Reporting Basics
Eligibility for Membership
With some exceptions, a governmental subdivision must provide Defined Benefit Plan (DBP) membership to every full or part-time employee who is projected to have monthly earnings of at least $425. Employees with variable earnings must be enrolled the first month that their earnings exceed $425.
Elected officials can voluntarily join the Defined Contribution Plan (DCP). Additionally, the law extends DCP membership to certain other positions including but not limited to city managers, volunteer ambulance personnel, and physicians. It is your responsibility to inform these individuals of their PERA membership options and to obtain their written authorization for DCP withholding. Review Chapter 4 of the Employer Manual for information about the DCP.
You must enroll every eligible employee and elected official into the DBP or the DCP. In most situations, you will do the enrollment by entering the individual’s personal and employment data online or by uploading a file to provide data for multiple employees.
Inform PERA about your Excluded Positions
As detailed in Chapter 3 of the Employer Manual, certain classes of positions cannot be given membership under the DBP regardless of their annual earnings. For example, temporary/seasonal employees are excluded if that is their sole position with an employer and the employment is for a predetermined period of 6 months/185 consecutive days or less.
Every governmental subdivision that excludes one or more employees from coverage under the DBP is required by Minnesota law to submit the Annual Exclusion Report to PERA. Schools submit the report in August for the prior school fiscal year and all other employers submit it in February for the previous calendar year. Employers with internet access must remit their exclusion report data using ERIS.