Highlights

IN-PERSON & VIRTUAL MEMBER SERVICES APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE

TAX YEAR 2022 1099-R WILL BE MAILED JANUARY 31

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT IRS 2023 MANDATED HOLDINGS

IN-PERSON & VIRTUAL MEMBER SERVICES APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE

SBCERS Member Services Representatives are available for in-person and virtual meetings. 

Locations:

• SBCERS Goleta Office: 130 Robin Hill Road, Suite 100, Goleta, CA 93117
• SBCERS Santa Maria Office: 2236 South Broadway, Suite D, Santa Maria, CA 93454
• Zoom or Phone

Members may choose between 20-minute or 60-minute appointments.

Some examples of 20-minute appointment topics for active members include discussing service purchase of medical leave or extra help time, or divorce. For retired members, a 20-minute appointment may be useful to help with tax withholding changes, Health Reimbursement Claims, direct deposit changes, or insurance questions.

60-minute appointments for active members include pre-retirement or retirement counseling sessions. Retired members should book a 60-minute appointment for topics such as death benefit claims or continuance onboarding.

TAX YEAR 2022 1099-R WILL BE MAILED JANUARY 31

SBCERS payees will receive a 3-copy version of their 1099-R in the first week of February. Instructions are included on the back of the page, similar to last year's format. Click HERE to view a sample 1099-R.

Members may also view their 1099-R online at MySBCERS. Login or enroll at https://mysbcers.org/.

If necessary, please contact an SBCERS Member Services Representative to make updates to your form. Payees have until March 31, 2023 to review before SBCERS submits to the IRS.

Phone: 1-877-568-2940

Email: benefits@sbcers.org

IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT IRS 2023 MANDATED HOLDINGS

SBCERS Members are affected by recent Federal Tax Withholding form changes made by the IRS. Your SBCERS member services team wants you to know how this may impact you. 

Effective January 2023, the IRS changed the withholding forms used by employees and pension recipients to request changes to their federal withholding elections. These changes will be effective for any new payee of the System, or any existing payee wishing to make changes to their Federal withholdings, in 2023. If you are not making changes to your Federal withholdings, you do not have to take any action at this time. However, if you do want to change your withholdings, we encourage you to reach out to a tax professional for assistance. SBCERS staff members are legally not able to provide any tax advice.

SBCERS was required to adopt these changes effective January 1, 2023, and we have updated our website, www.sbcers.org, and the secure member portal, MySBCERS, with the new Federal form. Payees are required to use the new form W-4P 2023 for any tax withholding changes on benefit payments paid in 2023, as the tax tables and fields formerly used on previous tax forms are no longer available.  

What has changed? While the IRS Form W-4P 2023 does still contain a field that requests your personal designation of Single or Married filing separately, Married filing jointly, or Qualifying surviving spouse Head of household, the withholding amount fields are significantly different:

• Instead of noting the number of allowances you are withholding, the form now requests that you note income from a job and/or multiple pension or annuities, including a spouse’s job, pension, or annuity, if any.
• The form now provides a category for claiming Dependent and other credits, if applicable to you.
• The form now provides a category for other income not from jobs or pension/annuity payments, if you want tax withheld on other income you expect this year that won’t have withholding.

I am not changing my withholdings, do I have to complete this form? No, you do not have to complete this form if you are not making changes to your withholdings at this time. You are not required to make any updates to your current withholding elections if your current withholding arrangements are sufficient for your tax needs. However, any future changes will require the new form.

I would like to elect no Federal Withholdings, but I don’t see a category for that on the new form.  If you choose to have no Federal income tax withheld, you may indicate “no withholding” under Step 4(c) on the new form by writing “No Withholdings”.

I’ve consulted with my tax professional about changes to my withholdings, can SBCERS help me understand how the proposed withholdings will impact my pension payment gross to net? Yes! While we are not able to provide tax advice, the SBCERS pension software “Withholding What If” module can calculate hypothetical gross to net calculations, so please feel free to contact a Member Services representative by calling (877) 568-2940, emailing benefits@sbcers.org, messaging us though MySBCERS, or via our on-line scheduling feature at www.sbcers.org, to make a 20-minute appointment, either over the phone, Zoom, or in person, so that we can review the impact of your proposed withholding changes with you.

Safeguarding the security of your account is a key priority, so SBCERS requires that all changes be made in writing, with your wet signature, on the forms provided in our office or at www.sbcers.org. We are also happy to mail forms to you for you to complete. Any change received by the 15th of the month will be effective on the next benefit payment. 

And as always, if you have any questions or concerns, we are always happy to hear from you, and help you!