Contract employment reminder

It’s important to remember that the RTW laws apply to direct employment as well as employment by contract. This includes part-time, temporary, or seasonal employment.
If your school district outsources the management and placement of your substitute teachers or other temporary employees, please remember the RTW laws still apply. This includes Kelly Services, ESS, or other staffing agencies. When a retiree provides TRSL-eligible services, other examples of other contracted employment include, but are not limited to:

employment under an LLC
employment with a third-party/private tutoring or test prep company
employment with an accounting or IT firm
non-credit presenters within higher education, or
any other type of scenario in which a 1099 is issued.

For additional guidance, please refer to the revised RTW Flowcharts.

With the recent legislative changes, declaring a critical shortage is now a continuous process. If you are or will utilize critical shortage provisions, a general statement that you are soliciting applications for the future employment of teachers is required for all full- and part-time critical shortage positions as follows:

1. Must be advertised at least once per month in your official journal.

2. Must be posted at the beginning of every semester at the career development center of higher education institutions within 120-miles, including out-of-state.

Additionally, on your website, you should maintain and prominently display a list of all vacancies and all positions currently filled with retirees.

For more information, see our Step-by-Step to Declaring a Critical Shortage.

In need of substitute teachers?
You may have heard... Retirees in the 2010 RTW Group who are certified to teach Math, Science, English Language Arts, and Special Education (excluding gifted and talented) can return to work without limitation when employed in their area of certification.
But, did you know? You can use this provision if you need substitute teachers, as long as the retiree is both certified in and hired to teach one of the aforementioned subjects. It also applies to elementary school teachers!
See Index 15.1 of the Employer Procedures Manual for additional information. For additional guidance, please refer to the revised RTW Flowcharts.

Please join us for our upcoming annual employer training.

Add these dates on your 2023 calendar:

Tuesday, March 14, 2023: K-12 and Charter School
Wednesday, March 15, 2023: Higher Education
Thursday, March 16, 2023: State agencies

More details on the training format and registration will be provided in January.

Annual Valuation Report: FY 2023-24 Employer Rate to Decrease

TRSL’s latest annual valuation report is out and contains some really good news: For the fifth year in a row, the employer contribution rate is projected to decrease.

For FY 2023-24, the projected contribution rate for K-12 Regular Plan employers (as well as Lunch Plans A & B) is 24.1%, down from 24.8%. For higher education Regular Plan employers, the projected rate is 23.3%, a decrease from 24.1%.

The employer contribution rate, which is paid as a percentage of payroll for covered employees, is determined each year and made up of three parts: (1) the normal cost, which is the cost of funding the benefits all active employees will earn that year; (2) the current year’s payment for the unfunded accrued liability (UAL); and (3) non-investment related TRSL administrative expenses.

Total Employer Contribution Rate (FY 2018-19 through FY 2023-24)

A key factor in the rate’s reduction is the approaching payoff of the oldest UAL debt schedule in 2029. As the UAL shrinks, the contribution rate improves in the employers’ favor.

The FY 2023-24 contribution rate will become official upon adoption of TRSL’s FY 2022 actuarial valuation report by Public Retirement Systems’ Actuarial Committee (PRSAC), which is scheduled to meet December 15. Employers will receive notification from TRSL once the FY 2023-24 contribution rates become official.

You can find the entire valuation report online at www.TRSL.org.

TRSL Specialists – Now available for Employer Training and Data Research Visits
Now is the perfect time to schedule a customized training session or a data research visit with our training specialists.

Employer Training: We’ve expanded our employer assistance options—you can request online or on-site training. Our training specialists can customize a comprehensive training program or focus only on specific topics that you want.
Data Research Visit: We can also help you research questionable years and/or sick leave data for previous fiscal years. This type of visit is best done on-site as our training specialists may need to review your agency’s paper and electronic records to help clear outstanding questionable years and/or sick leave data.

To request employer training or a data research visit, please contact one of TRSL’s Employer Services training specialists:

Sharon Lachney

225-925-4097

Heather Landry

225-925-7093

PO Box 94123
Baton Rouge, LA | 70804 US

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