Department of Employee Trust Funds
September 21, 2009

Tax Withholding Clarification

An article in the September edition of Trust Fund News (Federal Tax Withholding Options for Retirees) is prompting inquiries from retired members. While it is true that the Internal Revenue Service no longer allows retired members to designate a specific dollar amount for federal tax withholding from their annuities, it is also true that:

• If you are a retiree and currently have a specific dollar amount withheld for federal tax, you do not need to change your withholding at this time (unless you want to).
• There is no specific withholding option of “Married, but withhold at the higher single rate” for retirees on the current Income Tax Withholding Election form (ET-4310). The withholding rate for the “Married, but withhold at the higher single rate” filing status is the same as for the “Single” filing status. If you would like to have your federal tax withholding based on the “Married, but withhold at the higher single rate” filing status, choose “Single” on the current Income Tax Withholding Election form.

We apologize for any confusion this may have caused our members.