What: See below
Action Required: None
Key Dates:
Impacted Audiences: Former public safety officers (as defined by the IRS) requesting direct payments to their health insurance provider from their MERS Defined Contribution Plan (this includes the DC portion of Hybrid) or 457 account
For More Information:
Key Information:
**(update posted 12/06/2023) Previous law provided the opportunity for public safety officers to exclude $3,000 from gross income for a direct payment for health insurance premiums from a governmental retirement plan. As of January 1, 2023, under SECURE 2.0, insurance premium payments no longer need to be paid directly from the retirement plan to qualify for the tax exemption. As such, this provision has been removed from the MERS Plan.
Former public safety officers* may be eligible for a tax exemption by using funds from their MERS Defined Contribution (or DC portion of Hybrid) or MERS 457 account to pay their insurance provider directly for health insurance premiums.
Important information:
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- Payments must be made directly to the insurance provider; this is not a reimbursement
- Participants must self-substantiate both that they meet definition of public safety officer as defined by the IRS and that they are enrolled in the insurance provider plan as listed
- Participants will be sent a 1099-R in January each year reflecting any distributions paid to the insurance provider and should file this with their tax documentation
Participants who would like to take advantage of this opportunity will need to complete and submit this form.
*A public safety officer as defined by the IRS is an individual serving a public agency in an official capacity, with or without compensation, as a law enforcement officer, as a firefighter, as a chaplain, or as a member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew.