Important State Tax Withholding Information For Retirees

Thursday, January 12, 2012

LANSING – With the new provisions pertaining to state income tax on retirement income having begun on January 1, 2012, Senator Caswell would like to inform retirees about state income tax withholding options for their pension payments.  As many retirees born between January 1, 1946 and December 31, 1952 will qualify for the income tax deduction of $20,000 for individuals or $40,000 for couples, they will not need to have any income tax withheld from their pensions at all.  Most retirees born before January 1, 1946 will also not need any income tax withheld from their pension payments.

Many retirees may have already received information from their pension administrators about how much, if any, Michigan income tax they would like withheld from their pension payments.  However, for retirees that have not received withholding information from their pension administrator, they have several options for declaring how much state income tax they would like withheld from their payments.  The first step they should take is to call their pension administrator to determine if the company has its own withholding form.  If a company does not have its own form, the Department of Treasury has a W-4P withholding certificate for pensions and annuities that retirees can send to their pension administrator to indicate how much, if any, Michigan income tax to withhold from their pension checks.  You may download the form at http://tinyurl.com/W-4Pform or contact Senator Caswell to receive one by mail.

State of Michigan retirees may make changes to the withholding on their state or school pensions through the Office of Retirement Services’ “miAccount” website at http://tinyurl.com/miAccount.  You may also download a withholding form to mail to ORS at http://tinyurl.com/ORS-Form or contact Senator Caswell to receive one by mail.

To obtain the forms listed above or for further information, you may contact Senator Caswell toll-free at 1-866-305-0316 or SenBCaswell@senate.mi.gov.