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Employers

Employer Bulletin

All WRS Employers
Vol. 22, No. 16
September 2, 2005

Employer Extranet Site Update:

WRS Account Update Application Expanded to Include Terminations and Current Year Corrections

In 2000, the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) first implemented its Employer Extranet site, allowing employers to view specific Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) participant data online. In December 2003, we expanded the site to allow online updates to other WRS participant and employer data.

The Employer Extranet site consists of the following online Applications:

  • WRS Previous Service & Benefit Inquiry Application
  • WRS Contribution Remittance Application
  • WRS Account Update Application

Employers interested in obtaining access to one or more of the above online applications must complete an Employer Extranet Application Security Agreement (ET-8928, Rev. 11/2003) prior to receiving authorization for their designated staff.

WRS Account Update Application

ETF continues to expand and enchance the WRS Account Update Application, which offers employers the ability to process multiple transactions online that previously required the completion and submission of paper reports. The WRS Account Update Application now includes the ability to process the following transactions, eliminating the need to complete and submit the paper Employee Transaction Report (ET-2533):

  • Terminations – allows for periodic online transmission of termination information for WRS covered employees.
  • Leave of Absence (LOA) – allows for periodic online transmission of LOA information for WRS covered employees.
  • Corrections to Current Year – allows for periodic online transmission of corrections to previously submitted terminations or LOA transactions for WRS covered employees.

In addition, the WRS Account Update Application also allows you to complete the following previously introduced transactions eliminating the need to complete and submit the paper reports:

  • WRS Enrollment – allows for online transmission of enrollment information for new employees in the WRS immediately following your determination of eligibility.
  • Employment Category Change – allows for online transmission of corrections to the employment category of WRS covered employees originally enrolled under an incorrect category.
  • Gender Change – allows for online transmission of corrections to the gender of employees whose original WRS enrollment contained misinformation.
  • Name/Address Change – allows for online transmission of name and/or address corrections for WRS covered employees.
  • Employment Begin Date Change – allows for online transmission changing the employment begin date of WRS covered employees.
  • Annual Processing – allows employers who receive annual pre-lists to transmit year-end annual detail online for your WRS covered employees.

Employers with access to the WRS Account Update Application have the ability to process all listed transactions online and to securely transmit these data transactions directly to ETF via the Internet.

WRS Account Update Application Instructions

To request step-by-step instructions for the WRS Account Update Applications, contact Jim Krawczyk at (608) 266-3309.

WRS Contribution Remittance Application

Note: This application is NOT available to State agencies that make payments via WiSMART.

The WRS Contribution Remittance application gives employers the ability to securely transmit WRS Monthly Remittance Reports (ET-1515) to ETF via the Internet. In addition, this application allows employers to:

  • Select a payment date or default to the statutory due date.
  • Make the contribution payment to ETF via an Automated Clearing House (ACH) Direct Withdrawal.
  • Print confirmation reports of the online Monthly Remittance Report.
  • Reduce or eliminate reporting and/or calculation errors.
  • Increase efficiency through more accurate data transmission and faster processing time.
  • Eliminate late payment charges due to mail delays.

ETF strongly encourages all employers, including employers currently using the telephone Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System, to migrate to the new online WRS Contribution Remittance application. Employers filing WRS Monthly Remittance Reports via the IVR system will discover that the new online application works in much the same way. However, the online application is faster and easier to use.

Employers must submit an Automated Clearing House (ACH) Direct Withdrawal Authorization (ET-1734) with the Employer Extranet Application Security Agreement (ET-8928) to use the WRS Contribution Remittance application. The ACH form can be downloaded from the Employer Section of ETF’s Internet site at http://etf.wi.gov. Please attach your ACH authorization directly to the Security Agreement when submitting to ETF for authorization.

Note: If you are a current user of the telephone IVR system, ETF already has an ACH authorization on file. You do not need to submit a new ACH form. Send only the Employer Extranet Application Security Agreement (ET-8928).

System Requirements

To ensure proper security for all online applications, you must have a browser that supports the capabilities of Netscape Navigator (version 7.1 or higher) or Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 5.x or higher).

Requesting Access Authority

By law, WRS participant account data is confidential and can be released only for WRS program administration purposes. In addition, creation of an individual WRS account must be undertaken only for an employee meeting WRS eligibility criteria as set forth in Wis. Stat. § 40.22.

Employer personnel requesting access to ETF’s Employer Extranet site can be authorized for any or all of the Extranet site applications. The person requesting access must complete the attached Employer Extranet Application Security Agreement (ET-8928). Please note that staff authorized for the WRS Account Update application are automatically authorized for each additional update function implemented in the future; additional Security Agreements will not be required, as future functions are made available to employers. Additional copies of the Extranet Application Security Agreement (ET-8928) can be printed from the Employer Forms section of ETF’s Internet site at http://etf.wi.gov.

All fields on the Security Agreement must be completed. Incomplete applications will be returned to the employer. The employer’s designated WRS Agent must approve all requests for authorization by signing the Security Agreements. Thus, the WRS agent is certifying the requester’s administrative need for access to the ETF application(s) requested.

Upon receipt, ETF will forward the Security Agreement to the Wisconsin Department of Administration’s (DOA) Security Officer. Once the request for authorization has been approved, the DOA security officer will mail the Logon identification numbers, passwords, and identifier codes to the authorized employee’s home address. The process takes two to three weeks to complete. Please keep the letters returned from DOA; they contain useful information in the event an Extranet problem arises.

Questions

For more information about the Employer Extranet site, or if you have questions regarding the instructions for obtaining access to the site, please contact the Employer Communication Center at (608) 264-7900.

For questions specific to the WRS Contribution Remittance Application and/or the ACH form, contact Jim Krawczyk at (608) 266-3309, or Nancy Kittleson at (608) 267-9034.