CCP 08-26-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Conducting a Referendum — PERA DCP Elected Officials b) Provide a sample Notice of Referendum, Ballot, and DCP/Social Security handout to the employer. The sample Notice and Ballot must be finalized by the employer. The Notice will explain the purpose of the referendum, identify the applicable tax rates, and include the coverage effective date established by the governing body. The Ballot will provide for the written election by the individual. The handout contains basic information about the DCP and Social Security Old Age Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program. 5. The employer will conduct the Referendum, which includes: a) Updating, if necessary, the list of elected officials eligible to participate in the referendum. b) Distributing the final Notice, Ballot, and DCP/Social Security handout to each eligible elected official by personal delivery, e-mail, or first class mail on the date established. (If any doubt arises as to a person's eligibility to vote in the referendum, the employer should provide the Notice and Ballot to the person and resolve the eligibility question with help from PERA later.) c) Collecting the signed Ballot(s) by first class mail or personal delivery and ensure that each Ballot is postmarked or personally received on the designated due date(s). 6. At the close of the referendum process, the employer must certify the results which means: a) Preparing a Certification of Referendum (paper or electronic format) stating the choice of each eligible official. The Certification will consist of the eligible elected officials' names, Social Security numbers, DCP status (active or eligible) and the person's Social Security election. • The election made by each eligible elected official will be indicated as follows: YES — individual desires Social Security coverage under the section 218 Agreement; NO — individual desires not to be covered under the section 218 Agreement N/R — the person did not execute and return the ballot. A "no response" is treated as if the person chose not to be covered under the section 218 Agreement. b) Sending the Certification to PERA and retain a copy, along with the signed Ballots. Do not send the Ballots to PERA. To avoid misunderstandings, the employer should also notify each elected official on the list what his or her choice was for Social Security coverage. Upon receipt of the Certification, PERA will a) Execute the required modification to Minnesota's section 218 Agreement, and b) Upon receipt of a fully executed 218 modification from the Social Security Administration (SSA), notify the employer of the date that coverage has been accepted by SSA and send a copy of the 218 modification to the employer. Once the 218 modification has been executed, the employer is responsible for the applicable taxes as required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). a) For each active DCP member who voted FOR Social Security, the employer must withhold FICA taxes (7.65%) from the elected official's earnings, match the contribution amounts, and report the earnings and taxes to the IRS on Form 941. b) If retroactive coverage had been requested and approved, the employer must submit the applicable taxes to the IRS for each applicable elected official. In this situation, the retroactive employer and employee amounts due will be equal to the FICA taxes (Social Security and, if applicable, Medicare) which would have been imposed had the elective service been covered when the services were performed. The effective date of Social Security participation for an elected official will be the effective date established in the section 218 modification or the date the particular individual took office, whichever is later. Deposit penalties may apply if the full payment for retroactive quarters is not deposited within 30 days after the end of the quarter in which the SSA Regional Office approved the 218 modification. Payments for retroactive quarters must be reported on Form 941 C. July 17, 2007 Page 2