1099-Rs for 2023 Taxes
12/20/2023
In compliance with IRS regulations, State Street Retiree Services will complete the mailing of all 1099-Rs for 2023 by January 31, 2024. Please note that you may receive your 1099-R after this date due to processing time within the postal service.
The AFRF Benefits Department will be able to provide digital copies of 1099-Rs after February 1, 2024.
State Street Retiree Services will begin issuing corrected tax forms on February 2, 2024. Corrected 1099-Rs will have the “Corrected” box checked after State Street has reported the information to the IRS. The turnaround time for corrected 1099-R requests is approximately 2 business days.
Members who have moved out of state in 2023 will typically receive two 1099-Rs to capture income earned while in each state. Combining the totals reported on both forms will provide the annual amount needed for tax filing. If there is any issue with the time periods reported for the two states, please contact the AFRF Benefits Department to correct the state codes. The turnaround time for state code corrections is approximately 5-7 business days.
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1099-Rs for 2023 Taxes
Update on 2024 COLA
12/6/2023
At the November 2023 Board meeting, AFRF's actuary determined that a COLA cannot be supported under the Fund’s COLA Policy, based on the Fund’s amortization period exceeding the 25-year maximum set forth in the policy for financial stability assessment. The Board is bound by its COLA Policy and its actuary’s recommendation and therefore was unable to grant a COLA for 2024. It was a difficult decision for the Board given the continued inflationary pressure on our retirees. Please see the actuary’s COLA Policy Analysis below and feel free to reach out to staff if you have any questions. Striving to provide COLAs, when affordable, remains one of the top priorities of the Board.
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Update on 2024 COLA
Retiree Open Enrollment
10/10/2023
Open Enrollment for retiree health insurance has begun. The open enrollment period runs through Sunday, November 5, 2023. Benefit changes are effective January 1, 2024, with any deduction changes reflected on January 25, 2024, annuity payments.
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Retiree Open Enrollment
Summer Newsletter
8/31/2023
The Austin Firefighters Retirement Fund staff is pleased to announce the release of our second issue of the recently redesigned AFRF News.
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Summer Newsletter
2023 Trustee Election Nominations
8/21/2023
Austin Firefighters Retirement Fund will be accepting candidate nominations for one position on the AFRF Board of Trustees. The term for this elected trustee position will begin on January 1, 2024, and end December 31, 2026. Trustee elections are open to both active and retired firefighters.
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2023 Trustee Election Nominations
RFP for IPPE
7/21/2023
On July 21, 2023, the Austin Firefighters Retirement Fund issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to seek an independent consultant to perform an Investment Practices and Performance Evaluation (IPPE) for the Fund. The IPPE is required by state law for retirement systems with over $100 million in assets and will be due to the Pension Review Board (PRB) in June 2024.
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RFP for IPPE
RFI for Depository Bank
6/2/2023
On May 24, 2023, the Austin Firefighters Retirement Fund issued a Request for Information (RFI) to evaluate current offerings for depository banks. The goal of the RFI is to ensure that the Fund continually has access to high quality banking and payment services.
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RFI for Depository Bank
Website Debut
5/16/2023
Welcome to our new website! The Austin Firefighters Retirement Fund staff has been hard at work with its vendor to bring you this completely redesigned and modernized site with a better user interface on both desktop and mobile platforms.
The new web address is AFRFund.org. Our previous domain name of afrs.org will reroute to this site for the time being. You can still reach us at staff@afrs.org, but please note that our email address will be updated to reflect our new domain name in the coming months.
For members who are accustomed to accessing and submitting forms through the member login section of our previous website, you can continue to access the necessary forms on our Active Forms and Retiree Forms pages. However, the Member Portal will not be available until 2025. When released, the Member Portal will have vastly greater functionality than the member login section of our previous site. In the meantime, please contact our office directly for member service requests including form submission.
We are available Monday – Friday from 8am-5pm by phone at (512) 454-9567 and by email at staff@afrs.org. We are also available to meet in-office by appointment.
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Website Debut
Proposed Ethics Policy Revision
3/28/2023
The proposed revisions to the Ethics Policy, as discussed in the March Board Meeting, can be reviewed in the document below. If you have any comments to share with the Board prior to their final approval, please email staff@afrs.org.
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Proposed Ethics Policy Revision
Update on DROP Distributions / Procedure
12/1/2022
Effective December 1, 2022, DROP members are now allowed to take a total of 12 distributions from their DROP account, increased from the previous limit of 8. The annual limit of 4 distributions remains the same. To make a withdrawal or to check your DROP balance, please contact the pension office.
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Update on DROP Distributions / Procedure
Update on 2023 COLA
11/28/2022
At the November 2022 Board meeting, AFRF's actuary determined that a COLA cannot be supported under the Fund’s COLA Policy, based on the Fund’s -14.5% return through September 2022. Therefore, the Board was unable to grant a COLA in 2023. The Board is bound by its COLA Policy and its actuary’s recommendation. It was a difficult decision for the Board given the current inflationary pressure on our retirees. Please see the actuary’s analysis below and feel free to reach out to staff if you have any questions at all.
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Update on 2023 COLA