Changes to Federal Tax Withholding on Monthly Retirement Payments

Probably – changes to the federal tax laws could affect your ERS retirement annuity payment. Your monthly payment from ERS could be more or less, based on changes to the law. How much is taken out each month depends on a number of things, including:

• the amount of your annuity,
• your overall annual income,
• how many withholding allowances and/or exemptions you claim on your Form W-4,
• any pre-tax deductions (such as health insurance premiums) and
• other possible factors.

You should see the change in the monthly payment you get at the end of January.

Usually, federal tax laws go into effect at the beginning of the new calendar year, and ERS works to make changes to retirement payments as soon as possible.

They can change every year, depending on action by Congress and/or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If there is a change, we make needed updates as soon as possible after the IRS releases the new withholding tables, to be sure your allowances and federal tax withholding is correct when the changes go into effect.

You can see any federal tax-based changes to your monthly payment each year on or after January 24 by signing in to your ERS OnLine account. To do this:

1. Click “My Account Login” in the upper right corner of this webpage.
2. If you already have an ERS OnLine account, click the “Proceed to Login” button. If you don’t have an ERS OnLine account yet, click “Register Now” and follow the instructions for setting up your account. (It takes just a few minutes.)
3. Click the “View Payment” link under “My Payroll Information.”

Yes. You can see your monthly payments from ERS, including deductions, by signing in to your online account. To do this:

1. Click “My Account Login” in the upper right corner of this webpage.
2. If you already have an ERS OnLine account, click the “Proceed to Login” button. If you don’t have an ERS OnLine account yet, click “Register Now” and follow the instructions for setting up your account. (It takes just a few minutes.)
3. Click the “View Payment” link under “My Payroll Information.”

You can estimate and/or change federal tax withholding by signing in to your online account. To do this:

1. Click “My Account Login” in the upper right corner of this webpage.
2. If you already have an ERS OnLine account, click the “Proceed to Login” button. If you don’t have an ERS OnLine account yet, click “Register Now” and follow the instructions for setting up your account. (It takes just a few minutes.)
3. Click the “W-4 Tax Information” link under “My Payroll Information.”
4. Follow the prompts to estimate and/or change your withholding.

Federal law requires us to implement the IRS’ changes to the tax withholding tables as soon as possible.

No. Tax laws affect each person differently, and ERS is unable to provide tax advice. We encourage you to talk with a tax professional.

ERS is unable to provide tax advice. We encourage you to talk with a tax professional.