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, then click on the MERS CONTRIBUTION FILE button. .png)
MERS CONTRIBUTION FILE
DESCRIPTION: If you have employees who participate in the Municipal Employees Retirement System (MERS) Defined Contribution Plan, you can create an electronic file to transfer to MERS using this program. (If you need information on how to set up the Deduction Code for the MERS Contribution and also setting up the code under each employee, please see below AFTER the instructions on how to run the program.)
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To access the CREATE MERS Contribution File, click on the PAYROLL button, , then click on the MERS CONTRIBUTION FILE button.
The following screen will appear:
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1. Enter the first day of the month that you will be reporting, for example 12/01/2015.
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2. Enter your specific MERS Plan Name: .png){kind=small}
3. Enter your specific MERS Plan Number (6 digits): .png){kind=small}
4. Enter your IRS Number (9 digits, no dashes): .png){kind=small}
NOTE: The last 3 items will be saved and will appear automatically each time you run the program.
5. Include Hours and Earnings Check Box: .png){kind=small}
If the hours and earnings check-box is unchecked then the MERS Contribution file that is created will not have the current pay period hours or gross compensation listed. If the hours and earnings checkbox is checked then the MERS Contribution file that is created will have the current pay period hours and gross compensation listed for each employee in the file.
4. Click on the "FIND PAYROLL DATES" button. .png){kind=small}
5. Once you have clicked on the Find Payroll Dates button, a list of MERS deduction codes that have in their description the words 'MERS' and 'CONTRIBUTION' will be listed, along with the associated Pay Dates.
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6. If the MERS deductions and the Pay Dates are correct, click on the Create MERS ePass File button to create the MERS file.
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Save the file to the appropriate place on your computer/server.
7. After the file has been created, you will receive the following confirmation stating the number of entries, Remittance Amount, Employer Matching Contributions, Pre-Tax Contributions, Post Tax Contributions, and Total Payments (All Loans). Click OK after confirming everything is correct.
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8. If you made corrections to payroll and needed to rerun the MERS Contribution File program, when you go to create the file you will receive the following Warning. Click on YES to delete the old file and overwrite it with the existing MERS Contribution file; Click NO to cancel.
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9. The file that is created is a text file and it will be named xxxxxxxx.txt, where the x's represent a combination of your MERS member number plus two digits to indicate the report number. For example, if your MERS member number is 12345 and this is the third file you were creating, the file would be called 1234503.TXT.
10. Now that the file has been created, you can go to MERS' website and upload this file to their database.
SETTING UP THE PAYROLL DEDUCTION CODE FOR MERS DEFINED CONTRIBUTION
(You would do the following under SETUP DEDUCTION TYPES, but we have included it here also since this help menu portion is talking about the MERS Defined Contribution File.)
A special deduction code is to define each participating employee's contribution. You can use any Deduction Code you desire, but something like MDC would be easily remembered. In the Deduction's description there must be 'MERS' and 'Contribution' present. For example: "MERS Defined Contribution". Multiple deduction codes can be set up as your needs dictate.
1. Short Name: Can be anything, for example: 'MERS DC'
2. Calc Type: Can be any valid calculation type, EXCEPT 12 (the standard MERS calculation). 6 for flat amount and/or percent is preferred.
3. Deferred Comp Flag: Needs to be checked.
4. Calc Order: Should be 28.
5. W2Info: Should be 414-H2.
6. Tax Code: Should be Box 14.
In the deduction's 'PR/PRS Parameters Titles tab:
1. Parameter 3 description should be set to 'Match Amt'.
2. Parameter 5 description should be set to 'Match Pct'.
3. These titles will then show up when adding or editing the deduction code for an employee.
SETTING UP EMPLOYEE FOR DEFINED CONTRIBUTION CODE
Each participating employee should have this deduction code added to their list of deductions. The parameters will vary depending on the calculation type you specified.
Matching amounts are defined on the employee's deduction code parameters dialog by filling in the Match Amt and Match Pct fields. If the match is 100%, then 100.00 should be entered int he Match Pct field.
MATCHING AMOUNTS - EMPLOYER
Unlike the employee's Defined contribution that is arrived at by the deduction code and its calculation type, the employer's matching amount (if any) is NOT defined by a separate deduction calculation since the amounts are not deducted from the employee's paycheck. Instead, the matching amount is calculated at the time the data file is created based upon the contents of the 'Match Amt' and 'Match Pct' parameter fields.
REPORTING
In the Reports/Payroll folder, there is a new report name MERS Defined Contribution List. Parameters include date range, employees, deduction codes and others. It shows details and total of the contribution amount and the match amount.