Benefit Replacement Pay (BRP) Leveling Election

Overview

Applicable to

State agencies.

Policy

Employees working for the state as of Aug. 31, 1995, may be eligible for benefit replacement pay (BRP). BRP replaced a state benefit that paid 5.85 percent of the first $16,500 of the employee’s portion of Social Security wages plus an amount equal to the retirement contribution associated with the benefit.

While statute determines which state employees and state-paid judges are eligible to receive BRP, individual state agency policy dictates whether employees will have the choice to have their BRP paid in equal monthly installments over the course of a calendar year. This choice is called leveling and must be exercised before the beginning of each calendar year.

Legend

This icon indicates information applicable to the Centralized Accounting and Payroll/Personnel System (CAPPS).

Note: Employees’ decisions about whether to level their BRP could affect retirement calculations and the amount of money owed to them if they terminate or enter into a leave-without-pay situation.

If agency policy permits leveling, the agency should provide eligible employees and judges with the information needed to make an informed decision about leveling their BRP. See the CAPPS Sample Memo.

CAPPS Process

CAPPS provides BRP-eligible employees the ability to change their leveling election for the next calendar year in Employee Self Service during an open enrollment period. However, CAPPS maintains an employee’s election from one year to the next, so if an employee does not want to change the way he or she receives BRP, no action is required during the open enrollment period.

Agencies may use the CAPPS Sample Memo as a template for notifying employees about the open enrollment period.

Employees who want to change their election must make the change in CAPPS between 8 a.m. on Nov. 20 and 5 p.m. on Dec. 1. Employees will only be able to access the system to make the change during that period. The election becomes effective with the December pay period payable in the next calendar year.

Agency Procedures Related to BRP Leveling

Procedure for an Agency to Prohibit Leveling of BRP:

State agencies determine if they will allow their BRP-eligible employees and judges to choose to have their BRP paid in equal installments over the course of a calendar year. If an agency prohibits its employees from leveling their BRP, no action is required unless this is a policy change from the previous year.

If an agency allowed eligible employees to level their BRP during the current calendar year but will not allow leveling for the subsequent calendar year, the agency must notify eligible employees and judges about the change.

Procedure for an Agency to Allow Leveling of BRP:

If an agency plans to allow eligible employees and judges the option to level their BRP, the agency must notify employees. Eligible employees and judges must know that:

• Their choice to level or not to level is irreversible for the calendar year.
• Employees may be involuntarily removed from leveling if they transfer on a day other than the first workday of the month, if the agency to which they transfer prohibits leveling, or if there is a break in service.
• An eligible employee or judge who terminates before the end of the calendar year will not receive any unpaid portions of BRP.

See Benefit Replacement Pay for State Agencies for more information.