Edit BC 2/20/24


Payroll Processing Standards


Learn the standards for properly reporting employee compensation.

eReporting Email Address

The Division has a dedicated email address, , to be used when sending your signed eReporting "Employer Summary of Contributions Final Submittal Report." Please send this report via email as soon as you have submitted your payroll information (other than when you are paying by check) so we can ensure that we can match your payroll with your payment upon your settlement date. If you are mailing a check, please include the original signed "Employer Summary of Contributions Final Submittal Report" with your check.

Salaries in the PERS are for the time-period earned, not paid. Example: Pay period ending (PPE) 12/31/Year1 is applied to Year1 salary even if the check was issued in January Year2.

  1. Calendar Year

    The period beginning on January 1 and ending on December 31.

    OR

  2. PERS Payroll Year

    The period that includes the first pay period ending (PPE) in January of a year through the last pay period ending in December of that year.

Pay Period Ending (PPE) Dates

The definition of PERS Pay Period End (PPE) date is the last day the employee worked to earn the compensation, not the date the check was issued.

  1. Alaska Statute 39.35.680 (9)

    Compensation means the remuneration “earned by an employee.”

    "Compensation does not include retirement benefits, severance pay or other separation bonuses, welfare benefits, per diem, expense allowances, workers' compensation payments (unless paid by the employer), or payments for leave not used by the employee whether those leave payments are scheduled payments, lump-sum payments, leave donations, or leave cash-ins."

    "Compensation that is due a member because of a settlement agreement, must first be approved by Retirement & Benefits prior to reporting it to the PERS to ensure the money is PERS eligible."

Examples

  1. Monthly

    A monthly pay cycle could run from the February 16 through March 15 with the check being issued to the employee on March 31. The compensation earned, mandatory contributions, and employer match for this time period is reported to the PERS as:

    • PPE 03/15/20* with an issue date of 03/31/20*
  2. Semi-Monthly

    A semi-monthly pay cycle could run on the 15th and the last day of each month. The date issued could vary from pay date to pay date. The compensation earned from January 1 through January 15 and January 16 through January 31, mandatory contributions, and employer match for this time period is reported to the PERS as:

    • PPE 01/15/20* with an issue date of 01/31/20*
    • PPE 01/31/20* with an issue date of 02/15/20*
  3. Bi-Weekly

    A bi-weekly pay cycle could run every other Friday and issued on the opposite Friday. The compensation earned from January 8 through January 14 and January 15 through January 28, mandatory contributions, and employer match for this time period is reported to the PERS as:

    • PPE 01/14/20* with an issue date of 01/21/20*
    • PPE 01/28/20* with an issue date of 02/04/20*

The definition of Issue Date is the actual date the pay check is issued to the employee.

Missed

If an individual employee’s payroll is totally missed on a payroll reported to the PERS, for reasons such as lost, misplaced or late time sheets, that individual employee’s payroll record is reported to the PERS on the next PPE as an adjustment “A” payroll record with the PPE date of the missed payroll separate from the employee’s “N” normal payroll.

Adjusted

If an individual employee’s past payroll is being adjusted for reasons such as late pay increase, lost, misplaced or late time sheets, that individual employee’s payroll adjustment is reported to the PERS on the next PPE as an adjustment “A” payroll record with the PPE date that is being adjusted (already reported to the PERS) separate from the employee’s “N” normal payroll.

This way the correct employer rate is used as well as the salary information for the PERS Payroll Year.

Our system currently calculates PERS service for our member’s based on the event records provided by you, the employer. These event records tell the system when to turn on the member’s service, when to use 5 out of 7 days, when hours worked is used, and when to stop the member service. These event codes are as follows:

  • HIRE = Employee Hire (Completed Personnel Record Also Required) (starts service)
  • TERM = Employee Termination (stops service)
  • LWP = PERS Leave Without Pay (stops service)
  • STAT = Status or Occupational Code Change (changes part-time to full-time, full-time to part-time, leave without pay to working, from full-time/part-time to workers’ compensation, for workers’ compensation back to working)

Using the Correct Payroll Cycle

B = Bi-weekly (every other week on the same day of the week)
M = Monthly (once a month on the same date each month)
Q = Quarterly (once every three months on the same date of the third month)
S = Semi-Monthly (twice a month on the same date of each month)
Y = Yearly (once a year on the same date of each year)

  1. Occupation Codes

    The occupation code for each individual identifies to our system what contribution rate is to be used. Both the employee mandatory rate and the employer matching rate. The following occupation codes are now available but may not necessarily pertain to you:

    A = All Others – PERS
    D = Alternate Option “Special School District” - PERS
    E = Elected Officials – PERS, EPORS
    F = Firefighter – PERS
    P = Police – PERS
    W = Rehired Retirees (All except hired in a police/fire position--NOT State of Alaska and Municipality)**
    X = Alternate Elected Officials – PERS
    Y = Retired Retirees in "P" or "F" positions (ONLY for State of Alaska and Municipality)**

    New HB 161 Codes

  2. Employee status codes

    The following status codes are now available:

    F = Full-time (normally scheduled to work 30 or more hours a week)
    P = Part-time (normally scheduled to work at least 15 hours a week to 30 hours a week) part time payroll records must have hours reported on each payroll submitted
    W = Workers’ Compensation (must have hours for what the employer pays employee on each payroll)

Page Last Modified: 02/28/24 15:36:59