Summary
The CYE (Calendar Year-End) 2024 project marked a historic shift for the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) as it was the first time the initiative was executed independently following the departure of Accenture. With 180 tightly coordinated tasks managed across 67 team members and multiple bureaus, CYE 2024 proved to be a highly successful and meticulously orchestrated effort. This case study outlines the planning, execution, testing, and production phases that led to the seamless generation and distribution of 1099-R forms and IRS FIRE file submissions.
Project Overview
- Project Name: CYE 2024
- Scope: Generation and Distribution of 1099-Rs; Submission of FIRE Files and Form 945
- Team Composition: 67 team members across multiple units including Accounting, NAP Admins, Data Quality Team, PIB, CIO Batch, CIO AppDev, PenPay, BIS, SWAdmins, DBAdmins, Comms
- Tooling: MS Project for Runbook tracking; RTC for CR and PIR tracking; Risk Register, Issue Log, Action Item Tracker
Phased Timeline Overview
| Phase | Period | Key Activities |
|---|---|---|
| Test Cycle 1 | August 8th – September 27th | 57 scenarios, 257 test cases |
| Test Cycle 2 | October 7th – November 27th | Revised scenarios, deeper reconciliation, DQCB tasks |
| Pre - Production | October 7th - December 15th | Print schedule, batch plan, IRS review, access management |
| Production Event | December 15th - January 27th | Pre-requisites, Data loads, form generation, validation, mailing, FIRE submission |
Entrance Criteria for Each Cycle
- Review of previous cycle's lessons learned
- Inventory of work items (CRs, PIRs, patches) migrated and requiring testing
- Updates to test scenarios based on recurring or emerging issues
- Revisions to project plan to incorporate all changes
Exit Criteria for Each Cycle
- All tasks marked 100% complete
- New lessons learned captured and reviewed
- All migrated work items tested and verified
- Tax Unit completion of 95% (Cycle) / 100% (Production) test scenario execution
- Identification of missing or outdated procedures
Pre-Production Milestones
- RTP Print Schedule: Initiated by EMT; finalized by August 30
- Batch Schedule: Aligned backwards from print end date
- IRS Review: Instructions and publications reviewed once annually by Accounting
- Project Plan Finalization: Based on risk register, issue log, action tracker, and lessons learned
- Access Review: Roles and permissions validated; unrestricted access confirmed for batch downtime periods
Pre-Production Milestones
Tax Unit revisited all scenarios each cycle. Scenarios were updated based on prior production issues, CRs, and PIRs. A reduced subset of high-risk scenarios was selected for production validation due to time constraints.
Production Event Activities
- Pre-Requisites
- Configuration Checks: 1099-R configurations, year-end controls
- Security & Access: Ensured query/report access for essential users
- Batch Hold: Paused reprint & corrections for MEBEL and PeopleSoft
- Final Batch Runs: Last ad hoc and loan jobs executed prior to year-end freeze
- Data Checks: Distribution code validation, missing DOBs, multiple earn codes, negative balances, mismatches between boxes on the 1099-R
- Load
- Year-End Data Load: Payroll and loan defaults/payoff data loaded post-approval
- Audit Reporting: NAP Admins generated reports; Tax Unit performed reconciliation
- Issue Handling: Adjustments made and reloads executed if needed
- Suppression: Select payees suppressed by Tax Unit
- Print & Correspondence
- Print Files Generation: Approval followed by Mailstream Plus & Spectrum barcode generation
- Notification Coordination: Comms & BIS engaged to set optimal email delivery date
- Close-out
- IRS Submissions: FIRE files reviewed for ERS, PFRS, SVB; Form 945 prepared
- Extensions: If required, IRS technical services contacted
- Corrections: Accumulated and processed for reprint queue once batch resumed
- 1042-S: Process and send the 1042-S by March 15th (low volume ~80)
Leadership Summary
The success of CYE 2024 was a milestone achievement for NYSLRS. Managing nearly 180 tasks across 67 personnel and transitioning ownership from Accenture, the project demonstrated NYSLRS’ ability to deliver a critical statutory milestone independently and efficiently. Careful planning, rigorous testing, and strong inter-bureau coordination laid the foundation for a high-quality and timely CYE execution. With two well-structured test cycles, thorough pre-production validations, and robust production tracking, CYE 2024 sets a new standard for year-end operations.
NYSLRS is now well-positioned to scale this success into future cycles, aided by lessons learned, updated procedures, and a more structured governance framework for work item tracking and resource allocation.