Date of Adoption: August 28, 2002.

     Purpose: This public employees' retirement system (PERS) WAC explains what compensation can be reported for retirement service credit. The purpose of this filing is to correct an error. At the same time, the Department of Retirement Services (DRS) is making one grammatical change.

     Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 415-108-445 What compensation can be reported? (PERS).

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 41.50.050(5).

     Other Authority: RCW 41.40.010(8).

      Adopted under notice filed as WSR 02-15-073 on [July 15, 2002].

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0;      Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
     Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.

August 28, 2002

John Charles

Director

OTS-5710.2

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 02-03-120, filed 1/23/02, effective 3/1/02)

WAC 415-108-445   What compensation can be reported?   (1) Compensation earnable:

     (a) Compensation earnable must meet the definition in RCW 41.40.010(8) and:

     (i) Be earned as a salary or wage for personal services provided during a ((fiscal year)) payroll period and be paid by an employer to an employee; or

     (ii) Qualify as compensation earnable under WAC 415-108-464 through 415-108-470.

     (b) The department determines whether payments to an employee are compensation earnable based on the nature, not the name, of the payment. The department considers the reason for the payment and whether the reason brings the payment within the statutory definition of compensation earnable.

Example:

"Longevity pay" conditioned on retirement is not for services provided and is therefore not compensation earnable.

     (c) "Compensation earnable" is defined in very similar terms for all three PERS plans. Any differences among plans are specifically noted in WAC 415-108-443 through 415-108-488.

     (2) Reportable compensation:

     (a) Reportable compensation is the compensation paid by an employer to an employee that the employer must report to the department.

     (b) An employer must report all of an employee's compensation earnable ((of an employee)), as defined by RCW 41.40.010(8) and WAC 415-108-445(1), to the department.

     (c) An employer must report compensation for the month in which it was earned. Compensation is earned when the service is provided, rather than when payment is made.

Example:

A member is paid in July for work performed during June. The employer must report the compensation to the department as "June earnings."

[Statutory Authority: RCW 41.50.050(5) and 41.40.010. 02-03-120, § 415-108-445, filed 1/23/02, effective 3/1/02. Statutory Authority: RCW 41.50.050. 98-09-059, § 415-108-445, filed 4/17/98, effective 5/18/98.]

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