Skip to content
Breadcrumbs

Texas Payroll/Personnel Resource

Note: To navigate this guide on a mobile device you must use the Table of Contents.

Voluntary Deductions
Supplemental Optional Benefits Programs

Note: ERS does not currently offer any supplemental optional benefit programs.

Overview

The Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) is authorized to designate supplemental optional benefits programs for state agency employees; a state agency is defined as a department, commission, board, office or other agency of any branch of state government, including an institution of higher education as defined by Texas Education Code, Section 61.003. Supplemental optional benefits programs are in addition to defined state employee benefit programs such as leave, holidays, etc.

Among the programs eligible for designation are:

  • Permanent life insurance.
  • Catastrophic illness insurance.
  • Disability insurance.
  • Prepaid legal services.
    – and –
  • Qualified transportation benefits.

Employee authorization for payroll deduction

State employees may authorize a payroll deduction each pay period for coverage under an eligible supplemental optional benefits program. The authorization must be written.

An employee authorizing this deduction may change or revoke the authorization at any time by contacting his or her employing agency.

The authorization is in effect until the financial officer of the employing agency or institution of higher education receives a new written authorization.

Administrative fee

State agencies may withhold an administrative fee for this deduction. The fee must not exceed the lower of the actual administrative cost of the deduction or the cost of a similar deduction fee.

Example

If the actual administrative cost of the deduction is $1, and a similar program has a deduction fee of 95 cents, the fee must not exceed 95 cents.

Permanent Life Insurance Premiums

A permanent life insurance product was offered at one time but is not currently available. Eligible employees who enrolled in that program are still authorized to have the premiums deducted through payroll.

To learn more about this payroll deduction, see Chapter, 9 “Deductions,” in the USPS Process Guide or the SPRS Deduction Code Table.

Sources

Texas Government Code, Sections 659.101-659.102, 659.106-659.10.