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Divorce and QDRO - QDRO Model Option 1
The QDRO models listed below are for retirees who selected Option 1 form of payment.
The QDRO models listed below are for retirees who selected Option 1 form of payment.
The QDRO models listed below are for retirees who selected the maximum benefit form of payment.
Use this model if you are a retired state employee or retired teacher who selected the maximum benefit form of payment, or if you are an active state employee or teacher and your ex-spouse’s benefit is to be calculated as if you selected the maximum benefit form of payment.
Qualified Domestic Relations Order for state employees and teachers
The QDRO models listed below are for retirees who selected the maximum benefit form of payment.
A Domestic Relations Order (DRO) is a court order or judgment that sets forth how a member’s retirement benefit is to be divided upon retirement. The Order must be a judgment, decree, or court order relating to the provision of marital property rights awarded to a spouse. (See RIGL §15-5-16.1)
A Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) is an order that assigns an Alternate Payee a portion of the pension benefits payable to a Participant of a retirement plan.
Box 1 - Gross Distribution. This is the sum of all benefits paid to you by ERSRI during the previous calendar year.
Box 2a - Taxable Amount. This box contains the sum of your benefit payments minus your non-taxable monthly exclusion amounts.
Box 2b - This box is not applicable to ERSRI.
Box 3 - This box is not applicable to ERSRI.
Box 4 - Federal Income Tax Withheld. This box shows any federal income tax withheld from your benefit payments during the year.
Box 5 - Employee Contributions. This box contains the sum of your non-taxable monthly exclusions for the tax year. The “monthly exclusion amount” or “monthly exclusion” is the part of your benefit on which you have already paid taxes. If you made any after-tax contributions to your ERSRI account — for example, regular contributions you made before 1986 or through a buyback of service time — then you do not have to pay taxes on that part of your benefit. The non-taxable portion of your benefit listed in Box 5 is calculated using the Simplified Method in IRS Publication 575 - Pension and Annuity Income.
Box 6 - This box is not applicable to ERSRI.
Box 7 - Distribution Code. IRS code identifying the distribution you received. These codes are explained on the back of the 1099-R Form.
Boxes 8, 9a, 9b, 10, 11, 12 and 13 - These boxes are not applicable to ERSRI.
Box 14 - State Income Tax Withheld. Any Rhode Island State income tax deducted from your checks is shown in this box. Note: ERSRI does not withhold state income taxes for any state other than Rhode Island.
Box 15 – State/Payer’s State No. ERSRI’s state tax ID number.
Box 16 – State Distribution. Rhode Island state taxable income.
Boxes 17 through 19 – These three boxes are left intentionally blank and are not applicable to ERSRI.
Please be advised that these questions and answers should not be relied upon in a legal setting, and do not supersede any law or promulgated rule or regulation. These questions and answers apply the laws, rules and regulations, and policies that are in effect as of December 31, 2021. Should the laws, rules and regulations, and/or policies change, these questions and answers will no longer be applicable.
ERSRI is required by law to adjust a member’s disability retirement allowance if the member earns over a certain amount of money. ERSRI determines whether you have earned over the statutory limit by reviewing your Annual Continuing Statement and supporting documentation.
Rhode Island General Laws § 36-10-17; § 16-16-19; and § 45-21-24 govern the readjustment of disability retirement allowance.
You are permitted to make the difference between the amount you would have earned had you still been employed in the same position from which you retired and your disability retirement allowance. See the below example:
Once a member attains his or her minimum age of service retirement, he or she will no longer receive an Annual Continuing Statement. Please note that you will receive an Annual Disclosure Statement the calendar year after you attain your minimum age of service retirement because we request your earnings information for the previous calendar year. For example, if you attain your minimum age of service retirement in 2021 you will receive an Annual Continuing Statement in 2022 in which you must provide your 2021 tax information.
If you do not provide ERSRI with a completed Annual Continuing Statement including all supporting documentation, your disability retirement allowance may be suspended until your statement is received and analyzed.
No. Pursuant to RIGL § 38-2-2(4)(O), tax returns are not public documents.
If you filed a joint tax return, ERSRI will not be able to differentiate whether the earnings are attributable to you or your spouse without receiving the W-2s, wage attachments, and other business income attachments and/or schedules for both you and your spouse.
Yes, you will be mailed written notice at least thirty (30) days before your disability retirement allowance is adjusted. The notice will contain the amount owed and the adjustment period.
You are not required to see a doctor. However, ERSRI has the legal authority to send you for an independent medical examination (IME), at ERSRI’s expense, once per year. By not submitting an Annual Medical Update, ERSRI may be more likely to send you to an IME.
If you refuse to see an IME that has been assigned to you by ERSRI, your disability retirement allowance may be permanently revoked.
Rhode Island General Laws § 36-10-17; §16-16-19; and § 45-21-23 govern the reexamination of disability retirees.
Members of seventy-six municipal (MERS) pension plans will receive a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2023.
View the document below for a full list of employers eligible for a COLA in 2023.
Download to view a list of employers eligible for a COLA in 2023.
All members of these 76 plans who retired before June 30, 2012 and were previously receiving or eligible for a COLA will receive a COLA beginning the month following their retirement date.
General MERS members of these MERS plans who retired after June 30, 2012 will be eligible to receive a COLA three years after their retirement date or at their Social Security Normal Retirement Age, whichever is later.
Police and Fire MERS members of these plans who retired between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2015 will be eligible to receive a COLA three years after their retirement date or when they reach age 55, whichever is later.
Police and Fire MERS members of these plans who retired after June 30, 2015 will be eligible to receive a COLA three years after their retirement date or when they reach age 50, whichever is later.
Current eligible beneficiaries of the Teachers’ Survivor Benefit receive the same COLA granted to members of Social Security. The increase, which begins in January 2023, is 8.7% as announced by the Social Security Administration in October 2022.
Eligible retirees of the 76 MERS plans will see an increase of 3.11% on the first $28,878 of their annual pension benefit for calendar year 2023.
The Teachers’ Survivor Benefits plan COLA is determined by the Social Security Administration.
Municipal plans that are part of MERS, and have adopted a COLA provision, provide a 2023 COLA when the actuary determines the individual plan is at least 80% funded as of June 30, 2022.
Plans that have chosen not to offer a COLA and plans that are not 80% funded do not provide a COLA to members.
Recipients of the Teachers’ Survivor Benefit (TSB) will receive a COLA as determined by the Social Security Administration.
NOTE: There may be years that the Social Security Administration does not grant a COLA.
ERSRI pays benefits on the last business day of each month. For members with direct deposit, when the last day of the month falls on a weekend or holiday, your monthly benefit will be deposited the previous business day. Click the link below to download a payment schedule for the current year.
For members who have registered for online access to their retirement accounts, you can review your designations by simply logging into the ERSRI Member Portal, navigating to the “My Pension” section, and selecting “View My Pension Profile”.
If you are not registered for online access, please call the Member Service Center at (401) 462-7600 for assistance.