June 2026

Transition in Employer Reporting Leadership

As some of you may be aware, Sherry Vandrell has chosen to step down from her role as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at MainePERS and is transitioning to a new position as Director of Special Projects for Employer Reporting. We are grateful to Sherry for her many years of dedicated service to MainePERS and wish her the best in her new role.

In filling the CFO position, MainePERS worked with a professional search consultant to recruit qualified candidates for consideration. We are pleased to advise that search has resulted in the hiring of Karen Doyle to fill the position. Karen brings with her a wealth of experience from 23 years in Maine state government, including serving as the Director of Finance and Administration for the Department of Transportation and as Acting Associate Commissioner for the Department of Administrative and Financial Services.

More recently Karen was employed by MaineHealth as Financial Planning Director. Karen holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Maine and a Master of Business Administration from Northeastern University. She also holds several certifications: Certified in Financial Management, Certified Government Financial Manager, Certified Internal Auditor, and Certified Healthcare Financial Professional.

Karen’s tenure with MainePERS began on June 9 and we are pleased to welcome her to the MainePERS team.

Fiscal Year End Payroll Reporting Deadlines

Please submit your June payroll filings by the due date below. Timely submission is important in preparing the actuarial valuation on which employer and employee contribution rates are calculated. If you anticipate a delay in reporting your June payroll data, please contact Employer Reporting as soon as possible at 1-800-451-9800 or via email at employer@mainepers.org.

June’s Payroll Filing Due Date is: July 15th

FY27 Employer Contribution Rates

Employer and member contribution rates for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1, 2026 and ends June 30, 2027, are now available on the Employer Rates and Rate Setting page where you may select plan specific information. Please remember that rates change with the first pay date in the month of July, even if that pay period includes June dates.

Grant funded teacher rate information is included in the Teacher section. The grant funded teacher costs do not include the additional amount due for teacher retiree health. This is established by and paid directly to State Employee Health and Benefits. You will receive a separate notification from Employee Health and Benefits for the amount due to fund retiree health coverage.

Group Life Insurance

Premium Rates for FY27

Reminder that Group Life Insurance Premium Rates for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026 are available on our website. Premium rates for basic coverage in the Teacher Plan are increasing in FY27. There are no changes to premium rates for the Participating Local District Plan. Visit https://www.mainepers.org/employers/group-life-insurance to review the new rates. If you have any questions please contact your Employer Reporting account associate.

Group Life Insurance Levels

Life insurance levels have been updated for the coming year. Please review your invoice. If you have any changes or corrections, please contact your Employer Reporting account associate.

Summer months

You can help your teacher and school support employees keep their life insurance coverage premium payments up-to-date during the summer months. Teacher and school support employees who do not receive a paycheck over the summer often want to have Group Life Insurance (GLI) premiums paid during these months. Coverage will be cancelled if premiums due for those summer months, are not paid within 60 days of returning to work.

Employers can help these individuals in a number of ways. One is by withholding premiums due for the summer months from an employee's final pay in June in order to continue remitting payments on their behalf. Another is to pay the summer premiums for employees then withhold the amount from an employee’s paycheck when they return to work in the fall. Or you can withhold the additional premiums throughout the school year. Regardless of how you choose to withhold premiums, all you need to then do is submit them to MainePERS with the monthly invoices you receive during the summer.

If you have an employee who will be responsible for paying premiums on their own through the summer, please upload a Personnel Status Change (PSC) form to MainePERS. This upload through the ESS portal must indicate that the employee is on a leave of absence and you will then do an adjustment to the invoice to remove the employee from your next bill. MainePERS may then bill the employee directly for the premiums that are due for those summer months.

MainePERS Educational Sessions Available for your Employees Online!

Do you have employees who want to find out more about their MainePERS benefits? MainePERS offers several different planning sessions for State, Teacher, and Participating Local District (PLD) employees.

We have Introductory Educational sessions tailored to new and mid-career members. There are Ready to Retire sessions for our members who have already received an estimate from us and are planning to retire within the next year. A Special Plan session is specifically geared for mid-to-late career State or PLD employees who are participating in a Special Plan with their employer.

These sessions are offered in a webinar format, so participation is easy and no travel is required. Please encourage your employees to sign up to learn more about their pension plan and how it can fit into long-term retirement planning. Employees can find out more and register to attend one of these 60-minute sessions 24/7 right on our website at the following locations:

State Plan Employees at www.mainepers.org/statesessions

Teacher Plan Employee at www.mainepers.org/teachersessions

PLD Plan Employees at www.mainepers.org/pldsessions

Spread the word: A poster is available for printing now (print poster now) or conveniently accessed later from the MainePERS website, just click on the Printable MainePERS Member Education Session Poster. Suitable for posting on Human Resources bulletin boards or including in your next employee communication or newsletter.