Other issues you should know about:
Regular compensation

What you earn as “regular compensation” is important both for us and for you:

• For you, because it is the amount of your earnings upon which you pay retirement contributions.
• For both you and us, because only those payments that meet the definition of “regular compensation” may be used in the determination of your final three-year salary average, which is a factor in the calculation of your retirement benefit.

It is in your best interest to understand what earnings are included and excluded as regular compensation so that, when it is time for you to retire, you don’t have any misunderstanding or false expectations as to what will be included in your final three-year salary average.

“Regular compensation” is a complex legal term whose precise definition is often the subject of court decisions. Below are some of the most commonly asked-about payments as far as what is included in, or excluded from, regular compensation.

What is INCLUDED as regular compensation

• Annual salary per collective bargaining agreement or administrator’s contract
• Longevity
• Coaching
• Annual stipends for additional services per collective bargaining agreement (e.g., yearbook advisor, class advisor)
• Salary payable for services rendered in connection with a school lunch program
• Salary payable for services in connection with a program for physical education instruction and athletic contests such as intramural sports
• Cost-of-living adjustments
• Premiums paid by employer for individual life or disability insurance or employer contributions to a 403(b) annuity
• Educational step increases according to salary schedule set forth in collective bargaining agreement, excluding money for reimbursement for attending educational workshops

What is EXCLUDED as regular compensation

• Retirement incentives
• Sick leave buy-back
• Overtime
• Bonus
• Special projects
• Summer school
• Reimbursement for travel or other expenses
• Payment for unused vacation
• Amounts paid on an hourly basis for additional services
• Amounts paid in addition to salary for professional development or education assistance (e.g., recertification workshops)
• Any payment made as a result of the employer’s knowledge of your retirement

For more information, see our regulation on regular compensation.