In this issue:
- Timely and Accurate Reporting
- Payroll Member ID Reminders
- Reporting Employee's Work Record for Retirement (Form 6C)
- Do You Have a New Payroll System Vendor?
- Contribution-Based Benefit Cap - Cap Factor Updates
- Return-to-Work 2025 Allowance
- The Importance of Beneficiary Updates
- New ORBIT Login Experience Coming February 1, 2026
- Legislation Review
State law requires contributions and reporting be submitted on or before the 5th business day of the month in order to be considered complete and avoid a penalty.
Part 3 of HB 1020 requires both contributions and reporting be submitted by the employer on or before the 5th business day of the month in order to be considered complete and avoid a penalty. Employee and employer contributions and reporting are not considered submitted until the Retirement Systems Division receives all required information.
This is a mandatory change. Thank you for all you do and proactively preparing for this important change. The schedule for CSI Contributions through 2025 is posted here.
Timely Reporting and Invoice Payments
To maintain correct information, it is important that you take time to correct errors in ORBIT. Please respond to your Employer Reporting Team representative promptly so that any issues can be addressed, and necessary adjustments can be processed as soon as possible.
Payroll Member ID Reminders:
Whenever you hire a new Employee (that has never worked for any TSERS/LGERS Agency before),
- First: the new employee works and is paid by your Agency,
- Next: you report the salary to Orbit on the Agency Monthly Payroll,
*Important: when submitting payroll for the new employee use only zeroes in the required spaces for Orbit Member ID number before they have been assigned one! Please do not use any other numbers unless/until the new employee has been assigned an Orbit Member ID number.
Please contact your Payroll Vendor (if you use one to create the Monthly Payroll report) to ensure they are aware and complying with this, as many are creating errors!
Only after the first Regular salary is successfully reported (without creating Payroll errors) is:
- Next: the new employee’s Orbit Member ID number is assigned
- Next: You must look up the Orbit Member ID number by logging into Employer Orbit Self Service https://orbit.myncretirement.gov/ (Navigate to Begin Reporting Here->Download Member ID)
- Finally: new employee’s Orbit account is created, and only then can the new Employee log in to Orbit for the first time & choose beneficiaries online.
As a part of the retirement process, we require reporting an employee’s work record. Timely completion of this information allows the Retirement Systems to proceed to the next step in the retirement process where the member chooses their option/estimated benefit payment.
Paper Application: If a member uses a paper application to apply for retirement, the second page of the form acts as the Form 6C and requires certification of the employee’s work record with the employer signature.
Retirement Online: If a member applies for retirement online through ORBIT, a Form 6C is emailed to the employer and the member is cc’d on that communication so they are aware of where they are in the retirement process. This digital form requires certification of the employee’s work record with the employer’s signature.
New Vendor? Your first step is to contact the Retirement System.
Are you updating or implementing a new payroll system? Once you have finalized writing your business requirements and the new system is in place, the Retirement Systems Division is here to help with testing. If you intend to use a vendor for your system changes, you should still plan on being part of that process as the key contact for reporting.
We request that you notify us as soon as possible if you are making a change or upgrade so we can schedule testing that aligns with your planned start date. You should expect testing to take at least 90 days.
If you are planning a merger or split with another agency, please contact the Orbit Employer Reporting OER@nctreasurer.com for assistance.
On October 30, 2025, the Boards of Trustees of the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System (TSERS) and the Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System (LGERS) voted to adjust the “cap factor” that each system uses in calculating the contribution-based benefit cap (CBBC).
- The cap factor for TSERS retirements will change from 4.5 to 5.2.
- The cap factor for LGERS retirements will change from 4.7 to 5.8.
- These changes apply for retirements effective January 1, 2026 or later.
An increase to the cap factor means that fewer retirements will be subject to the CBBC, and for those that are subject to it, the incremental impact of the CBBC will be less, compared to if the cap factor had not been increased.
The update was made as the result of a routine study by the Boards’ consulting actuaries, a review that occurs once every five years. The consulting actuaries’ presentation is available here. An additional explanatory memo from RSD staff is available here.
Employers participating in TSERS and LGERS should note the following:
- The monthly list sent to employers, identifying current employees whose retirements will potentially be subject to the CBBC, will be adjusted in the coming months. This will have the effect of removing some employees from the monthly list, who would have been on the list based on the previous cap factor.
- If you have requested and received an estimate of a potential CBBC contribution for a retirement effective in 2026 or later, and would like to have it updated for the effect of the new cap factor, please contact RSD by phone at (919) 814-4590, by email to nc.retirement@nctreasurer.com. If you would prefer to develop your own estimate(s), you may refer to the guidance on RSD’s website.
- If you have already received an invoice for a CBBC contribution associated with a retirement effective in 2026, and you have not yet paid it, RSD will cancel the invoice. If a CBBC contribution is still required based on the new cap factor, RSD will issue a new invoice. If you have received an invoice associated with a retirement effective in 2026 and have already paid it, RSD will issue a credit invoice for the difference, which you may apply against any future employer contribution invoice in the Contribution Summary Instructions (CSI) tool in ORBIT.
Some retirees of the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System and Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System will officially retire and later be reemployed.
Retirement is defined as the commencement of monthly retirement benefits, along with a termination of employment and the complete separation from active service with no intent or agreement, express or implied, to return to service. The NC General Statutes are clear in that there must be a full stop in employment, and a break from work for a specific amount of time with no plans to return to work up to and prior to an employee’s effective retirement date.
If the retiree returns to work in a part-time or full-time capacity for an employer in the Retirement System from which they retired, certain earnings limitations may apply. It is required that employers report retirees who return-to-work in a full-time or part-time capacity to the Retirement Systems.
After a six-month break in TSERS, or a one-month break in LGERS and return to work in a position that does not require membership in those systems, you are subject to the earning restrictions below. Remember, there can be no prearranged agreement to return to work prior to retirement, even if you do fulfill the waiting period requirements.
You can earn whichever is greater:
- 50% of member’s gross pre-retirement salary (excluding termination payments) or
- $42,160 (2025 amount)
One of the most important steps a member can take is to name a beneficiary for their benefits. Beneficiaries do not automatically update across benefit elections and retirement plans. Active members can update beneficiary(ies) in ORBIT for:
- return of contributions and
- death benefits, if applicable.
We encourage members and retirees to do a beneficiary check-up each year or when there is a life-changing event.
A retiree who returns to work in a full-time capacity as a contributing member should designate beneficiaries for their death benefit and return of contributions.
NCRS is modernizing and improving the user experience. The ORBIT member portal will launch a streamlined, single sign-on (SSO) login powered by ID.me — a trusted digital identity platform used by federal and state agencies nationwide.
Many members may already have an ID.me account if they use this to log in to Social Security or the IRS.
What is new? ID.me will power the login experience for ORBIT Self-Service beginning February 1.
Why the change? We know members have experienced issues with enrollment, forgotten usernames and passwords, as well as verification questions. This solution makes the process easier and more secure.
We have information on our website at help.myncretirement.gov. Click ORBIT Login with ID.me on the right side of the top navigation.
More communications about the new login experience will be coming soon.
Visit myNCRetirement.gov to view legislation impacting the Retirement Systems.
Happy Thanksgiving to you, your family and friends. The Retirement Systems will be closed Nov. 27 – 28 for the Thanksgiving holiday. Regular business operations will resume Monday, Dec. 1. Online services are available 24/7.