When submitting payroll, please keep in mind the following:

Board Minimum Standard Hours

The minimum standard hours reported for a member cannot be less than the following as established by the SRA Board of Trustees:

Items that Should Not be Reported

The following items should not be reporting:

• Overtime hours worked or overtime pay earned 
• Additional employee contributions or any bonus salary payments 
• Workers’ compensation benefits as payroll wages.

Teachers Reporting for July and August

Do not report any payroll data for members not working during the months of July and August unless contributions are withheld from the member. 

Reporting Leave Without Pay

Do not report payroll data during the period a member is on a Board-Approved Qualifying Leave of Absence (see COMAR 22.05.01.02) unless the member returned to work prior to the leave expiration date. The Form 46: Qualifying Leave of Absence is to be complete and provided to SRA prior to the leave start date.

Reporting Members Who Work Part-Time

Part-Time Reporting- Budget Method provides a uniform method for employers to report the payroll data for their part-time employees and involves four components:

1. Determine the Part-Time Percentage calculated using the formula: expected or budgeted hours for the fiscal year ÷ standard hours for the fiscal year
2. Determine the Full-Time Equivalent Compensation (What an employee in this same position would earn per year or use this formula: Hourly Rate x Standard Hours for a Full-time Employee (Alternately, this could be calculated by taking Budgeted Salary ÷ Part-Time Percentage , if you don’t know the Full Time Equiv. Compensation).
3. Determine the Actual Annual Compensation- calculated using the formula: Budgeted Full- Time Equivalent Compensation x Part-Time Percentage (Alternately, this could be calculated by taking the Hourly Rate x Expected or Budgeted Hours)
4. Determine Contributions Due Each Period- calculated using the formula: ((Actual Annual Compensation x Contribution Rate) ÷ Number of Contributory Pays).

*Note: Once you have those 4 components mentioned above, the only reported retirement payroll data that will fluctuate from pay period to pay period is Actual Hours Worked, which should reflect the actual number of hours worked by the part-time employee during each pay period, and the Pay Period Base Salary, which should reflect the actual base earnings paid during each pay period. Report the same Part-Time Percentage, Full-Time Equivalent Compensation, Actual Annual Compensation, and Contributions Due each Pay Period, for each pay period worked by the employee, unless the employee changes positions or there is a consistent and significant change in hours the employee is budgeted to work during the year. A significant change would be ± 10%; therefore, the 4 components should be recalculated and adjusted, prospectively.