July 2026 Payroll News

OMES will be accepting the final budget report with prior year (FY 2026) allotment deficits as long as the PeopleSoft Financials Allotment Budget and Available Cash (ABC) report is also provided, showing available amounts.

FY 2026 will show on the budget report with no allotment available, which will create a false deficit. We are working on a solution for the report, but until then, the ABC report for any prior fiscal year deficits will be accepted. The ABC report should have the class fund, department, fiscal year and allotment available highlighted for any prior fiscal year deficits.

No deficits for FY 2027 allotments or cash will be accepted. The payroll will be released once verified that all funding is available.

Agencies are encouraged to promote electronic-only access to year-end forms. The following information is provided for distribution to employees:  

To avoid waiting for your 2026 W-2 to arrive by mail, you can opt to go paperless only. When you choose to go paperless only, you will receive an electronic copy of the document that can be downloaded and printed earlier than if you elect both paper and electronic. Once you select to receive an electronic-only copy, you do not need to make the selection again in the future. To make a change in Workday@OK, go from the main menu to Personal > Benefits and Pay > Pay > Tax. Under Tax Forms Printing Elections, select Edit and choose: Receive electronic copy of my Year End Tax Documents. Select OK to save the change. 

An employee’s legal name and Social Security number (SSN) must be verified against the employee’s Social Security card. If the name or number on the Social Security card does not match what is entered in Workday@OK, the change should not be approved.

Name changes should be made only based on the Social Security card, not a driver's license, marriage certificate or other documentation. Request that the employee provide an updated Social Security card before any change is made in the system. Employees must apply for a replacement card with the correct legal name and SSN combination through the Social Security website.

This is critical for reporting not only the W-2 wages at year-end, but also the Affordable Care Act-required health offer and coverage information. If the name and SSN do not match Social Security Administration (SSA) records, the employee’s wages may not be credited to the employee’s Social Security account.

Additionally, if the name and SSN do not match, the employee may not be reported correctly for Affordable Care Act purposes, which could result in an IRS letter to the employee regarding possible lack of health coverage or an IRS letter to the agency for failing to offer coverage.

To help prevent mismatches, OMES verifies employee name and SSN combinations several times throughout the year through the SSA website. Agencies with mismatched results are notified and are required to make the necessary corrections to ensure year-end reporting is accurate. This process also reduces the risk of information reporting penalties.

If desired, employees may enter the name they currently use in Workday@OK as their preferred name. However, the employee record and W-2 information must match the legal name on the Social Security card.

Agencies are reminded to review RPT00234 - Deductions Register for employee contribution amounts. The combined contribution amount for the SoonerSave pretax and Roth plans must equal the minimum required contribution for the period (biweekly = $11.54; monthly = $25.00). If the combined amount for any employee is less than the required minimum amount for the period, OPERS should not receive any contributions. The employee amount must be removed from the payroll, along with the employer share and match. If an agency fails to catch this, they will be notified by OPERS to reverse the contributions in a future payroll so that both the employee and agency can be reimbursed.