Benefit Replacement Pay for State Agencies
(Other Than Institutions of Higher Education)

Social Security payroll taxes are collected under authority of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA). Before Jan. 1, 1996, state employees received a state-paid FICA supplemental payment of 5.85 percent, up to a maximum of $965.25, on their first $16,500 of FICA-covered wages.

The 74th Legislature passed Senate Bill 102, eliminating the state-paid Social Security payment, effective Dec. 31, 1995. After this date, eligible employees began receiving a supplement known as Benefit Replacement Pay (BRP) in place of the state-paid Social Security payment.

BRP is calculated and included on each paycheck that includes salary or wages subject to tax under FICA until the maximum calendar year benefit is reached.

Entitlement and Eligibility

Eligible State Employees

To be entitled to receive BRP, an employee must be considered an eligible state employee as defined by Texas Government Code, Section 606.064, as it existed on Aug. 31, 1995. This means that on Aug. 31, 1995, the employee was:

• Employed by a state agency and eligible for state payment of the employee tax.
  – or –
• Using unpaid leave from a position with a state agency and would have been eligible for state payment of the employee tax.
  – or –
• Not working for a state agency if:
  • The sole reason for not working for the agency was that the individual’s employment with the agency customarily did not include the summer months.
    – and –
  • The individual had contracted with the agency not later than that date for the individual to resume working for the agency not later than Sept. 2, 1995.
    – and –
  • The position held by the individual on Sept. 2, 1995, would have made the individual eligible for state payment of the employee tax.

Eligible State-Paid Judges

State-paid judges also must meet certain criteria to receive BRP. An eligible state-paid judge is defined by Texas Government Code Section, 606.065, as it existed on Aug. 31, 1995. This means that on Aug. 31, 1995, the judge:

• Held office.
  – and –
• Was eligible for state payment of the employee tax.

Other Eligibility/Ineligibility Criteria

Status as an eligible state employee or an eligible state-paid judge depends entirely on the facts as they existed on Aug. 31, 1995.

The Comptroller’s office is unable to make an employment determination on behalf of any agency, so each state agency is responsible for determining if employees were employed by a state agency or held office on Aug. 31, 1995. Other criteria to consider when determining eligibility include:

• Employees hired after Aug. 31, 1995, are not eligible to receive BRP unless they were prior recipients. Until Sept. 1, 2005, BRP recipients maintained their eligibility if they left one position and entered another state position within 12 months.
• Eligible state employees and eligible state-paid judges who leave state employment for 30 consecutive days or more on or after Sept. 1, 2005, are ineligible to receive BRP on reemployment with the state.
• Eligible state employees who left state employment on any date from Sept. 29, 2004, to Aug. 31, 2005, must have returned to work before Sept. 30, 2005, to remain eligible for BRP.
• FICA-exempt employees are not eligible for BRP since it is based on FICA wages and FICA-exempt employees do not draw FICA wages.

Source

Texas Government Code, Sections 606.061(3), 659.121, 659.123, 659.125, 659.126, 659.127, 811.001(7).