Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 27 - STATE PERSONNEL BOARD › Part 220 - PERS, Deferred Compensation Plan And Trust › Article VII - BENEFITS › Section 27-220-VII-7.5 - SPECIAL TAX EXCLUSION FOR QUALIFIED INSURANCE DEDUCTIONS

Current through June 25, 2024
a. Section 845 of the Pension Protection Act
				of 2006 amends Internal Revenue Code §402 to allow an Eligible Retired
				Public Safety Officer to make an election to exclude from federal gross income
				an amount not to exceed $3,000 of his or her retirement plan benefits if such
				amount is deducted from the Eligible Retired Public Safety Officer's benefit
				and is used to pay qualified health insurance premiums. Qualified health
				insurance premiums include premiums for accident and health insurance or
				qualified long-term care insurance. Amounts deducted from the retirement
				benefit payable from the Plan may be paid directly to the participant. The
				Eligible Retired Public Safety Officer must include with their tax return for
				the year in which the distribution is made an attestation that such funds do
				not exceed the amount paid by the Eligible Retired Public Safety Officer for
				qualified health insurance premiums in the year of the distribution to qualify
				for the exclusion. For this purpose, all eligible retirement plans, including
				this Plan, must be treated as a single plan.
b. The exclusion is only available to an
				Eligible Retired Public Safety Officer who, by reason of disability or
				attainment of normal retirement age, retired from service as a public safety
				officer with the Employer who maintains this Plan.
c. An Eligible Retired Public Safety Officer
				means an individual who served and retired from public service by reason of
				disability or attainment of normal retirement age with a public agency in an
				official capacity as a law enforcement officer, as a firefighter, as a fire or
				police department chaplain, or as a member of a rescue squad or ambulance crew,
				as may be defined from time to time by the Department of Justice.
The Internal Revenue Service shall have the final
				  determination as to whether an individual is an Eligible Retired Public Safety
				  Officer.
d. As an
				alternative to paying the amounts to the Eligible Retired Public Safety Officer
				directly, an Eligible Retired Public Safety Officer may elect to have eligible
				premiums withheld from his or her retirement or disability retirement benefit
				and paid by the Plan directly to the insurance provider. To the extent allowed
				by law, the retiree may make such election prospectively for the current and
				future years.
e. In administering
				the tax exclusion, the Plan is only responsible for performing the
				administrative functions associated with the deduction and payment of
				qualifying insurance premiums, if elected by the Eligible Retired Public Safety
				Officer. The Eligible Retired Public Safety Officer is and remains responsible
				for income tax liability for retirement benefits paid by the Plan. The Plan has
				no responsibility for tax liability, including interest and penalties, that may
				arise from an Eligible Retired Public Safety Officer's election to exclude any
				amounts from income.