Employer s Reference Manual Chapter 19 Public School Employees Retirement System 5 N. 5th Street Harrisburg PA 17101 1905 Phone 1.866.353.1844 Fax 717.772.3860 Email ContactESC@state.pa.us www.psers.state.pa.us Employers Reference Manual Chapter 19 Revised: 2/26/2015 i
TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 19 CONTACTING PSERS... 1 CONTACTING PSERS THROUGH THE ONLINE SYSTEM... 1 EMPLOYER SERVICE CENTER CONTACT INFORMATION... 1 CONTACTING PSERS BY TELEPHONE OR FAX... 2 CONTACTING PSERS BY MAIL... 2 CONTACTING PSERS BY EMAIL... 2 OPENING SECURE EMAILS FROM A NON COMMONWEALTH EMAIL ADDRESS... 3 Triggers... 3 Steps... 3 REPLYING TO SECURE EMAILS FROM A NON COMMONWEALTH EMAIL ADDRESS... 6 Triggers... 6 Steps... 6 OBTAINING PSERS FORMS... 11 Forms Within the Online System or From the Forms Page... 11 COMMUNICATING ANONYMOUSLY RETIREMENT ERRORS (CARE) LINE... 12 Employers Reference Manual Chapter 19 Revised: 2/26/2015 i
Chapter 19 Contacting PSERS Contacting PSERS through the Online System If you would like to determine your ESC Regional Representative s contact information, use the following steps to access the information: Access the Employer Services window in the online system. From the Employer Services window, click Contact PSERS in the left hand menu. Once the window opens, you will see a map of Pennsylvania. Scroll down to see the names of the Employer Service Center contact for your area, click on your representative s email address and send them your question. Employer Service Center Contact Information Employers Reference Manual Chapter 19 Revised: 2/26/2015 1
Contacting PSERS by Telephone or Fax The Employer Service Center can be reached at: Toll Free 866.353.1844 enter your Employer Code at the prompt. If you need to fax a form to PSERS, use this fax number: 717.772.3860 Contacting PSERS by Mail You may mail forms and letters to PSERS at this address: Employer Service Center Public School Employees Retirement System 5 N 5th Street Harrisburg, PA 17101 1905 Do NOT use this address for purchase of service payments by check. Instead, see Chapter 12: Payments Remitting to PSERS. Contacting PSERS by Email You may email your contact person at Employer Service Center via the email addresses listed on the Web. Please be sure to include your name, school district, and phone number in your message. If it is necessary to email confidential information to PSERS, it is important to ensure that email communications are exchanged in the most secure manner possible. The Commonwealth provides a Send Secure feature to help ensure the security of confidential emails. Confidential information includes all correspondence, including attachments, which contains personal information for a member or members, or which contains any other information that may not be considered public knowledge. Personal information has been defined by the Commonwealth as an individual s first name or first initial and last name in combination with and linked to one or more of the following data elements when the data is not encrypted or redacted: 1. Social Security Number 2. Driver s license number or state identification card number 3. Financial account number, credit or debit card number, in combination with any required security code, access code or password. In order to utilize the Commonwealth s Send Secure feature, the email exchange must be initiated by a Commonwealth employee from a Commonwealth email address. Recipients can reply from within the Send Secure system but cannot generate Send Secure emails without utilizing the respond feature unless they have another security process in place for use on their system. If the Send Secure does not 2 Employers Reference Manual Chapter 19 Revised: 2/26/2015
work with your operating system (see your Information Technology staff for assistance), you will need to continue to mail, fax, or mask personal information in the email exchange with PSERS. The following procedures will assist you in the process of receiving a Commonwealth Send Secure email and in responding to the Send Secure email. Opening Secure Emails from a Non Commonwealth Email Address Triggers Once email recipients using non Commonwealth email addresses have followed the instructions for registering to receive secure Commonwealth emails per the document Email Encryption Desk Reference for Non Commonwealth Users included with the initial Send Secure email, the following instructions may be used for opening the resulting secure emails and any applicable attachments. Note: As part of the Send Secure feature, you must register to receive and send emails with the Commonwealth. The software prompts you through the registration process. If you are having problems registering, receiving, or sending documents through the Send Secure feature, please contact your Information Technology office. The problems can usually be corrected by changing the settings on your computer. Steps 1) You will receive an email notification indicating that a secure email has been sent to you 2) Click on the securedoc icon in the lower left hand corner of the notification email Employers Reference Manual Chapter 19 Revised: 2/26/2015 3
3) Type your Password in the designated space and click on Open 4) A view of the secure email will appear in a new window 5) If an attachment was included with the email, the attachment will be listed below the Subject line. If no attachments were included, you may process and close the email. If an attachment was included, double click on the attachment name to open the file and move to step 6. 6) If you opened an attachment, you will receive a pop up window asking if you would like to Open or Save the file or cancel processing of the file. You may choose either of these options. Selecting Open or Save will give you access to the file, and you may then process the attachment just like any attachment from a normal email. 4 Employers Reference Manual Chapter 19 Revised: 2/26/2015
7) Be sure to close all folders and internet browser windows as soon as you have finished processing the confidential information so that unauthorized parties cannot gain access to confidential information. This can be accomplished by Clicking on the red Xs in the upper right hand corner of each applicable screen Employers Reference Manual Chapter 19 Revised: 2/26/2015 5
Replying to Secure Emails from a Non Commonwealth Email Address Triggers Once email recipients using non Commonwealth email addresses have followed the instructions for registering to receive secure Commonwealth emails per the document Email Encryption Desk Reference for Non Commonwealth Users included with the initial Send Secure email, the following instructions may be used for replying to secure emails. In order for the reply to be sent securely, these instructions must be followed. Failure to comply with these instructions will result in emails being sent devoid of required security features. Steps 1) Follow steps 1 4 In Appendix A: Opening Secure Emails from a Non Commonwealth Email Address to log in to the Send Secure email that you originally received. 2) Select Reply in the Send Secure view of the email; you can click on either occurrence of Reply or Reply All that appears on your screen. 3) Type your message in the body of the email 6 Employers Reference Manual Chapter 19 Revised: 2/26/2015
4) If you do not need to attach a file to the Send Secure Email, move to step 9. If you have a file to attach to the Send Secure reply, click on Attachments. If you included an attachment, the Attachment will now appear under the subject line. 5) Click on Add Files in the pop up box Employers Reference Manual Chapter 19 Revised: 2/26/2015 7
6) Highlight the file that you need to attach and click on Open 7) Highlight the file and click on Upload File 8 Employers Reference Manual Chapter 19 Revised: 2/26/2015
8) Click on Done 9) If you included an attachment, the Attachment will now appear under the subject line. Select Send; you can select either occurrence of Send that appears on your screen. Employers Reference Manual Chapter 19 Revised: 2/26/2015 9
10) You will receive a message indicating that your email was sent successfully 11) Be sure to close all folders and internet browser windows as soon as you have finished processing the confidential information so that unauthorized parties cannot gain access to confidential information. This can be accomplished by Clicking on the Xs in the upper right hand corner of each applicable screen Note: If you are having problems registering, receiving, or sending documents through the Send Secure feature, please contact your Information Technology office. The problems can usually be corrected by changing the settings on your computer. 10 Employers Reference Manual Chapter 19 Revised: 2/26/2015
Obtaining PSERS Forms Forms Within the Online System or From the Forms Page The most commonly used forms are available directly in the online system. 1. Access the Employer Services window in the online system. 2. From the Employer Services window, click Forms in the left hand menu. You will see the following window open. From the list of Employer forms, you may: View the form on your screen Print a blank form or Complete the form, then print If you don t see the form you need or you have questions on a form, contact your ESC Regional Representative for assistance. Employers Reference Manual Chapter 19 Revised: 2/26/2015 11
Communicating Anonymously Retirement Errors (CARE) Line CARE Line Toll free number: 1.888.222.0549 CARE Line Local number: 717.720.4602 The CARE Line is a toll free number that can be used to call PSERS regarding pension related issues of which PSERS should be made aware. Anyone can call this line to inform PSERS about retirees who have incorrectly returned to work for a Pennsylvania public school employer, money that has been inadvertently reported as retirement covered compensation, etc. When you call the CARE Line, you will reach a voicemail box where you can anonymously leave a message at any time of day or night without fear of retribution. Messages from the CARE Line voicemail box are written down and deleted. PSERS does not trace the numbers from received phone calls. Callers are not required to identify themselves. The caller can use the toll free number from a cell phone, home phone, or pay phone; PSERS will not know where the call was placed. PSERS understands that we all play a vital role in ensuring that the rules established by the Pennsylvania State Legislature are followed. With your help, we can ensure the pension laws are administered fairly and equally to all PSERS members. 12 Employers Reference Manual Chapter 19 Revised: 2/26/2015