The Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) recently mailed Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) notices, and retirees who receive an annual lump sum COLA may notice that tax withholdings for this payment differ from last year.
On its website, PERS explains that the reason for the change is because PERS switched to a new pension administration system last year, which defaulted each retiree’s COLA tax withholdings to the same preference set for his or her monthly benefit distribution.
PERS sends COLA notices every summer to inform retirees of their December COLA amount and the amount to be withheld in taxes. Once an individual receives and reviews his or her notice, he or she has the option to make any necessary changes before the COLA is paid in December. Any retiree who would like to adjust his or her lump sum COLA tax withholding preference should indicate the preferred change on the bottom portion of the notice and return that part of the notice to PERS by October 31.
Any retiree who did not receive or who no longer has his or her notice may call PERS at 601-359-3589 or 800-444-7377 to request a duplicate notice.