Purpose:

The purpose of this bulletin is to provide instructions to agencies for processing the Academic Year 2023, 2024 and 2025 Stipend Increases.

Affected Employees:

Employees in GSEU – BU28 positions who meet the eligibility criteria are affected.

Background:

Per Chapter 181 of the Laws of 2025, which implemented the 2023-2026 Agreement between the State of New York and GSNU, employees in the GSEU bargaining unit listed above may be eligible for an increase in the minimum stipend and an increase in stipend of three percent (3.00%) for the 2023-2024, 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 academic years.

Effective Dates:

The retroactive Stipend Increase will be processed using the following effective dates and check dated:

Eligibility Criteria:

2023

Employees who meet the following criteria on 09/28/2023, 09/30/2023 and 11/05/2025 (Administration PP 16L Pay End Date) are eligible to receive the retroactive stipend increase for 10/01/2023

• Bargaining Unit = 28
• Salary Grade = 980
• Comp Rate Code = BIW
• Payroll Status = Active or Leave with Pay

2024

Employees who meet the following criteria on 09/26/2024, 09/30/2024 and 11/05/2025 (Administration PP 16L Pay End Date) are eligible to receive the retroactive stipend increase for 10/01/2024

• Bargaining Unit = 28
• Salary Grade = 980
• Comp Rate Code = BIW
• Payroll Status = Active or Leave with Pay

2025

Employees who meet the following criteria on 09/25/2025, 09/30/2025 and 11/05/2025 (Administration PP 16L Pay End Date) are eligible to receive the retroactive stipend increase for 10/01/2025

• Bargaining Unit = 28
• Salary Grade = 980
• Comp Rate Code = BIW
• Payroll Status = Active or Leave with Pay

Agency Actions:

Approved Salary Rates (Position Data Page)

Prior to processing the retroactive stipend increase, agencies must update the Approved Salary Rate field on each impacted row on the Position Data page to reflect the increased salary of the incumbent.

2023 Stipend Increase

To pay the retroactive 10/01/2023 Stipend Increase to eligible employees, agencies must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code SAC (Mass Salary Increase) and the Effective Date of 09/28/2023. The value of the stipend increase must be determined by multiplying the salary in effect on 09/30/2023 by 3.00% and rounding to the next whole dollar.  This amount must be added to the salary in effect on 09/28/2023 and the result reported in the Pay Rate field.

The minimum stipend for academic year 2023-2024 is $11,102 for eligible employees on full assistantships employed at University Center and Health Science Center campuses.

2024 Stipend Increase

To pay the retroactive 10/01/2024 Stipend Increase to eligible employees, agencies must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code SAC (Mass Salary Increase) and the Effective Date of 09/26/2024. The value of the stipend increase must be determined by multiplying the salary in effect on 09/30/2024 by 3.00% and rounding to the next whole dollar.  This amount must be added to the salary in effect on 09/26/2024 and the result reported in the Pay Rate field.

The minimum stipend for academic year 2024-2025 is $11,435 for eligible employees on full assistantships employed at University Center and Health Science Center campuses.

2025 Stipend Increase

To pay the retroactive 10/01/2025 Stipend Increase to eligible employees, agencies must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code SAC (Mass Salary Increase) and the Effective Date of 09/25/2025. The value of the stipend increase must be determined by multiplying the salary in effect on 09/30/2025 by 3.00% and rounding to the next whole dollar.  This amount must be added to the salary in effect on 09/25/2025 and the result reported in the Pay Rate field.

The minimum stipend for academic year 2025-2026 is $11,778 for eligible employees on full assistantships employed at University Center and Health Science Center campuses.

Subsequent Rows

If the employee has rows on the Job Data page subsequent to the effective date of any increase above, the agency must submit a Pay Change on the Job Action Requests page using the Reason code CSL (Cor Sal) with the effective date of the row being evaluated, the next available sequence number, and the employee’s increased rate in the Pay Rate field, provided the employee remains eligible.

Agency Actions - Reporting Retroactive Adjustments

Time Entry earnings codes that are submitted with an amount will not be adjusted automatically. Therefore, beginning in Administration Pay Period 17L, the agency must report the adjustment amount for earnings codes such as Extra Service Amount (Earnings Code ES2).

Correcting an Automatic Retroactive Adjustment

When certain conditions exist in an employee’s record, the automatic retroactive adjustment may be incorrect. Therefore, the agency is responsible for identifying employees who meet the following conditions and, if necessary, submitting the necessary adjustment.

• If an employee has a check returned or exchanged on an AC-230 for dates on or after the effective date of the payment, the payroll system does not consider the AC-230 when calculating the automatic retroactive adjustment.
• If earnings were previously reported using Earnings Code RGS (Regular Pay Salary Employee) and a date range that exceeded the number of days reported, the system will calculate the adjustment of earnings based on the number of workdays within the range.
• Adjustment for earnings that are calculated automatically such as Earnings Code LT6 (Lost Time for Biweekly's) will be calculated incorrectly if the dates previously reported as a single entry on the Time Entry page overlap the effective date of the payment. The system will calculate an adjustment for all earnings reported in a single entry based on the salary in effect on the Earnings End Date.
• For employees who had a change reported on the Job Data page since the effective date of the payment and the action resulted in an overpayment of earnings, the automatic negative retroactive adjustment may not have been processed because the overpayment was either not recoverable or was recovered using an overpayment earnings code or an AC-230. In this case, the negative retroactive adjustment may be re-generated when the payment is processed. OSC will turn off (not process) the automatic negative adjustment for these employees since in most cases these overpayments were either not recoverable or recovered using another method.

If an overpayment of earnings is identified after the automatic payment is processed but before the paycheck is received by the employee, the employee must be notified of the overpayment and the adjustment that will be reported in a subsequent pay period.

Submitting an Adjustment:

Agencies must use Earnings Code AJR (Adjust Raise) for all override Time Entry Earnings Codes requiring a manual adjustment as a result of a retro salary increase.

To process a retroactive adjustment or correct an automatic retroactive adjustment, agencies must submit the following information on the Time Entry page or the Time Entry Interface (NPAY502) using Earnings Code AJR:

Military Leave Stipend:

OSC will recalculate the military stipend amount for employees who were placed on a Paid or Unpaid Military Stipend Leave on or after the effective date of the payment as the result of new military orders.

• If the employee received a stipend, OSC will insert a row on the employee’s Job Data page effective the date the employee is entitled to the increase using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/MSC (Military Stipend Change) and will increase the employee’s biweekly stipend amount. In addition, updates will be made to all subsequent rows requiring an increased biweekly stipend amount.
• If the employee did not receive a stipend but becomes eligible for a stipend as a result of the payment, OSC will insert the following in PayServ.
  • A row on the employee’s Job Data page effective the date the employee is entitled to a stipend using the Action/Reason code of Paid Leave of Absence/MLS (Mil Stip) and the new biweekly stipend amount.
  • A row on the employee’s Job Data page for each affected subsequent row using the Action/Reason code of Pay Rate Change/MSC (Military Stipend Change) and the new biweekly stipend amount.
  • A row on the Time Entry page using Earnings Code MSP (Military Stipend Payment) to pay the stipend for each pay period the employee is eligible.
• Any additional adjustment that is required due to the increased biweekly stipend amount that will not be calculated automatically will be reported by OSC on the Time Entry page using Earnings Code AMS (Adjust Military Stipend).

General Deductions: 

All deductions for employees whose Payroll Status is Terminated, Retired, or Deceased will be automatically canceled by OSC with the exception of percentage-based dues and deductions marked “No” on the Deduction Codes list published on the OSC website.

Tax Information:

These monies are taxable income subject to all employment taxes and income taxes, will be included in the employee’s taxable gross, and reported on the employee’s Form W-2.

The adjustments (Earnings Codes AJR and ARO) and retroactive payments (Earnings Codes RXX) are supplemental taxable income and will be included in the employee’s taxable gross subject to all employment and income taxes.

Federal, State, and New York City income tax withholding will be calculated using the Aggregate method. Yonkers income tax withholding will be calculated using the Flat Rate method (1.95975% for Yonkers residents and 0.50% for Yonkers non-residents). 

Special Wage Payments for Individuals Who Filed for Retirement Social Security Benefits:

Per Internal Revenue Service Publication 957, OSC will be reporting retro payments made to individuals who have filed for Social Security benefits to the Social Security Administration (SSA).

As PayServ does not include this information, OSC will be mailing a Request for Special Wage Payment Report to inactive individuals who are 62 or older in the calendar year and to active employees with the New York Retiree Indicator checked in Modify a Person who receive the retroactive payment. Recipients of this mailing will be asked to fill out the request and return it to OSC for inclusion on the Special Wage Payment report to SSA. This report will be submitted to SSA after the close of the 2025 tax year. 

It is important that agencies ensure the New York Retiree Indicator box is checked for rehired retirees. Please see Payroll Bulletin No. 1728 for further details on the New York Retiree Indicator box.

Payroll Register and Employee’s Paycheck/Advice:

All retroactive adjustments will be displayed on the Payroll Register using the appropriate Earnings Code and the amount paid and will be displayed on the employee’s paycheck stub or direct deposit advice using the appropriate Earnings Description and the amount paid unless the number of earnings codes exceeds 13. Agencies should utilize Locked Query LQ_PCD_PAYCHECK_EARNINGS_BY_ID to identify a complete list of regular earnings and retroactive adjustments if there are more than 13 earnings codes.

Undeliverable Checks:

When a valid payroll check is undeliverable due to the agency’s inability to locate the employee, the agency should follow the Agency Actions identified in Payroll Bulletin No. 1786, Non-Negotiated and/or Undeliverable New York State Payroll Checks.

Checks issued to eligible employees who are now deceased should be returned with a completed Next of Kin Affidavit (Form AC 934-P), original death certificate and a Report of Check Exchange (Form AC 1476-P).  If a Next of Kin Affidavit has been previously submitted for a deceased employee’s payroll check, OSC will accept a photocopy of this form along with a new Report of Check Exchange.

Questions:

Questions regarding eligibility for the salary increases may be directed to the SUNY System Administration.

Questions regarding this bulletin may be directed to the Payroll Earnings mailbox.