Utah Code 49-11-604. Office audits of participating employers — Penalties for failure to comply
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Terms Used In Utah Code 49-11-604
- Alternate payee: means a member's former spouse or family member eligible to receive payments under a Domestic Relations Order in compliance with Section 49-11-612. See Utah Code 49-11-102
- Board: means the Utah State Retirement Board established under Section 49-11-202. See Utah Code 49-11-102
- Contributions: means the total amount paid by the participating employer and the member into a system or to the Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Plan under Chapter 19, Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Act. See Utah Code 49-11-102
- Employer: means any department, educational institution, or political subdivision of the state eligible to participate in a government-sponsored retirement system under federal law. See Utah Code 49-11-102
- Equal: means , with respect to biological sex, of the same value. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
- Member: means a person, except a retiree, with contributions on deposit with a system, the Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Plan under Chapter 19, Utah Governors' and Legislators' Retirement Act, or with a terminated system. See Utah Code 49-11-102
- Month: means a calendar month, unless otherwise expressed. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- Office: means the Utah State Retirement Office. See Utah Code 49-11-102
- Participant: means an individual with voluntary deferrals or nonelective contributions on deposit with the defined contribution plans administered under this title. See Utah Code 49-11-102
- Participating employer: means a participating employer, as defined by Chapter 12, Public Employees' Contributory Retirement Act, Chapter 13, Public Employees' Noncontributory Retirement Act, Chapter 14, Public Safety Contributory Retirement Act, Chapter 15, Public Safety Noncontributory Retirement Act, Chapter 16, Firefighters' Retirement Act, Chapter 17, Judges' Contributory Retirement Act, and Chapter 18, Judges' Noncontributory Retirement Act, or an agency financed in whole or in part by public funds which is participating in a system or plan as of January 1, 2002. See Utah Code 49-11-102
- Pension: means monthly payments derived from participating employer contributions. See Utah Code 49-11-102
(1)(a) The office may perform an on-site compliance audit of a participating employer to determine compliance with reporting, contribution, and certification requirements under this title.
(1)(b) The office or its independent auditor may perform an on-site compliance audit of a participating employer or request records to be provided by the participating employer, including records required to complete:
(1)(b)(i) audited financial statements;
(1)(b)(ii) schedules of employer allocations and pension reporting in accordance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board statements; and
(1)(b)(iii) service organizational controls reports.
(1)(c) The office may request records to be provided by the participating employer at the time of the audit.
(1)(d) Audits shall be conducted at the sole discretion of the office after reasonable notice to the participating employer of at least five working days.
(1)(e) The participating employer shall extract and provide records as requested by the office in an appropriate, organized, and usable format.
(1)(f) Failure of a participating employer to allow access, provide records, or comply in any way with an office audit shall result in the participating employer being liable to the office for:
(1)(f)(i) any liabilities and expenses, including administrative expenses and travel expenses, resulting from the participating employer’s failure to comply with the audit; and
(1)(f)(ii) a penalty equal to 1% of the participating employer’s last month‘s contributions.
(2) If the audit reveals a participating employer’s failure to make contributions as required under Section 49-11-601 , a failure to maintain records as required under Section 49-11-602 , or a failure to correctly report or certify eligibility as required under Section 49-11-603 , the participating employer shall be liable to the office for:
(2)(a) any liability or expense, including an administrative expense or the cost of increased benefits to members, resulting from the participating employer’s failure to fully comply with the participating employer’s reporting, contribution, certification, or record keeping requirements under this title; and
(2)(b) a penalty, not to exceed 50% of the participating employer’s total contributions for the time period of the error.
(3) If the audit reveals that an incorrect benefit has been paid by the office to a member, participant, alternate payee, or beneficiary due to a participating employer’s failure to comply with the requirements of Section 49-11-601 , 49-11-602 , or 49-11-603 , in addition to the liabilities contained in Subsection (2), the participating employer shall be liable to the office for the following:
(3)(a) the actuarial cost of correcting the incorrect benefit; and
(3)(b) administrative expenses.
(4) The executive director may waive all or any part of the interest, penalties, expenses, and fees if the executive director finds there were extenuating circumstances surrounding the participating employer’s failure to comply with this section.