet.
IRS Treatment of Insurance Premiums for Retired Public Safety Officers
Military Leave of Absence Statutes and Retirement Board Policy On August 28, 2015 the new military leave provisions for the
Police Retirement System and Civilian Employees’ Retirement System will become
law. In addition, the Military Leave Policy has been update to implement the
changes in the statutes. The changes in the statutes provide that a member may
restore creditable service in the Retirement System for a military leave of
absence by paying the amount of member contributions missed during that time. Members
may also choose to not restore creditable service lost due to a period of
military leave. A total of five years of military leave time can be purchased
at the member contribution rate. A member may request a waiver to be granted
creditable service in the Retirement System for the period of military leave
time without having to pay the member contribution rate. The Retirement Board
can waive the payment of member contributions for up to a total of three years (of
the five years) of creditable service for military leaves of absence. A waiver
can only be requested when the member provides orders under Title 10 or Title
32 and provides the appropriate copy of their DD-214 or NGB 23. The
amount of creditable service that has previously been granted to a member by
the Retirement System prior to August 28, 2015 will not change. In anticipation of the changes to state statutes the
Retirement Board also adopted changes to the Military Leave of Absence Policy.
Attached you will find a copy of the amended policy. As you will see the
Retirement System will continue to follow the provisions of USERRA as it
relates to granting creditable service for military leaves of absence. One of the biggest changes in the policy is that it will be your
responsibility to contact the Retirement System to request a Military Leave of
Absence worksheet upon your return from military service. The worksheet will
show the dates of unpaid service in the Retirement System. Upon receipt of the
worksheet members will need to complete an Application for Creditable Service
due to Active Duty Military Service and provide the required documentation that
corresponds with the current period of military leave. Members will designate
on the application if they are planning to restore the service by making the
member contributions or if they are requesting a waiver of the member
contributions. The worksheet, application form, and required documentation
will be submitted to the Military Leave Review Committee (please see the
attached policy for more information on the Committee) who will make a
recommendation to the Retirement Board based on the application and documentation
submitted by the member. If approval is recommended by the Military Leave
Review Committee and granted by the Retirement Board, staff will notify the
member of the amount of member contributions that are due, if any, and the date
by which the contributions must be paid in full to grant the creditable
service.
If you have any questions about the changes to the Military
Leave statutes or policy, please do not hesitate to contact Sharon Blancett at
482-8830 or me at 482-8157. We are also available to meet with members to
review the application form, required documentation, review process, and USSERA
time limits for completing the application process. Retirement Board Policy #10 - Military Leave of Absence Application for Creditable Service Due to Period of Active Duty Military Service 2015 Military Leave Statutes
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