PERA Retirement Report
The Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) administers and promotes sustainable retirement plans, providing services to its members. PERA provides secure retirement benefits that the members can count on at affordable rates for public employers, with member-focused service delivery.
Retirement Plans
PERA offers two retirement plans:
Defined Benefit Plans (DBP)
PERA offers three traditional Defined Benefit Plans:
Plan | Description |
|---|---|
General Plan | For the general public employees. |
Police and Fire Plan | For police officers and firefighters. |
Correctional Plan | For correctional facility employees. |
The member's retirement benefit under a DBP is determined by a formula based on:
Years of service
Average salary during the highest five consecutive years
Each plan is a 401(a) tax-qualified plan that provides members with a lifetime benefit.
PERA also offers a non-traditional DBP to entities with volunteer firefighters.
Defined Contribution Plan (DCP)
In addition to the Defined Benefit Plans, PERA offers a Defined Contribution Plan (DCP). The DCP is a separate offering with its own:
Contribution rates
Membership provisions
Reporting requirements
Employers must understand and administer both plan types as applicable to their employees.
Employer Reporting Requirements
Employers must report their employees' eligible salaries to determine their retirement benefits. They use the PERA retirement report to submit:
Employee contributions
Employer contributions
Demographic information
Important Reporting Notes
Salary Deduction Reports must be submitted for each payroll cycle, typically within 14 calendar days.
Not all compensation qualifies as PERA-eligible earnings. Employers must carefully determine which compensation elements are reportable.
Contribution reporting is foundational to determining members' future benefits, as the monthly salary is used to:
Grant service credits.
Determine the high-five years of salary used in benefit calculations.
You must submit demographic information for all new hires to ensure that PERA has an account to record their earnings and service information.
Menu path
From the Human Resources menu, select State. From the State - MN menu, select PERA Retirement Report.
Submission period
PERA retirement report submissions are due 14 days after the payroll pay date.
Selection rule
An employee is included in the PERA Retirement Report if they meet any one of the following four conditions:
Check | Condition | Description |
|---|---|---|
1 | Has a PERA deduction plan | The employee has a deduction plan with plan type "P" (PERA). |
2 | Has PERA check history | The employee has PERA retirement check history data within the specified payroll date range. |
3 | Is a retiree | The employee's Annuitant Type field on the Payroll Information - State Required page contains either of the following values:
|
4 | Status changed | The employee's status has changed since the last report was submitted. |
Prerequisites
Enter the PERA Employer Number on the Human Resources Profile - State page.
Enter valid values in the following fields on the Minnesota State Required page:
PERA Member ID
PERA Elig Date
Annuitant Type
PERA Position
PERA Pos Class
PERA Exclusion
PERA Job Title
Employ Status
Status Date
Ensure that valid pay codes are configured on the Pay Codes page with the correct pay type selected in the PERA Pay Type field.
Ensure that valid pay groups are configured on the Pay Groups page.
Ensure that the table codes are configured correctly on the User Defined Table page:
CL
ES
EX
PC
Set up Retirement Deductions.
Enter the correct hire date in the Hire Date field on the Employment tab of the Employee Information page.
Ensure that the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) work cycles used in your organization are configured correctly. For more information on configuring FLSA work cycles, refer to the FLSA Cycle Setup Guide for Employee Timesheets Configuration and Overtime Calculations.