The beginning of the year is the perfect time to review your finances, specifically your taxes. Your retirement benefit is considered income for tax purposes and a Withholding Preference Certificate is available to change the amount of taxes withheld from your retirement benefit. Withholding tables provided by the Internal Revenue Service and the Oklahoma Tax Commission will determine the amount of taxes applied to your retirement benefit. You can review the 2019 tax withholding tables by visiting
https://www.opers.ok.gov/taxes.
You can change your tax withholding at any time by submitting a new tax withholding form. The form is available at https://www.opers.ok.gov/forms and must be received before the 5th of the month for the change to be in effect for the deposit on the last working day of that month.
You should seek advice from your tax accountant and submit a new Withholding Preference Certificate if appropriate.
OPERS is no longer mailing annual Benefit Notices to retirees.
Ready to do your taxes? You will need your 1099-R form.
OPERS will mail each retiree a Form 1099-R at the end of January of every year.
This form will show:
1) the gross amount of your retirement benefit for the previous calendar year;
2) the amount of state and federal income tax withheld from your retirement benefit; and,
3) the federal taxable amount of your retirement benefit for the year. Complete your state and federal income tax return by using the information contained on your Form 1099-R.
Please allow for normal delivery time. You should allow 10-15 business days to receive your 1099-R, but if you have not received your form by February 15th, you may request a duplicate in writing or by calling OPERS. A replacement 1099-R will not be mailed to you unless your current mailing address matches our records. All requests must include your name, OPERS member ID, tax year requested, mailing address, the benefit type, daytime telephone number, and signature. Complete the Change of Address form, which can be downloaded from the OPERS website at , to update your mailing address.
Visit https://www.opers.ok.gov/1099 to read more frequently asked questions.
2019 Retiree Health Insurance Rates (Employees Group Insurance Division)
Every October the Employees Group Insurance Division (EGID) mails option period booklets and forms, which indicates the coverage you are enrolled in and premium amounts for the next year. If you have retiree health insurance premiums through EGID deducted from your retirement benefit, be aware that rates may have changed for 2019. For more information on the 2019 rates, visit the EGID website at www.omes.ok.gov. If you have specific questions about your coverage, contact EGID at 1-800-752-9475.