Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutRetirement Committee - Minutes - 11/07/2002City of Fort Collins COUNCIL LIAISON: COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: Genes... Emplovees Retirement Plan GENERAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT COMMITTEE November 7, 2002, MEETING MINUTES Approved, as amended, December 5, 2002 Mayor Ray Martinez Susan Lehman, Chair, 221-6813 Michele Hays -Johnson, 416-2158 Alan Krc arily �21,6788 Z �/ cs...us Bill Switzer, Vice Chair, 221-6713 Dottie Nazarenus, 204-4429 Jim O'Neill, 221-6779 OTHERS Julie Depperman & Ann Wardle (Finance) PRESENT: Nancy Wagner (Actuary, Milliman U.S.A.) Debbie Weedman (Human Resources) Greg Tempel (City Attorney's Office) CALL TO ORDER: Susan Lehman called the meeting to order at 1:21 p.m. Five members of the Committee were present, constituting a quorum. PLAN MEMBER COMMENTS: The Committee reserves this place on the agenda to receive comments from Members of the Plan or the public. It was noted that the minutes have not been posted on the website; past minutes will be forwarded to Karla Smith in the Clerk's Office. The Committee also plans to post the Quarterly Investment Report on the website. Julie Depperman said a Plan Member asked how single -sum distributions are calculated. The Member had read an article that indicated pension plans need to pay distributions based on the 30-year Treasury rate. Nancy Wagner verified that this provision does not apply to the Plan; it is a requirement for corporate plans. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Alan Krcmarik presented the October 3, 2002, meeting minutes. Jim O'Neill moved approval of the minutes and Michele Hays -Johnson seconded the motion. The Committee approved the minutes unanimously (5-0). DISCUSSION TOPICS 1. Plan Philosophy: The Committee reserves this place on the agenda to review and discuss the underlying philosophy of the Plan. The Committee did not have any items to discuss related to this topic. fgi�plS+i1a.4oRi1tFpO$rltlgvbflBs�l 580 • Fort Collins, Co 80522-0580 • (970) 221-6788 • FAX (970) 221-6782 General ployees' Retirement Committee Nuvember 7, 2002, Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 5 2. Discussion of Funding Options: The Committee continued the discussion of the impending revenue shortfall in the Plan that it had begun during prior meetings. Based on information from Nancy, Alan prepared a summary memorandum for the Mayor, as the Committee's liaison, to send to the City Manager. Alan distributed copies of the spreadsheet Nancy provided. Due to current budget constraints (the City is trying to make up about $4.4 million in the 2003 base budget), the City Manager needs options with lower costs. Alan also provided an allocation of funding support by departments. Figures were calculated for allocations in the amounts of $250,000, $460,000, and $700,000. In the memo to the City Manager, the Mayor requested $700,000 of funding support. Nancy explained that she arrived at the $700,000 per year figure by using the market value of assets. She suggested using the actuarial value of assets would provide a lower figure, probably a total of $3 million. This amount could be funded over 30 years for an estimated $250,000 per year. She also explained the rationale behind the $460,000 figure. Nancy pointed out that three years of losses is a lot of ground to make up. Alan expressed his concern that fixed income interest rates have gone way down. It will be difficult to reach the target return of 7.5%; anything higher would be unreasonable. From his perspective, any solution that relies on earnings above the 7.5% target would not be a proper strategy. The Committee discussed the timing for the request. The Committee understands that the budget constraints makes this a difficult time for requesting additional funding for the Plan, but the Committee believes that it is appropriate and prudent to make the request to the City Manager and Council as soon as possible. Alan suggested that the $250,000 request appears to be the responsible approach to take. Much of this liability comes from Members who are already retired or separated from the Plan. He thinks the Council may ask if they could liquidate this Plan, which Nancy believes would be quite costly. Nancy has those figures and she will provide them to Alan before the next meeting. The Committee agreed that it would be prudent to go with the actuarial value. Nancy pointed out it is a long-term obligation and there is no telling what will happen with the market if you go out more than a year. She also thought it made sense to start with a low number and adjust it as needed. Further, she felt it important to put Council on notice that the weak stock market has caused the Plan to lose a lot of money. The Committee reviewed the graphs prepared by Milliman U.S.A. (see attachment). The first chart depicts assets earning 7.5% from 2003 on. Assets will start growing again but as the Plan pays out benefits, they will be depleted. By 2026, they are completely depleted. (This is depicted by the dark color on the graph.) The second chart projects contributions. The solid line is what is expected using 4.5% of pay; it shows a large required contribution in 2026, as assets are completely depleted and benefit payments are expected to be almost $6 million per year. The Filename: GMIN 2002 November final General `s ployees' Retirement Committee November 7, 2002, Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 5 second line (with the markers) shows an $809,000 supplemental contribution paid annually for 20 years beginning in 2003. The Committee agreed to focus on a recommendation of $250,000 split among the various funds. They also agreed to monitor the situation and, if necessary, make a follow up recommendation to the City Manager and Council. Alan will prepare a memo with the two charts and the market value and actuarial values of the assets. Splitting the additional annual contributions among various funds brings the amount required from the general fund down to approximately $80,000. Alan moved that the Board direct him to write a memo recommending to the City Manager various options regarding the funding of the unfunded liability in the Plan, that we focus on a recommendation of $250,000 spread among the funds, and should that not be fundable in 2002 that it become part of the budget process for 2004/2005. Jim seconded the motion; the motion passed unanimously (5-0). The Committee recognizes this is a very busy time of year for the City Manager's Office but that they would like to invite a representative from the Manager's Office to attend the December meeting. 3. Annual Work Plan Preparation: The Committee's work plan is due to the City Clerk at the end of November. Susan distributed a 2003 Work Plan & Meeting Schedule draft. The Committee reviewed and revised the draft work plan. They changed the January meeting from the 2nd to the 9t", and the July meeting from the 3rd to the loth. Alan moved approval of the 2003 Work Plan and Meeting Schedule as revised, and Michele seconded the motion; the motion passed unanimously (5-0). Susan will submit this document to the City Clerk. 4. Annual Report Preparation: Susan distributed copies of the 2002 Annual Report, which is due in January 2003. The Committee reviewed and revised the report. Susan will make the changes discussed and circulate the draft via e-mail prior to the December meeting. S. Status of Proposed Part -Time Service Credit Plan Amendment: This discussion item will be carried forward to the next meeting. 6. Monthly Investment Update: Julie distributed the monthly investment report. The Plan portfolio was down 8.26% year to date as of October 31, 2002. The Plan continues to outperform both the fixed income and domestic mutual fund benchmarks. The market value of Plan assets is $28.7 million. Julie and Alan have been analyzing international mutual funds to determine a suitable addition to the Plan portfolio. They decided to purchase shares in the Dreyfus Emerging Markets Fund, which is a mid -cap value fund with below average risk, above -average returns, and one of the lowest expense ratios in its category. $100,000 of this fund was purchased earlier this week. Julie and Alan plan to purchase a total of $500,000 to $800,000 of this fund. The quarterly mutual fund compliance report was distributed and discussed. Julie reported that there were not a lot of changes or surprises. Filename: GMIN 2002 November final Genera' iployees' Retirement Committee Nuvember 7, 2002, Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 5 7. Other Business: Nancy announced that Milliman U.S.A. has transferred an additional actuary from Oregon, Pat Kahle, who has a lot of experience in the public sector. This person will be responsible for the Plan in Nancy's absence. Adjournment: There being no further business, the Committee adjourned at 3:05 p.m. TOPICS FOR NEXT REGULAR MEETING The next regular meeting of the Committee will be on December 5, 2002, at 1:15 p.m. in the Council Information Center of City Hall. The tentative agenda includes: Plan Member Comments Approval of Minutes Plan Philosophy Discussion of Funding Options Annual Report Preparation Status on Proposed Part -Time Plan Change Monthly Investment Update Other Business GENERAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT PLAN WEB PAGE: The General Employees' web page can be found at www.fc(iov.comlcityclerk/retirement.l)hp. The Committee's 2001 Annual Report, 2002 Work Plan, and monthly minutes (after the Committee approves them) are available at this site. 2002 Meeting Schedule: The regular meeting time for the Committee is at 1:15 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. The regular location is the Council Information Center at City Hall. For 2002, the Committee has scheduled the meetings as shown below: e NOW Filename: GMIN 2002 November final Genera!" ployees' Retirement Committee Nuvember 7, 2002, Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 5 Projections of the Market Value of Assets $45 $40 $35 --__.-_ $30 $25 $20 - - - E $15 k $10 $5 $0 ($5) ($10) 2002 2007 2012 2017 2022 2027 2032 2037 2042 2047 2052 2057 2062 2067 2072 Projections of the Contributions $7,000 $6,000 --- -.. H $5,000 -- -- - - .-_ o _ w $4,000 $3,000 - - - $2,000 $1,000 $0 2002 2007 2012 2017 2022 2027 2032 2037 2042 2047 2052 2057 2062 2067 2072 Filename: GMIN 2002 November final