PAY SMART. Presidents Corner Submitted by: Amy Duffer MARCH In This Issue

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1 PAY SMART MARCH In This Issue President Corner 2 TSWB Info 3 Conference 4 Multi State 5 Congress 6 NPW 7 Tax Updates Community 8 9 Officer Spotlight 10 Events & Officers Birthdays 13 Presidents Corner Submitted by: Amy Duffer Welcome to a new year with the Greater Nashville Chapter! I am so thankful and honored to be this year s President of the Greater Nashville Chapter of American Payroll Association. Our membership currently consists of 134 people representing 90 companies in the city of Nashville and surrounding areas. We have several exciting things coming up for the chapter this year. We are holding a mid-year membership drive, with the prize of a free APA webinar registration! You will receive an entry for each meeting you attend (between February and July), for each new member who joins and lists you as their referral, and for each guest you bring to a meeting. Currently, we are holding a March Madness Membership special. Non-members can join the chapter and register for the March 16, 2017 meeting for $ The membership will be good through September 2017! There are many benefits to local chapter membership such as discounts for monthly meetings and statewide registration! Members save $65.00 on statewide registration alone, so it is definitely worth the cost of membership! Recommend chapter membership to colleagues or friends who work in payroll or human resources. This membership will be good for the remainder of the membership year which ends September 30, Also, our chapter has a new Facebook page. Please join, like, and share our page for an opportunity to win a webinar from APA! The link is I also wanted to encourage everyone to apply for our 2017 scholarship opportunities. The application deadline has been extended to March 31, 2017 and winners will be announced at the April meeting. The link is uploads/3/8/2/8/ /2017_gnc_apa_scholarship_application.pdf Upcoming Events See page 11 or visit the GNC website under chapter calendar. GRAND PRIZE TN Statewide Conference, Murfreesboro, TN One Registration ($225 registration value) AND 3 Day/2 night stay at Embassy (does not include food or travel to the site). 1ST RUNNER UP One Registration to Greater Nashville APA Chapter ½ Day Conference AND One Registration to any of APA s 2017 Webinar s (live or on-demand). 2nd RUNNER UP APA National One Day course held in Nashville, TN One registration: APA One-Day course in Nashville, TN. Choose from: Payroll Tax Forum 06/16/2017 Garnishment Forum 08/06/2017 Year End and Preparing for /20/2017 Other sessions may be available but not yet scheduled.

2 P a ge 2 P a y Smart M a rch 2017 President s Corner Continued.. Another fun event we are planning are study sessions for the CPP and FPC certification exams. Typically the certification exams are held twice a year for those interested in advancing their career opportunities. Our Chapter will be offering study groups for the Fall exam period to help prepare for that exam. CEU s can also be earned by attending and/or teaching these sessions. The sessions as well as the test, covers predominantly the 14 chapters, in the Payroll Source. Our hope is to offer the class via live streaming for those who cannot attend physically. More information to come on this. If you would like to participate as a student or by teaching a session, please notify me and we will loop you in on the planning for this. There are several major projects this year in addition to the study sessions which we need YOUR help and input to make them successful! This year the Tennessee Statewide Conference will be held in Murfreesboro this year at the Embassy Suites on August 9th through the 11th and is Casino themed Pay Rolling on the River. There is still time to register. The registration material is on our Tennessee Statewide website ( and there is additional information in the newsletter. National Payroll Week (known best as NPW) is another big even for the chapter. This is celebrated nationally the first week of September. This is the week that we try to let America know that without payroll professionals, this country would come to a halt. Our Chapter celebration is usually linked to our Community Service Project. The Hope Lodge has historically been our selected charity to serve in honor of this event. If you have other charities that we could be involved in, please get those suggestions in to us. Some of our members will also be going to high schools in the area to train students how to understand the deductions on their paycheck. Please encourage participation in this event at your company and if you would like to help with planning our NPW celebration, please let us know. Also, National APA helps you celebrate, by giving you a chance to win an average American s weekly paycheck and a trip for two to Las Vegas. All that you have to do is go to and look under the sub-page for NPW or go to and take the five-minute NPW on-line survey called Getting Paid in America. This will automatically enter you in the drawing. Greater Nashville Chapter half-day seminar is another opportunity to be involved. Please share topics you are interested in and make speaker recommendations soon. This is FOR YOU, so please share your voice in the planning of this event! The date is still to be determined and will be set soon. Thank you for being the BEST PART of the Greater Nashville Chapter! I look forward to a fun and exciting year with you all! Sincerely, Amy Duffer Chapter President Upcoming Meeting March 16, 2017 Guest Speaker Jelani Bonner, Edward Jones Investments Put your Retirement Plan to Work / Leave It, Move It, Roll It, Take It: Know Your Employer Retirement Plan Options Encourages participating in an employer-sponsored plan, explains why it s important to start saving now, suggests two additional tax advantaged ways to save outside the employer plan, and encourages roll over of money from previous employer plans. Options for what to do with money from a previous employer sponsored plan pros and cons of taking a lump sum, leaving assets in a plan or moving to another plan, rolling over to a traditional or Roth IRA or receiving annuity payments from a pension. This topic will include how to establish internal and external payroll procedures for salary deferrals in 40kK plans.

3 P a ge 3 P a y Smart M a rch 2017 TSWB TN Statewide Payroll Conference August RCH Credits! TSWB along with all TN local APA chapters, Greater Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and Chattanooga sincerely appreciate the generosity & support of our Sponsors!

4 P a ge 4 P a y Smart M a rch 2017 MARK YOUR CALENDAR TN STATEWIDE AUGUST 9 11 Are you gambling with your payroll?... Don t Miss Out On this incredible Learning opportunity! Breakout Sessions General Session Key Note Speakers Vendor Hall Networking Great Food DJ & Dancing

5 P a ge 5 P a y Smart M a rch 2017 MULTI STATE Payroll One Day Conference April 5th - Nashville, TN L E A D E R S H I P

6 P a ge 6 P a y Smart M a rch 2017 Upcoming APA Events APA CONGRESS Orlando, TN May Our very own Bonetta Bond, FPC has been competing in the Battle of the Bands contest, along with 15 APA members. As they enter their 4th challenge I would encourage you to use the link provided below to login through Facebook and vote for the PAYMANIACS! Be sure to share with your friends, family, chapter members, etc. You can vote once per day per Facebook account. Public Relations and Social Media Specialist (210) , ext bgaskins@americanpayroll.org

7 P a ge 7 P a y Smart M a rch NPW It s Not To Early to Start Planning! Start thinking about volunteering to teach one of the Money Matters Courses at your local high school. In 2016 Michelle Hall, CPP taught classes at Creek Wood High School in White Bluff, TN! Lisa Odom, FPC, ADP-CPS Client Learning Specialist III, ADP Director NPW Lisa.m.odom@adp.com

8 P a ge 8 P a y Smart M a rch 2017 TAX UPDATES Article Submitted by Jan Taylor, CPP The IRS has released the 2017 Publication 15-A. The 2017 amount for one withholding allowance on an annual basis remains at $4,050. The Social Security tax rate is 6.2% each for employees and employers, unchanged from The new social security wage base limit is $127,200. Medicare tax rate is 1.45% for employers and employees in 2017, unchanged from Medicare tax does not have a wage base limit. An additional 0.9% Medicare tax must be withheld on taxable wages paid to an employee in excess of $200,000 in a calendar year. The 2017 Form 941 and Publication 15-A can be downloaded at: On February 16, the NY industrial Board of Appeals ruled that the NY regulations regarding payment of wages by pay card and direct deposit, which were scheduled to take effect on March 7, 2017, are invalid and are revoked. The NY DOL has 60 days to appeal the ruling. On January 31, President Trump signed the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Access and Oversight Act of This legislation authorizes GAO access to the National Directory of New Hires which will provide the GAO with enhanced tools to oversee federal programs and ensure it is able to obtain the records needed to audit, evaluate, and investigate federal agencies. Certain Obama administration regulations face uncertain future. Several of the regulations in question are payroll related, including raising the salary threshold for the white collar exemption, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rules for prepaid accounts, and the Affordable Care Act. Stay tuned to APA publications and the news for updates on these important topics throughout the year. Did you know that the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) reported that $32.4 billion in child support was collected by state and tribal programs in and 75% of this money was collected through withholding from employee paychecks. Preliminary child support data predicts that $32.7 billion was collected in fiscal year 2016 by the OCSE which is consistent with the steady rise from previous years. In April 2017 APA will release its new online reference library geared toward payroll professionals who want to stay up to date on all of their state and federal payroll compliance requirements. The Payroll Source Plus is APA s new online, subscription based payroll reference library. Subscribers will have online access to 4 essential APA texts including: The Payroll Source, Federal Payroll Tax Laws & Regulations, Federal Payroll Non-Tax Laws and Regulations, and APA Guide to State Payroll Laws. Also included with be the biweekly electronic newsletter called PayState Update. The Santa Fee New Mexico minimum age increased to $ an hours from $10.91 an hour on City law requires an annual adjustment to the minimum wage rat3 based on inflation.

9 P a ge 9 P a y Smart M a rch 2017 Community Service Update In 2016 the Chapter partnered with the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge to feed 50 residents during National Payroll Week in September. We also partnered with the American Heart Association to participate in their annual Walk to raise money to help find a cure for heart disease.. Be watching for exciting community service partnership opportunities in 2017! Ekaterina Manning, CPP Director Community Service

10 P a ge 10 P a y Smart M a rch 2017 Officer Spotlight Janet McReynolds, CPP Secretary How long have you been a member of APA? March 2011 What are some of the benefits you have received through APA membership both National and Local? On the National level, the education and updates on charges in payroll law is invaluable. It has helped me so much in confirming what I thought I knew about payroll and has also helped me know what I needed to learn to keep in compliance with the changing world of payroll. On the Local level, getting to know other payroll professionals who face the same challenges every day that I face has been so helpful. To be able to run unusual payroll problems by someone who has faced the same problem has given me a confidence to be able to speak up and have a voice when payroll questions arise. How long have you been working in the payroll industry, and how did you get started? I have worked in payroll for 22 years. I accepted a new job offer when my kids were small and part of my job was payroll processing. I really didn t know a lot about payroll at that time, but, I found that I really enjoyed that part. Tell me about the key people that have influenced you or made a strong impact on your career success? My mom was a huge influence on my life. She struggled with rheumatoid arthritis, but she kept a positive outlook and kept going through tough times. I have been fortunate to work at places that have encouraged training and developing new skills. I have also had co-workers & supervisors that challenged me and helped me learn new computer skills. How often do you process your payroll, and what system do you use? We process payroll bi-weekly in -house and use Ultipro. What has been your greatest accomplishment? My greatest accomplishment...that s a tough one. Of course, raising my 2 wonderful kids would take first place. Also, I finished my bachelor s degree after my kids were in high school and college. Then in 2012, I passed the CPP exam. If you weren t in payroll, what career could you see yourself working? I really enjoy training and helping people learn to do things they didn t think they could do. So, I would say something in the field of training others to help empower them to be all that they can be. What are your hobbies and/or personal interests? I love traveling! Hiking and the outdoors and Titan s Football are also at the top of my list. I enjoy leading women s groups at my church as well. What payroll trends do you see growing in the future? Advanced technology and employees taking a more hands on approach with access on their mobile devices; also more complex compliance issues with the changes in healthcare and legislation. Today it seems like the working world in general is changing more quickly than ever and we need to take every opportunity to learn as much as we can to stay on top of the trends ahead.

11 P a ge 11 P a y Smart M a rch 2017 Events Schedule Payroll Issues for Multi-State Employers April 5, 2017 Nashville, TN Payroll Tax Forum June 16, 2017 Nashville, TN Garnishment Forum August 9, 2017 Nashville, TN 2017 Monthly GNC Chapter Meetings Millennium Maxwell House Hotel February 16 September 21 March 16 October 19 April 20 November 16 May 11 December 14 June 15 July 20 TN Statewide Payroll Conference August 9 11, 2017 Theme: Pay Rolling on the River Are you Gambling with your Payroll? Location: Murfreesboro, TN APA - 35th Annual Congress May 16 20, 2017 Orlando, FL National Payroll Week September 4-8, 2017 Links TSWB TN Statewide Board National APA Greater Nashville Chapter TSWB MULTI YEAR Sponsor

12 P a ge 12 P a y Smart P a y Smart M a rch 2017 Greater Nashville Chapter Officer s Title President: President Elect: Name Amy Duffer Lisa Wachter, CPP Treasurer: Secretary: Director Of Membership: Director Of Education: Director Of Public Relations: APA Liaison: Government Liaison: Director of NPW: Director of Fundraising /Community Service: Website Administrator: Help Desk Administrator: News Letter Editor: Bonetta Bond, FPC Janet McReynolds, CPP Valerie Phillips, CPP Jay Sharp, ADP-CPS Melinda Stewart, CPP Kathy Pack, CPP Jan Taylor, CPP Lisa Odom, FPC, ADP-CPS Ekaterina Manning, CPP Amy Duffer Open Lisa Wachter, CPP Chapter Mission Statement: To PROVIDE economical, quality education and networking opportunities to Middle Tennessee Payroll Professionals. PROMOTE excellence within our profession. MOTI- VATE and EMPOWER our members by providing the tools to be knowledgeable concerning the constantly changing and complex federal, state, and local regulatory issues.

13 P a ge 13 P a y Smart M a rch 2017 Greater Nashville Chapter of The American Payroll Association P. O. Box Nashville, TN Newsletter Published by Lisa Wachter, CPP Phone: Cell: lwachter15@gmail.com TN APA Chapters Region 7. Regional Advisor: Sue Baptista, CPP Sbaptista@arn.com March Birthdays Mar 1 Teresa Mason Mar 7 Pamela Warner, CPP Mar 8 Kim Slack Mar 19 Sherry Dwyer, CPP Mar 20 Donna Conley Mar 30 Eden Wells, CPP, PHR