Employer News Blog

News and notes for NHRS employers

This page contains items in the current employer newsletter, along with timely items from prior newsletters.(Sometimes, you might even find some items slated for upcoming newsletters that we want to share early.)

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Nov 15, 2024
If you save copies of old NHRS forms, presentations, and employer guidance, please make sure you have the most recent versions.
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Reconciliation Report

Nov 04, 2024
NHRS has added a report to the employer Data Reporting System (DRS) based on employer feedback. The Employer Reconciliation Report – which shows the employer-reported data broken down by pay period, by employee – is available under the Reports link in the DRS navigation.
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Paper Enrollment Forms to be Discontinued

Sep 23, 2024
NHRS will no longer accept paper member enrollment forms from participating employers effective with the October reporting due in November. Going forward, employers should submit enrollments through their monthly reporting in the Data Reporting System (DRS).
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Employer Notice: 2024 Legislative Update

Jul 26, 2024
Three bills related to RSA 100-A were passed by the New Hampshire Legislature during the 2024 session and have been signed by Governor Sununu. Pursuant to RSA 100-A:14, XII, NHRS issues a notice to participating employers at the beginning of the legislative session about legislation that may have a cost impact on political subdivision employers. Under the same statute, NHRS notifies employers if legislation with a cost impact is ultimately adopted.
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Employer DRS Update - 7/5/24

Jul 05, 2024
Here are some updates for participating employers regarding the NHRS employer Data Reporting System (DRS) concerning batch posting and reporting multiple payments in the same pay period.
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DRS Employment Type for Teachers

May 31, 2024
Effective immediately, school employers should begin reporting all members in the Teacher category with an employment type of Full Time 10 (FT10). The option to report teachers as Full Time 12 (FT12) has been eliminated in order to simplify reporting and improve the way NHRS tracks service credit. This change will not affect service accruals and benefit calculation for members in the Teacher category who work for 12 months a year, such as administrators.
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FY 25 Employer Rates Unchanged

May 22, 2024
NHRS FY 2025 employer contribution rates, which take effect July 1, 2024, are unchanged from the current FY 2024 rates.
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Employer DRS Update - 5/22/24

May 22, 2024
Here are some important news updates for participating employers regarding the NHRS Data Reporting System (DRS).
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Employer Reporting Penalties

Apr 15, 2024
As part of the transition to the new employer Data Reporting System (DRS), the automated penalties for late posting of monthly wage and contribution data have been turned off since late 2023. At this time, NHRS plans to re-institute late reporting and payment penalties beginning with the reporting of May member data due June 15.
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Reminder: Prearrangement with Early Retirees

Mar 13, 2024
The Internal Revenue Code provides that a member who has not attained normal retirement age may not apply for an early retirement if he or she has a prearrangement.
Read more here

Employer Reporting Issues

Nov 27, 2023
NHRS' transition to a new employer reporting platform this fall has resulted in a larger than normal volume of requests from participating employers seeking assistance in dealing with reporting exceptions and rejected files. NHRS staff is working to resolve these issues as they are received and wants to alert employers that normal response times are delayed.
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​2023 Legislation with Cost Impact

Jul 05, 2023
Pursuant to RSA 100-A:14, XII, NHRS issues a notice to participating employers at the beginning of the legislative session about legislation that may have a cost impact on political subdivision employers. Under the same statute, NHRS notifies employers if legislation with a cost impact is ultimately adopted. The only legislation with a cost impact on political subdivision employers is the change to the Group I pension recalculation contained in HB 2, which will impact employer contribution rates beginning in Fiscal Year 2026.
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Most Common Employer Audit Findings

Jul 05, 2023
The NHRS employer compliance audit team has compiled a list of the most common issues they find in the course of employer audits. The retirement system's goal is educate employers on the laws and rules governing employer reporting in order to cut down on future issues.
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DOE Eliminates Certification for School Business Administrators

Jun 13, 2023
The NH Department of Education (DOE) has eliminated the certification requirement for Business Administrator (BA) positions effective June 30, 2023. It is NHRS’ understanding that BA’s who are currently certified will retain their certification until it lapses. This change will impact which NHRS member category these positions should be enrolled as.
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Employer DRS Training Events Scheduled

Jun 05, 2023
NHRS remains on track to deploy its new employer Data Reporting System (DRS) in the fall of 2023. The retirement system has scheduled multiple employer training events this summer focused on monthly reporting of active members in the new DRS.
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DRS Project Entering Home Stretch

May 17, 2023
In 2019, NHRS began the process of upgrading to a newer version of our pension administration software. We expect to begin the transition to the new system this fall. We will be scheduling training sessions for employers on the new system beginning in late June and running through September.
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The Importance of Termination Forms

May 08, 2023
When a member terminates employment to retire and begin collecting a pension benefit, NHRS sends his or her employer a termination form to document recent wage information and payments made after the termination date, if any. The retirement system cannot finalize the benefit payment until this information is received.
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Reminder: Employer Reporting Penalties

Aug 15, 2022
Legislation enacted in 2022 authorizes NHRS to assess a penalty to employers who fail to timely submit other information required for the proper administration of the retirement system, including, but not limited to, termination forms; other information necessary to process a member’s retirement application; information relating to service credit purchases; and information necessary to perform employer audits and process record corrections.
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Introducing Tiers

Jul 21, 2022
Another change employers will see in the new DRS is the way members are identified based on when they joined NHRS and/or became vested for a future pension benefit.
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Employer Notice: Resources for New Members

May 24, 2022
As a part of its ongoing effort to help educate its members about retirement, the New Hampshire Retirement System has created an online presentation and FAQ for new members called “Learning About Your Retirement Plan.”
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