To be eligible for USERRA, the employee must return to employment with his or her pre-military service employer. Employers must complete the USERRA Certification (ET-4560) form along with a copy of military-issued papers reflecting the employee's entry and discharge dates, such as the employee's DD214 when the employee returns from military service.
The employee must decide if they will make up none, some or all contributions. The employer must make the employer-required share based on the any contributions the employee makes up. If the employee chooses to make up some or all contributions, the employer must report deemed earnings to correspond with the amount of contributions the employee paid.
Note: Regardless of the employee's contribution election, the employer must report all hours the employee would have had if they had not been away for military service.
USERRA Certification (ET-4560) Form
Employers must work with the employee to complete the USERRA Certification (ET-4560) form. ETF must receive the form along with a copy of military-issued papers reflecting the employee’s entry and discharge dates, such as their DD-214.
The form is necessary for two reasons:
- An employee on a military leave of absence receives WRS service credit for that period, with limited exceptions.
- An employee can choose to make up none, some or all the WRS employee-required contributions dating to the employee’s military leave of absence, within a period of three times the length of the employee’s service, up to a maximum of five years, whichever is earlier. These contributions must be paid back while employed at his or her pre-military service employer as pre-tax contributions.
Employee Section
The employee must fill out Section A. He or she then gives the form to their employer with a copy of military-issued papers, like a DD-214 form.
Employer Section
The employer must:
- certify the employee meets qualifications for reemployment and the employee has completed Section A
- check the applicable boxes and complete all fields in Section B
- list the leave date and return date in Section C. These dates must match the DD-214.
- fill in the employee’s deemed hours, earnings, and contributions for each year the employee was on unpaid military leave in Section C. If additional space is needed, attach an extra sheet with the employee's deemed hours and earnings for each additional year.
- provide a copy of all pages of this form to the employee
- submit pages 3 and 4 of the USERRA Certification (ET-4560) with a copy of the employee’s DD-214 to ETF
Next Steps
After submitting the USERRA Certification (ET-4560), the employer will receive an acknowledgment from their WRS Case Manager. The employer may then complete the following steps:
If the leave occurred in the current year:
- If the employee is making up contributions, include those contributions and the deemed earnings along with the Employee Earnings and Total Contributions for the applicable employment category on your next WRS Remittance Report.
- During annual reconciliation or upon termination (whichever comes first), you will report:
deemed hours, make-up contributions and deemed earnings; plus
actual hours, earnings and contributions
NOTE: If you previously reported a P050 – Military LOA, do not include the hours, earnings, or contributions from that transaction
If the leave occurred in a prior year:
- Use the P029 – Prior Year Addition transaction on the WRS Account Update application to report all deemed hours, plus any make-up contributions and deemed earnings (if applicable).
- Do not report prior year earnings and contributions on your remittance report. You will receive an invoice from ETF.
The employee may change their election at any time during the make-up period (three times the period of military service or five years, whichever is earlier) by completing a new USERRA Certification (ET-4560) and providing it to the employer.
Determining Deemed Earnings
Deemed earnings are the amount of earnings the employee normally would have received if they had been actively working. Deemed earnings are determined by taking the contribution amount that the employee made up and dividing it by the contribution rate.
For example, an employee goes on military leave in 2019. They return to work and make up a total of $500 in employee contributions. The employer’s calculations would look like the following:
| Employee Contributions | Divide by 2019 Contribution Rate 6.55% | Total |
|---|---|---|
| $500.00 | ÷ .0655 | = $7,633.59 |
When the employer processes the transaction (termination or annual) for the employee, the employer will enter the following:
- Earnings: $7,633.59
- Employee Contributions: $500.00
- Hours: (all the hours the employee would have had)
Note: Calculations may be different if the employer pays a part of the employee contributions due to a collective bargaining agreement. Please contact your WRS case manager with any questions.
For More Information:
Full instructions and guidelines can be found in the USERRA Certification (ET-4560).
Employer Training on USERRA protocols including eLearning, recorded training, and related material can be found on the ETF employer training page.
Please refer to chapter 22 of the Wisconsin Retirement System Administration Manual (ET-1127) or contact ETF’s employer Communication Center with questions at 1-877-533-5020.