Backpostings & Adjustments

Employers occasionally make payments to employees for work performed in a prior fiscal year. These payments or adjustments can result from a late time card, incorrect placement on a salary schedule or a performance bonus paid after June 30. In addition, sometimes an employee is overpaid, making it necessary to adjust the employee’s compensation for a prior fiscal year.

When payments or adjustments are made to a member’s account for work performed in a prior fiscal year, employers must notify STRS Ohio if the amount was not included in the prior fiscal year’s annual report. This adjustment is called a backposting.

Since STRS Ohio benefits are based on earned compensation reported in the annual report, this information must be accurate. Reporting backposting adjustments on a timely basis allows us to amend your annual report for the fiscal year and provide accurate benefit payments to members.

For example, in September, a teacher turns in a time card for a supplemental contract earned in June. Contributions on the earnings are remitted to STRS Ohio with the corresponding September payroll report.

Due to the late receipt of the time card, the contributions were not included in the prior year annual report. Therefore, it is necessary to submit a backposting adjustment so the contributions can be included with the correct fiscal year.

In this example, the employer correctly remitted contributions to STRS Ohio with the payroll report for the pay period in which the teacher was actually paid. In addition, the employer needs to submit a backposting adjustment to notify STRS Ohio that the prior year annual report should be adjusted since the money was actually earned in the prior fiscal year.

Payments resulting from a grievance or settlement must be reviewed by STRS Ohio to determine if the amount can be included in compensation. Send a copy of the settlement to [email protected] for review before making adjustments and submitting contributions.

When making a correction for a past fiscal year, you must remember to pay and report contributions at the contribution rate in effect at the time the money was earned. Use the chart in the Backpostings and Account Adjustments fact sheet to ensure you have completed all necessary steps when making corrections.

To notify us of a correction to previous year contributions, submit a backposting adjustment via ESS or secure file upload. Please remember to include a note in the backposting stating the reason for the correction. This will expedite processing.

Note: STRS Ohio recommends secure file upload when making adjustments to multiple accounts.

If you owe interest on adjusted contributions, STRS Ohio will include the interest amount in your monthly statement of backpostings. You can also calculate interest using the interest on backpostings calculator.