Plainfield School District 202

IMPORTANT INFORMATION YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR PAYCHECK

Welcome Thank you for being a valued member of our District 202 community

Definitions •  Gross Pay – The total amount of money earned

during the pay period BEFORE deductions.

•  All employees are paid 26 paychecks each Fiscal year, (The District’s Fiscal Year is from July 1 to June 30), 9M, 10M, 11M, and 12 M positions begin and end at different times during the Fiscal Year.

•  Net Pay – The amount of money left AFTER all deductions have been withheld from the gross pay earned in the pay period.

•  Direct Deposit – Allows 202 to deposit your paycheck into your checking or savings bank account.

•  Year-To-Date – Totals for your salary and for all the deductions which have been withheld from your paycheck from January to the last pay period paid (Year to date is based on a calendar year, January 1 to December 31).

•  Lump Sum Pay- only APT Union staff have the option to receive a lump sum pay which takes place on the last pay in June and includes five payrolls.

•  Deductions – The amount of money subtracted or deducted from the gross pay for mandatory systematic taxes, medical benefits, retirement benefits and voluntary deductions.

•  FICA – Federal Insurance Contribution Act – Includes Social Security and Medicare.

•  Social Security – The nation’s retirement program.

•  Medicare – The nation’s health care program.

Definitions •  Medical – The amount taken

from your paycheck for medical benefits.

•  Retirement Plan – The amount that you contribute to a retirement plan. Plainfield School District has two Illinois Retirement systems. They are a requirement for qualified district positions. You can not opt out of these plans.

TRS – Teachers Retirement System

IMRF – Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

District 202 Unions

District 202 has two Unions. Each Union has Dues that will be applied for 17 payrolls beginning in October of each year.

•  PASS – Plainfield Association of Support Staff

•  APT – Association of Plainfield Teacher’s

For questions about your union please contact your Union Representatives.

What A Pay Check Looks like at Plainfield

School District 202

Gross Pay and Net Pay

•  GROSS PAY – The total amount of wages you have earned for a specific time period. It is your regular pay plus any other wages you receive, like overtime pay or bonuses. Your taxes are based upon your gross pay and your PRE or POST tax deductions.

•  NET PAY – Your net pay is the amount of money you receive on payday. It is your “take-home pay.” Net pay equals your gross pay minus all deductions, and all taxes – federal, state, and local.

•  Put picture of 202 paycheck with arrows pointing to gross and net pays

GROSS PAY

NET PAY

An example of a certified APT, TRS paycheck

Your address

Your bank account information

Your Net pay “take home” pay (Net Pay= Total Pay including the Deductions)

Optional Deductions These are deductions that you have chosen To have taken out of your bi-weekly pay.

Job title

Your gross pay with TRS Bump (Gross Pay = total pay with no Deductions)

District 202 PAID deductions

Hours worked

Hourly wage

Paid date

TRS Retirement District bumps up Salary so You can have the TRS deduction Taken out of your bi-weekly check

An example of a classified & PASS, IMRF paycheck

Your address

Your bank account information

Your net pay “take home” pay (Net = Pay including the Deductions)

Optional Deductions These are deductions that you have chosen To have taken out of your bi-weekly pay.

Job title

Your gross pay before any Deductions (Gross Pay = total pay with no Deductions)

District 202 PAID deductions

Hours worked

Hourly wage

Paid date

Retirement system for non-Certified, non-union employees

Deductions and Benefits

Tax-Deferred •  Tax deferred plans are a great way to save

money for retirement.

•  You may contribute some of your wages every payday to a tax-deferred plan. You are only taxed on the amount after the deduction (less taxes!). Then, when you retire (or otherwise use what you have put away), You are not taxed when you earn the money, but you are taxed when you access it, thus payment of taxes on that amount is deferred, or put off until a future date, i.e., “tax deferred.”

•  After retirement, you will probably pay income taxes at a lower rate than you did while you were working. This means you’ll still end up paying less income tax on this money than you would have without the retirement plan.

403b and 457 Tax Deferred Plans •  403b and 457 plans are tax-deferred retirement plans for

employees of tax-exempt organizations.

•  Since District 202 is a public school organization, you qualify for a 403b retirement savings plan.

•  You may contribute up to $18,000 on a pre-tax basis. Employees who are at least 50 years old at any time during the year can contribute up to $6,000 on a pre-tax basis as a “catch-up” contribution.

•  To have a 403b or a 457 plan you must talk with a Financial advisor.

•  Information on board approved vendors and the Forms needed to begin the deduction can be found on the employee portal in the Employee Resources/Payroll Resources area.

Flexible Spending Accounts-FSA •  These are pre-tax deductions taken out of your paychecks and

deposited into your own Flexible Spending Account.

•  You can put up to $2,550 (medical) and $5,000 (dependent care) a year into your flexible spending accounts.

•  You can then use the money to pay for certain medical, dental, or vision care expenses that are not covered by insurance.

•  For the Medical Flexible Spending Account only you are able to carry over extra amounts up to $500.00 to use the following year.

•  The deduction will be taken on 24 pays a year starting in January and running through December. If you leave the district within the year, you will have 30 days from your last day of work to submit claims incurred prior to your leave date.

Health Insurance-PASS Union

Insurance benefits are considered PRE-tax deductions (unless you choose to have a Post-tax deduction)

Health Insurance-APT Union

Insurance benefits are considered PRE-tax deductions

(unless you choose to have a Post-tax deduction)

After-Tax Deductions •  After-tax deductions come out of the earnings that

are left after all of your taxes have been withheld.

•  There are 2 types of after-tax deductions.

1. Voluntary Deductions Can be contributions to a charity for example The United Way of Will County and Plainfield Foundation for Excellence, Roth 403b accounts, Voluntary Life for Employee, Spouse or Child. Voluntary means that YOU choose to have the deduction taken.

2. Involuntary Deductions Money withheld as a result of an order issued by a court or government agency. These deductions must be paid whether you want to or not, such as child support, unpaid taxes (tax levy), or personal debts, bankruptcy orders, unpaid student loans, creditor garnishments. District 202 has NO CHOICE but to withhold the amount indicated in the court or government order.

Union Dues – PASS EMPLOYEES •  Plainfield Association of Support

Staff is a “Fair Share” organization.

•  Dues are deducted from each paycheck and based on the number of hours worked.

•  Employees working 21 to 40 hours per week, $22.50 will be deducted per pay period.

•  Employees working 11-20 hours per week, $13.56 will be deducted per pay period.

•  Employees working 10 hours or less will have no dues deducted.

**These dues are subject to change**

*Dues amount are only examples, they are not “True” amounts*

Union Dues - APT •  A Full time APT Employee will have a

total of $722.00 in dues deducted from paychecks spread over 17 pays ($42.47 each pay) beginning in October. •  $185.00 – NEA dues •  $462.00 – IEA-NEA dues •  $75.00 – Local dues

•  A Half time APT Employee will have a total of $382.50 in dues deducted from paychecks spread over 17 pays ($22.50 each pay) beginning in October. •  $104.00 – NEA dues •  $246.00 – IEA-NEA dues •  $32.50 – Local dues

**These dues are subject to change**

*Dues amounts are examples, they are not “True” amounts*

Retirement - TRS – Plainfield Pays your TRS •  District 202 PAYS for your TRS in your salary grid. The

District “bumps” up the IRS salary by a calculation supplied by TRS. What shows in the grid is the “TRS Bump Salary”. You will then see a deduction for Employee paid TRS and TRS Health Insurance on each payroll.

•  Your salary has the TRS board paid yearly contribution already figured into the total amount.

**** a first year teacher is making $40,334 TRS salary, to calculate your IRS salary you would divide the salary on the grid by 1.103753, and get $36,542 which is the TRUE IRS SALARY before the “TRS” bump. The $3, 792 is the TRS that District 202 pays up front on the grid. It then comes out of your bi-weekly pay as the TRS deduction.****

TRS Related Information: Common Questions Q: What does the term “pension pick-up” mean? A: It is a practice used in many of the public school districts in the state of Illinois. School boards have agreed in Union contract negotiations to cover part or all of the teachers pension cost based on the calculations provided by TRS.

Q: Why would a school board agree to this arrangement? A: Many times it is a trade-off in contract negotiations in Lieu of a larger pay raise.

Q: Why would Union associations agree to this arrangement? A: One major reason is that the pension contribution picked up by the school district is not considered part of the teachers base salary, therefore the teacher is receiving a tax incentive, whereas a straight raise would be taxed. TRS contributions are deferred income. The TRS contributions are part of a teacher’s overall compensation package along with base salary. The TRS contribution is designed to “come back” to the teacher later in life as a retirement benefit. The “pick-up” is in reality the difference of the total compensation package and the TRS deduction taken on the employee’s pay check.

Q: Why don’t Illinois teachers pay into Social Security? A: TRS contributions are similar to Social Security. Contributions come from both the employee and the employer. TRS deductions are a pre tax deduction. This gives the employee a tax savings on earnings as would Social Security. Illinois teachers don’t contribute to Social Security because they make the same type of paycheck contributions to TRS and would also receive future retirement benefits with TRS.

Teachers Retirement System •  Teachers and subs who are certified under the

provisions of the School Code of Illinois, employed in an Illinois public common school that is located outside the city of Chicago, and employed in a position requiring certification by the Illinois State Board of Education are members of TRS.

•  In addition, membership also includes any regional superintendent of schools, assistant regional superintendent of schools, state superintendent of education, and any person employed by the Illinois State Board of Education as an executive.

•  TRS Health Insurance (Teachers Health Insurance Security) Beginning in July 1995 all active TRS members are required to make contributions to support the Teachers’ Retirement Insurance Program (TRIP).

**These percentages are subject to change**

Employees Pay 9.4% TRS 1.07% THIS

District 202 Pay .58% TRS .80% THIS

Retirement – IMRF Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

*example deduction from paycheck* •  Participation in IMRF is required for

employees who meet the 600-hour standard. If an employee meets IMRF qualification standards, he or she must participate; this participation cannot be excused by District 202.

•  If a part-time employee meets the 600-hour standards, participation in IMRF is required whether or not the employee is entitle to other fringe benefits such as hospitalization insurance, group life insurance, etc.

•  Employee pays 4.5% of gross pay towards retirement.

•  District 202 pays 10.54% towards retirement!

Direct Deposit

District 202 Payroll Direct Deposit •  All states now allow

companies to provide pay statements through computer networks rather than on paper. All pay information is located on the employee portal for you to view and print.

•  You will be asked to provide a checking account deposit slip or a voided check that contains the name of your bank, routing number, and account number.

•  Your wages will be deposited directly into your checking or savings account at your bank.

•  You will not receive a paycheck on payday. Your money will already be in your account!

•  A pay statement, on the employee portal, will show the pay period date, how many hours worked, the date of payment, your before and after tax wages, and any taxes subtracted from your check, as well as any other deductions.

The Benefits of Using Direct Deposit •  Your wages are transferred

electronically into your account.

•  If you quit or are laid off, you should receive your final paycheck on your last day of work, or by the next payday.

•  You won’t have to wait around for your check on payday!

•  Whether school is in session or not, your check will be deposited into your bank account automatically.

•  You won’t have to worry about losing a paycheck or having it stolen.

•  Your money will start earning interest as soon as it’s deposited into your account.

•  You may have portions of your pay sent to several separate accounts, which can save you time and grow your savings account automatically!

•  All substitutes are required to have a direct deposit with District 202 before they can begin working

FMLA & Workers’ Compensation

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

DESCRIPTION

•  If you are injured on the job, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits.

•  All employers are required by law to carry workers’ compensation insurance.

•  District 202 along with the APT and PASS Union Contracts have negotiated how to distribute your pay in a workers’ compensation situation.

TAXES

•  When you are collecting a TTD check from workers’ compensation they are not considered to be wages, nor are they included in your gross income.

•  These TTD payments are not subject to income taxes, social security tax, or Medicare tax, as long as they do not go over the benefit limit set by state law.

FMLA – Family Medical Leave Act •  This act entitles eligible employees of

covered employers to take up to12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave.

•  It does not mean that you will be paid for the time you are off. You will only continue to be paid if you have sick, personal, or vacation days available for use.

•  The District will follow the two union contracts along with federal and State guidelines.

•  Your own serious illness.

•  A serious illnesses of your child, spouse, or parent.

•  The birth of a child.

•  The placement with you of an adopted or foster child.

•  An emergency because your spouse, child, or parent is on active duty with the military or has been notified of a call to such active duty.

Family Medical Leave Act

WHICH EMPLOYERS HAVE TO GRANT FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE

•  Employers have to adhere to the Family and Medical Leave Act if they have 50 or more employees working either at a single worksite or within 75 miles of each other.

•  This minimum of 50 employees includes part-times and any workers who are on leave or suspension.

WHICH EMPLOYEES ARE ENTITLED TO TAKE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE – ALL OF THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS MUST APPLY TO YOU

•  You work for a covered employer.

•  You’ve been working for the same employer for at least 12 months before you request family or medical leave, these 12 months do not have to have been in a row, but hours worked before a break of seven years or more need not be counted.

•  You’ve worked for this employer at least 1,250 hours during the 12 months before your leave request.

Family Medical & Leave Act - FMLA WHEN CAN I TAKE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE?

•  You may request leave because of the birth of a child, or adoption of a child, or the placement of a foster child. You must take leave within 12 months of the birth or placement.

•  You may need leave to care for a spouse, son, daughter, or adoptive child with a serious health condition or because of your own serious health condition or to deal with an emergency caused by a family member’s call to active duty. You must use the leave within a 12-month period.

•  You may request leave to care for a family member with a serious injury or illness suffered in the line of duty while on active military duty, the 12-month period you have to take the leave begins on the first day you take the leave. This leave may be up to 26 work weeks.

Family Medical & Leave Act - FMLA WHAT QUALIFIES AS A SERIOUS HEALTH CONDITION?

•  A serious health condition can qualify as an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition. It has to involve inpatient care in a hospital, hospice, or residential medical care facility, or some kind of continuing treatment by a health care provider. The continuing treatment has to keep the patient out of work or school for at least three days in a row, including weekends and holidays. Continuing treatment also has to involve follow-up care by a health care provider – two visits in the first 30 days, with the first visit within seven days of the first day of incapacity. Exceptions are made to this three-day requirement in the case of treatment for chronic conditions, like asthma or diabetes, and in the case of treatment for pregnancy.

CAN I TAKE INTERMITTENT LEAVE UNDER THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT?

•  If it’s medically necessary, yes, you can take leave intermittently.

•  Taking intermittent leave involves spreading out your work absences over several days, weeks or months, working half days or full days.

•  It can also mean working a reduced schedule.

Family Medical & Leave Act - FMLA

DO I HAVE TO USE UP MY PAID LEAVE FIRST?

•  Your employer can require you to use all your paid, sick, vacation, and personal days before starting your unpaid leave.

•  These days become part of your total 12-week leave.

WHEN DO I HAVE TO NOTIFY DISTRICT 202?

•  If you request leave to care for a newborn baby or a newly adopted child or for medical treatments you know about in advance, you need to give your employer 30 days notice.

•  If that’s not realistic, give as much advance notice as possible.

•  The same rules apply in emergency situations; give whatever notice you can.

•  If you knew well in advance the reason for your leave, but you did not tell your employer about it until the last minute, District 202 has the right to deny your leave request for up to 30 days.

W-4 Forms

Form W-4 FEDERAL WITHHOLDING TAX

•  Form W-4 is also known as an Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate.

•  This is the amount of federal income tax employers are required to withhold from earned wages.

•  The amount depends upon the amount of money earned and the information provided on the W-4 form.

•  If you fail to submit the completed form, District 202 must then withhold as if you claimed single status with zero withholding allowances. This would result in the greatest withholding allowed.

•  Form W-4 includes 4 options: •  Whether to withhold at the single

rate or at the lower married rate •  How many withholding allowances

you claim •  Whether you want an additional

amount withheld •  Whether you are claiming an

exemption from withholding

•  You should change your W-4 form within 10 days of any life events including a new address, marriage, birth of a baby, divorce, your spouse gets a new job, a dependent moves out of the house, your name changes.

W-4 Example Withholding Worksheet You should not ask your employer how many to deduct.

**If you are a nonresident alien, you may claim single status with only one withholding allowance because of special rules**

W-4 Federal Example

You will need To know your Social security number

You can add an additional $ amount withheld. This would be above and beyond the amount taken for your regular exemptions

Make sure this is legible.

Don’t forget to sign.

Everything must be completed out without cross-outs, scratch-outs or it will be rejected.

Total dependents from worksheet

W-4 Illinois Form STATE WITHHOLDING TAX •  Illinois State Withholding Tax is a

percentage tax withheld from your paycheck to assist in funding government agencies within the state.

•  The percentage of deduction is set by the State of Illinois.

•  As with the federal form W-4, you should change your Illinois W-4 form within 10 days of any life events including a new address, marriage, birth of a baby.

Example Illinois W-4 Worksheet

Calculate the amount of dependents you want to claim

W-4 State of Illinois Example

You can have additional money deducted if you want.

Be sure to write legibly.

Taxes as deductions

INCOME TAXES & FICA

•  Federal income tax is the amount of money you have to pay to the federal government and is collected by the IRS. District 202 uses the IRS Circular E TABLE 7-ANNUAL Payroll Period to calculate the amount of federal income tax and withholdings.

•  Your wages are also subject to employment taxes called FICA, Federal Insurance Contributions Act which includes Social Security and Medicare.

•  Each pay period, your employer pays the federal government an amount of FICA taxes based on the wages you are paid.

•  All employers withhold FICA

•  FICA is deducted to fund federal programs that provide benefits for retirees, the disabled, and children of deceased workers.

•  The Social Security wages upon which your taxes are based are recorded in your individual Social Security account.

•  Teachers and Administrators who pay into TRS do NOT pay into social security.

•  The money you have earned in your lifetime will be used to determine your benefits when you retire, or if you become disabled.

•  Your Medicare taxes will provide you with basic health insurance once you reach 65, or earlier should you become disabled.

Social Security (FICA)

•  Social Security tax is currently a fixed percent at 6.2%.

•  Any wages you earn above $118,500 are not subject to Social Security tax.

•  The most you can pay into Social Security tax in 2015 is $7,347.00.

•  If you hold more than one job, you cannot combine your earnings to hit the Social Security wage limit.

•  These percentages are subject to change yearly.

Medicare (FICA) •  Medicare is a fixed percent withholding of 1.45%

•  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administers Medicare, the nation’s largest health insurance program

•  Medicare provides insurance to people age 65 and over, and those who have permanent kidney failure and certain people with disabilities.

•  If you have any questions, call 1-800-325-0778

End of Year Reporting W-2’s

Your W-2 Statement, Your Wage Statement

•  Form W-2 lists all wages paid by your employer and the total amount of tax deductions made during the calendar year.

•  It is used to complete your federal income tax return and any state or local income tax that are required.

•  District 202 reports the information on your W-2 to Social Security Administration so your Social Security Administration account can be credited. The Administration then passes the information on to the IRS.

•  Your W-2 will be made available to you through the employee portal by January 31st each year.

W-2 Need to Know

•  Check your W-2 for mistakes!

•  Verify your name, address, and Social Security number.

•  Compare your final pay stub for the year with the wage, tax, and other amounts shown on the W-2 to be certain all the numbers match up.

•  If the wrong numbers are reported to Social Security, you may end up getting a lower benefit.

•  Some of the totals on your W-2 might not match those shown on your final pay stub. This does not mean that either the W-2 or the pay stub is wrong. Instead it could mean that some of your wages were not subject to withholding for income or employment taxes.

•  ****REMEMBER: Your W-2 totals are those amounts that are taxable. If you have pre-tax deductions, the taxable amount will be less than your salary.******

Check Your Social Security Benefits!

Report a Name Change

* Call 1-800-SSA-1213, asking for FORM SS-5, the Application for a Social Security Card, completing the form, and submitting it to the Social Security Administration.

Check your Name and Social Security Number On Your Employer’s Payroll Records

The information should match with your Social Security card.

Reply Quickly to the Social Security Administration

If you’re contacted about name changes, since this probably means your name or Social Security number has been entered incorrectly on your W-2 or on some other official form.

Thank you for being a valued part of the Plainfield School District 202

Team.

If you have any additional questions please contact the Payroll Department at the

Payroll e-mail

payroll@psd202.org