Special Memo 290

To: Employers who received a copy of the Automated Employer Reporting System (AERS) software
Re: AERS replaced by enhanced Employer Access Wage Reporting function AERS software no longer mailed to employers

April 20, 2005

Dear Authorized Agent:

As we previously advised you in General Memo 532, new Employer Access goes live May 15, 2005, and includes an enhanced Wage Reporting function. The Wage Reporting function replaces the Automated Employer Reporting System (AERS) software.

Effective immediately, IMRF will not mail new copies of the software to employers, nor will IMRF mail updated copies of the software to employers currently using AERS. In addition, IMRF will provide limited technical support regarding the software through December 31, 2005.

If you create your wage and contribution detail file using AERS, you may continue to do so. You can mail the wage and contribution detail file on a diskette, or more preferably, import the file into the Wage Reporting function of new Employer Access.

Although IMRF will continue to accept wage detail files created with AERS, we strongly encourage you to discontinue using AERS and instead use the enhanced Wage Reporting function available in new Employer Access.

Why use new Employer Access Wage Reporting?
By reporting wages and contributions via new Employer Access, your wage report will always balance, and you will be less likely to receive letters from IMRF about your report. The enhanced Web Wage Reporting function also offers many advantages not available in AERS: improved speed, efficiency, and accuracy.

A new step (“validate”) makes sure your wage report is correct and in balance before you send it to IMRF:

• If you do not report wages for a member, the Wage Reporting function will prompt you to either enter wages or to confirm “no wages” for the member.
• If you report wages for an employee IMRF does not recognize as an active member, the Wage Reporting function will prompt you to confirm that the employee should be reported:
  • If a member is being reported under the wrong plan, you can easily report him or her under the correct plan.
  • If the employee should not be reported, you can remove the employee from the report.
  • If the employee should be reported, you can report the wages, and the Wage Reporting function will remind you to submit an enrollment form.
• If a member’s contributions do not match the percentage to be withheld for the member’s plan, that member will be identified. You can correct the wages or have the Wage Reporting function automatically correct the contribution amount.

The enhanced Wage Reporting function reviews your imported wage and contribution detail file for other errors, such as:

• Blank lines
• A record consisting of more or less than 80 characters
• A member reported more than once under the same plan
• More than one month of wages being reported on the same file

Previously, these errors were corrected manually after the file was received. This not only caused a delay in processing the wage report, in some cases, it delayed payment of a member’s benefit. Some employers may discover that the wage detail file they import needs to be corrected before it can be submitted to IMRF. If this occurs, employers can view detailed online help to learn how to correct the errors.

Interactive demonstrations of new Employer Access Wage Reporting
IMRF’s 2005 Advanced Authorized Agent Wage Reporting Workshops will include an interactive demonstration of the enhanced Web Wage Reporting function. You will find the dates, locations, and registration information on the IMRF website, www.imrf.org.

To register for a workshop, visit www.imrf.org and click on the “Employer Workshops” button on the side navigation (menu) bar. Follow the steps to complete your secure online registration.

If you don’t have an Employer Access account
Registering for an Employer Access account is easy—no more paper form to complete. The Authorized Agent would visit www.imrf.org, click on the “Employer Access” link on the left side of the page, and click on the “Register Here” link. It will take approximately five business days to receive the Employer Access account information.

We have also made it easier for you to maintain accounts for your Web Assistants and Security Administrator. A Security Administrator can perform all Employer Access functions, including creating Web Assistant accounts. Web Assistants are given access to specific functions by either the Authorized Agent or Security Administrator.

We strongly recommend you establish separate accounts for employees who use Employer Access.
Creating separate accounts creates a proper record of who submitted information to IMRF should there be any dispute.

Questions
If you have any questions regarding the enhanced Wage Reporting function, please contact a Member Service Representative at 1-800-ASK-IMRF (1-800-275-4673) Monday through Friday, 7:30 A.M.. to 5:30 P.M.