Chapters

00:00 Introduction to PERS Form 9S

00:32 Understanding the Retirement Process

02:33 Section 1: Member Information

03:10 Section 2: Retirement Plan

04:08 Section 3: Benefit Payment Options

06:02 Section 4: Beneficiary Designation

08:57 Section 5: Applicant Acknowledgement and Authorization

09:54 How and Where to Submit PERS Form 9S

10:37 PERS Form 9S Submission Package Checklist

11:26 Action Items

12:11 Preview of Next Video and Calls to Action

13:29 Legal Disclaimer

Transcript

Hi everyone, I'm Ryan Earley vested PERS member, former public school finance officer, current financial planner, and host of the PERS Pro YouTube channel. Today, we are walking through PERS Form 9S Service Retirement Application, which is the critical legally binding document required to make your PERS retirement benefit and beneficiary selections. Let's get started.

Before we review Form 9S section by section, let's talk about exactly what Form 9S does and the strict timeline you must follow. As noted in the PERS Member Handbook, your retirement date is always the first of the month following your termination from covered employment. For example, if your last day of work is May 27th, your effective date of retirement is June 1st. 

As outlined in the Mississippi PERS Service Retirement Guide and PERS Regulation 35, the retirement process is split into two phases. Phase one was your Form 9A pre-application for service retirement benefits, which prompts PERS to audit your account. Ideally, this form is filed 90 days before your expected effective date of retirement, although you can file Form 9A up until the day before your expected effective date of retirement. For example, if your expected effective date of retirement is June 1st, then ideally you submitted Form 9A by March 1st, but no later than May 31st. 

Once PERS processes your Form 9A and verifies your retirement eligibility, a benefit analyst will mail you your official Phase 2 retirement packet. This retirement packet contains Form 9S and other vital documents. Form 9S Service Retirement Application is the form you complete to select your retirement options and designate your beneficiaries. 

Form 9S should ideally be filed before your effective date of retirement, although you can file Form 9S up until 90 days following your effective date of retirement. For example, if your effective date of retirement is June 1st, then ideally you submitted your Form 9S by May 31st, but no later than August 30th. If you miss this strict 90-day window, your service retirement application becomes completely null and void and you will have to restart the entire application process, resulting in a new delayed effective date.

Now let's look at the actual Form 9S starting with Section 1 member information. This section gathers your basic but critical personal information. You need to legibly print using black ink or type in a fillable PDF the following. Your full legal name, first, middle initial and last. Your social security number, double check this carefully as any typos can delay your processing. Your date of birth, and note you must attach a legible copy of your birth certificate to Form 9S when you submit it, even though your employer or you have had to already submit one with Form 9A.

Let's move on to Section 2, Retirement Plan, which is brief and fairly straightforward. You must select the specific retirement system administered by Mississippi PERS that you are retiring from. You will see three check boxes. 

Public Employees Retirement System of Mississippi, or PERS. This covers the vast majority of state employees, public school teachers, university staff, and participating local and state government workers.  Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol Retirement System or MHSPRS. This is exclusively for sworn officers of the Highway Safety Patrol. And finally, Supplemental Legislative Retirement Plan or SLRP. This applies to elected members of the state legislature and president of the Senate. 

As a reminder from our last video on how to complete Form 9A, if you are a retiring lawmaker, you are a member of both systems and must check both the PERS and SLRP boxes.  For most of you watching though, you will simply check the first box for PERS.

Now we arrive at Section 3, Benefit Payment Options, which contains arguably the two most critical decisions on this form. In this section, you will select one base payment option and indicate your partial lump sum option selection. First, let's look at your base payment options. You should only check one of these boxes after thoroughly comparing them against one another in your audited final estimate of benefits.  

The options listed on this form include single life annuity options, includes the maximum retirement allowance option and option one, joint and survivor annuity options, which includes options two, three, four, and four A. And finally, annuity certain options, which include option 4B-10, 4B-15, and 4B-20. If you're unsure of which option to select, please go back and watch our comprehensive breakdowns of each option in videos number 34 through 41. 

Second, you must make your partial lump sum option selection. If you aren't eligible, then simply select the not eligible box. If you are eligible based on your tier and service years, you can choose no lump sum or a lump sum cash distribution equal to 12, 24, or 36 months of your base benefit. 

Important note, if you select a 12, 24, or 36 month lump sum option, checking the box on Form 9S is not enough. You must also complete and attach Form PLSO, Partial Lump Sum Option Distribution Election as well. If you are unsure of whether to select a partial lump sum option or which partial lump sum option to select, please go back and watch videos number 45 through 47.

Next is section 4, beneficiary designation. This section locks in who will receive any residual contribution funds or continue to receive lifetime checks after you pass away. Unlike form 9A where names were just written down for benefit estimate purposes, the designations you write on form 9S are legally binding and cannot be changed after your official retirement date unless a pop-up or pop-down provision applies after a qualifying event.

If you selected Joint and Survivor Annuity Options 2, 3, 4, or 4A, you must list your people, not legal entities like trusts or charities. For each beneficiary, you must provide their full legal name, their Social Security number, date of birth, relationship to you, and gender. For Options 2, 4, and 4A, you will list exactly one beneficiary on the primary line, and for Option 3, you will list exactly two beneficiaries, one on the primary line and one on the secondary line. Even though you are listing a second beneficiary on the secondary line for option 3, this beneficiary will share benefits equally with the beneficiary listed on the primary line. 

Important note, since options two, three, four, and four A are joint and survivor annuities, PERS must verify the ages of these beneficiaries to ensure the actuarial math is right.  In order for PERS to do this, you must attach a copy of the birth certificate for each beneficiary listed. Also, since there could be tax consequences from the survivor benefit, you must also attach a copy of their Social Security card for each beneficiary listed. 

If you selected the maximum retirement allowance, option 1 or option 4B, you will leave the first part of section 4 blank and instead go down to the second part of section 4 where you will list your beneficiaries.  Here you can list charities or trusts in addition to people. 

For each beneficiary, you must provide their full legal name or legal entity name if it's a charity or trust, social security number or federal employer identification number if it's a charity or trust, date of birth, leave this blank if it's a charity or trust, the relationship to you, the beneficiary percentage. 

Remember, primary beneficiary percentages must add up to 100% and secondary beneficiary percentages also must add up to 100%. If this part of the form is left blank either for primary or secondary beneficiaries, then PERS will assume that class of primary or secondary beneficiaries will share their benefits equally. 

Also include the gender for your beneficiary, but you can leave this blank if it's a charity or trust. If you're still deciding who to list as your beneficiaries, please go back and watch video number 48.

Section 5 is your applicant acknowledgement and authorization. By signing this section, you are legally certifying several regulatory and statutory declarations. You certify that you have thoroughly reviewed and understand all available service retirement options. You acknowledge that your right to claim or purchase any optional service credit expires completely on your retirement date. Any funds or paperwork to buy service credit must be received by PERS before your effective date of retirement.  You certify that you understand the 90-day submission deadline and that failing to return all Phase II documents within that deadline makes this application null and void. 

Sign the form and date the form. Important note.  If an authorized representative is completing this section for you, they must attach copies of the Durable Power of Attorney, guardianship, or conservatorship papers to establish their legal authority to sign on your behalf.

Once Form 9S is fully completed, signed, and dated, what are your next steps? Unlike Form 9A, Form 9S does not get handed to your employer's HR department or benefit coordinator. Your employer already completed their side of the retirement certification in Phase 1 with Form 9A. Form 9S is entirely your responsibility to get to PERS. You must submit the completed form along with all your required supporting documents directly to the main PERS office in Jackson, Mississippi. 

You can do this in two ways. One, by mail, send it to the official PERS address located at the bottom of the form, or two, by fax, fax it directly to the official secure PERS fax number listed at the bottom of the form. 

Before you seal the envelope or hit send on the fax machine, run through this checklist to ensure your retirement check isn't delayed. Is a copy of your birth certificate attached?  Did you choose exactly one base option and one partial lump sum option? If you chose a 12, 24, or 36 month partial lump sum payout, is form PLSO completed and attached? If you chose option 234 or 4A, are copies of your beneficiary's birth certificates and social security cards attached? Is form 9S signed and dated? If an authorized representative signed the form, is a legal document demonstrating proof of authority attached?  And finally is your Form 9P payroll authorization included in the package.

If you are completing Form 9S, here are your action items for today. One, review your retirement packet. As soon as your Phase 2 packet arrives from PERS, verify that the numbers on your audited final estimate of benefits match your financial plan. Two, gather certificates and Social Security number cards. Locate and make clear copies of your official birth certificate and your beneficiary's birth certificates and Social Security cards, if applicable. Three, complete the supplementary forms. Be sure to complete Form 9P and Form PLSO if applicable. Make sure the selections across these three documents in the retirement package, Form 9S, Form 9P, and Form PLSO all align with one another. 

I hope this video helps PERS members better understand how to finalize their retirement selections using Form 9S. In our next video, we'll explore how to complete PERS Form PLSO Partial Lump Sum Option Distribution Election to make sure you successfully navigate the tax withholding rules on lump sum payouts. 

Please make sure you subscribe so you don't miss this and other videos in our new retirement series. If you found this video helpful, can thank me by hitting the thumbs up button and sharing it with other PERS members. If you have a follow up question about PERS or anything else related to personal finance, please visit our website at perspro.ms, click YouTube, and submit your question or topic for a future episode. 

And finally, if you're looking for a financial planner that specializes in helping PERS members plan for retirement, including completing Form 9S, please visit our website at perspro.ms to learn more about our firm and to schedule your initial consultation. 

Thank you for your valuable public service to the state of Mississippi. We'll see you next time.

Disclaimer, this video is for educational and informational purposes only. Neither the host nor this YouTube channel are officially affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the Public Employees Retirement System of Mississippi. Always consult a qualified professional for personal advice specific to your situation.