Chapter 366, P.L. 2001, established a special Prosecutors Part within the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS), effective January 7, 2002.
Chapter 1, P.L. 2010, closed the Prosecutors Part of the PERS to new members as of May 21, 2010.
Prosecutors who were enrolled on or before May 21, 2010, remain members of the Prosecutors Part of the PERS, provided that they continue in eligible prosecutor service.
Prosecutors taking office after May 21, 2010, will be enrolled as “regular” Tier 4 members of the PERS — except that a County Prosecutor who is appointed by
the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate will be enrolled in the Defined Contributions Retirement Program (DCRP) — or regular PERS if a Tier 1 PERS member continuously since July 1, 2007.
This special Prosecutors Part within the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS)
was established for PERS members working in titles that are defined
by the law to be prosecutors between January 7, 2002 and May 21, 2010. Those PERS members who became members of of the Prosecutors
Part of the PERS during this window will receive enhanced benefits.
For additional information about
the pension and benefits associated with a Public Employees' Retirement
System (PERS) membership, members may consult the PERS
Member Handbook. In addition, the PERS
Prosecutors Part Addendum
provides information about
membership and benefits specific for PERS Prosecutors Part members.
Topics and Tasks
The outline below
provides specific topics or tasks related to the Prosecutors Part
of the Public Employees' Retirement System. Click on the topic
of interest to access the information you require quickly. Other
topics are covered under the Public Employees'
Retirement System, since Prosecutors Part members are a special
group of the PERS, as described above.
Eligibility for the Prosecutors
Part of the PERS
Eligible prosecutor titles
under the legislation in effect are given below.
At the county level:
-
County Prosecutor;
- First Assistant Prosecutor;
- Assistant Prosecutor.
At the Division of Criminal Justice
in the Department of Law and Public Safety:
-
Director
- Assistant Director
- Deputy Director
- Assistant Attorney General
- Deputy Attorney General, and;
- Any Criminal Investigator
in the Division of Criminal Justice in the Department of Law
and Public Safety who is not eligible for enrollment in the
Police and Firemen's Retirement System.
An individual must have been serving
in a prosecutor title on or after January
7, 2002 and on or before May 21, 2010, in order to qualify as a member of the Prosecutors
Part of the Public Employees' Retirement System.
Member Contribution Rate for PERS
Prosecutors Part Members
The PERS
Prosecutors Part member contribution rate is set at 8.5%, effective July 1, 2008. (The rate from January 7, 2002, until
June 30, 2008 was 7.5% of salary.) This is
different from the 5% member contribution rate for regular PERS
members.
For public service by the member
before, during, or after service as a prosecutor, the member
will make member contributions at the rate established for the
retirement system governing the position held.
Transferring out
of a Prosecutor Title at the County Level—Prosecutors
Part Change of Position Form
Whenever a county employee transfers
out of the Prosecutors Part (Bureau 9) of the Public Employees'
Retirement System on the Quarterly Report of Contributions,
the Certifying Officer of the county employing location must
fill out the PERS Prosecutors
Part Change of Postion Form, County
Prosecutors. New transfers into the Prosecutors Part are not permitted, as the PERS Prosecutors Part is closed to new membership, effective May 21, 2010.
The completed form must then be submitted
to the New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits, P0 Box 295,
Trenton, NJ 08625-0295.
A member who transferred into a prosecutor
title between January 7, 2002 and May 21, 2010 had to satisfy any loans, purchases, arrears, or other obligations
previously scheduled for payment while the prosecutor was
in the regular PERS (or any other State-administered pension fund).
Transferring out
of a Prosecutor Title at the State Level—Prosecutors Part
Change of Position Form
At the State level, when a member
transfers out of a position that was eligible for PERS Prosecutors
Part membership (Quarterly Report of Contributions), the
PERS Prosecutors Part Change
of Position Form, State Prosecutors, must be completed
by the Certifying Officer of the employing location. New transfers into the Prosecutors Part are not permitted, as the PERS Prosecutors Part is closed to new membership, effective May 21, 2010.
The completed form must then be submitted
to the New Jersey Division of Pensions and Benefits, P0 Box 295,
Trenton, NJ 08625-0295.
A member who transferred into a prosecutor
title prior to closure of the Prosecutors Part had to satisfy any loans, purchases, arrears, or other obligations
previously scheduled for payment while the prosecutor was
in the "regular" PERS (or any other State-administered pension fund).
Change Form under the Government Employee Interchange Act
Use the form, PERS
- Change Form - Government Employee Interchange Act, for temporary assignments under the Government Employee Interchange Act (N.J.S.A. 52:14-6.10, et seq).
Service Credit—Regular PERS
Service vs. PERS Prosecutors Part Service
-
For all members
of the Prosecutors Part of the PERS serving in a prosecutor
title on January 7, 2002, the effective date of the
law:
Any service credit earned in the PERS prior to the establishment
of the Prosecutors Part of the PERS (January 7, 2002) has
been credited to the Prosecutors Part of the PERS without
cost to the member.
-
For members of
the Prosecutors Part of the PERS who have been appointed to
a prosecutor title after January 7, 2002:
Individuals appointed to a prosecutor title after January
7, 2002 will have their PERS service earned prior to their
Prosecutors Part appointment credited as regular PERS service;
only service rendered in the prosecutor title will be credited
as Prosecutors Part service.
-
There
is one exception, for members of the Prosecutors Part of the
PERS employed at the county level who have been appointed
to the title of "County Prosecutor" after January
7, 2002:
Chapter 140, P.L. 2003, approved
on August 1, 2003 and effective as of that date, allows an
individual nominated and appointed to the title of "County
Prosecutor" after January 7, 2002 to receive full
credit in the Prosecutors Part of the PERS for non-Prosecutors
Part PERS service rendered prior to the date of appointment
to the position of "County Prosecutor", without
cost to the member. This new law applies only to individuals
serving in the title of "County Prosecutor."
Each prosecutor will have a separate
pension fund account for member contributions to the Prosecutors
Part of the PERS. The member contribution rate is currently set at 8.5%.
For public service by
the member before, during, or after service as a prosecutor,
the member will make member contributions at the rate established
for the retirement system governing the position held.
Purchasing Service Credit—Prosecutors
Part Members
PERS Prosecutors Part members may
purchase previous service just as other PERS members can; however,
whether that service may be purchased (and will be credited) as
PERS service or Prosecutors Part service depends on whether the
member was serving in a Prosecutor title on the January 7, 2002
effective date of the law, and whether or not the Application
to Purchase Service Credit was submitted prior to the January
7, 2003 effective date, or after.
The rates used to determine the
cost of the purchase of regular PERS service will be different
from the rates used to determine the cost of a Prosecutors Part
service purchase.
For Service Earned on or after
January 7, 2002
Prosecutors Part members may purchase
regular PERS service earned on or after January 7, 2002
(and subsequently withdrawn), as regular PERS service.
Prosecutors Part members may purchase
Prosecutors Part service earned on or after January 7,
2002 (and subsequently withdrawn), as Prosecutors Part service.
For Service Earned Prior to January
7, 2002
Any Prosecutors Part member submitting
an Application to Purchase Service Credit on or after
the January 7, 2002 effective date of the law, for service
earned prior to this effective date (and subsequently withdrawn),
will pay for a regular PERS purchase and receive regular PERS
service credit.
Members serving in prosecutor titles
on the effective date of the law, January 7, 2002, have
had all service credit earned in the PERS prior to the establishment
of the Prosecutors Part of the PERS (January 7, 2002) credited
as Prosecutors Part service, including PERS service purchased
prior to January 7, 2002.
If the member's Application to
Purchase Service Credit was submitted to the Division prior
to the January 7, 2002 effective date, and the corresponding purchase
subsequently occurred before the expiration of the purchase quote,
the service was credited as Prosecutors Part service.
Combining Service to Become Vested
A member can combine Prosecutors
Part service and regular PERS service for the purpose of becoming
vested—having ten years of service credit. With ten years
of service credit, the member has vested rights. The member
is eligible to:
- Carry retired group life insurance
coverage into retirement;
- Take a Deferred Retirement when
reaching age 60 (Application for Retirement Allowance must
be submitted);
- Keep the pension account open
indefinitely if the member leaves NJ public employment.
Health Benefits
In the case of a member who has both
Prosecutors Part service and regular PERS service, service time
can be combined to obtain the 25 years of service required for
State-paid retired group SHBP coverage, even if the member is
not eligible to collect a retirement benefit on the regular PERS
service earned.
A Prosecutors Part member who is
ineligible to collect a retirement benefit on the regular PERS
service earned, will not get a return of his or her PERS member
contributions if he or she receives State-paid retired group SHBP
coverage by combining PERS and Prosecutors Part service.
For additional Information regarding
the PERS Prosecutors Part, please see PERS
Prosecutors Part Addendum
