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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRetirement Committee - Minutes - 05/02/2002GENERAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT COMMITTEE MAY 2, 2002, MEETING MINUTES Approved July 11, 2002 COUNCIL LIAISON: Mayor Ray Martinez COMMITTEE Susan Lehman, Chair, 221-6813 Dottie Nazarenus, 204-4429 MEMBERS Bill Switzer, Vice -Chair, 221-6713 Jim O'Neill, 221-6779 PRESENT: Michele Hays -Johnson, 416-2158 Alan Krcmarik, 221-6788 OTHERS Greg Tempel, City Attorney's Office Julie Depperman, Finance PRESENT: Debbie Weedman, Human Resources CALL TO ORDER: Susan Lehman called the meeting to order at 1:19 p.m. PLAN MEMBER COMMENTS: The Committee reserves this place on the agenda to receive comments from Members of the Plan or the public. There were no comments at this meeting. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Alan Krcmarik handed out the minutes from the April 12, 2002, meeting. The Committee suggested some formatting changes. Michele Hays -Johnson moved to approve the minutes and Jim O'Neill seconded the motion. The Committee unanimously approved the minutes, 6-0. DISCUSSION ITEMS 1. Retirement Philosophy: The Committee reserves this topic on the agenda to review and discuss the underlying philosophy of the Plan. At a prior meeting, the Committee discussed extending the death benefit to a surviving spouse was discussed. Actuary Nancy Wagner had provided a cost estimate of the proposed change, but the cost would require a large increase in the City contribution. Bill Switzer noted that the high cost of the proposed plan amendment lowered his impetus for further consideration of the change. 2. Actuarial Review: Each year the Committee reviews the performance of the Actuary in supporting the Committee and completing the annual valuation report. In 2001, the Committee developed a list of ways the Actuary could improve upon their services. To help facilitate the discussion at the meeting, Jim distributed copies of the review letter from last year. Committee Members made the following comments about the Actuary's performance: Milliman has reduced billing errors, only one error in last six months. There is concern that the Actuary firm provide knowledgeable staff to attend the meeting and work on the Plan. The concern is mostly about whom would be Nancy's backup in the event she could not attend or if she leaves the firm. Due to scheduling conflicts, Nancy missed one meeting that she was expected to attend. Milliman offered to send Joel Stewart, but the Committee did not know if he understood our Plan or is qualified to provide actuarial advice. Services have been good since November 1. Filename: GMIN Shay 2 Revised.doc General Employees' Retirement Committee May 2, 2002, Meeting Minutes Page 2 of 5 • There is probably room for additional improvement, but there is no need to go out to bid for actuarial services. • Nancy has been good support for most of the issues the Committee has had to address. • If the Committee needs to have an actuary at each meeting, we need to be specific. • The Committee discussed what a Plan of this size can expect in the way of service. The Plan is relatively small and closed to new members. Perhaps, actuarial firms are not interested in this size and type of plan. • Milliman's service has improved. The Committee should look at opportunities to save money. If the Committee does not need the actuary at specific meetings, then we should let them know in advance not to come. • A previous Milliman employee had provided incorrect advice. Nancy is still learning about our Plan, but has done much better over the last several months. • On some of the tasks for 2002, they have been ahead of schedule. Last year (2001), they were not meeting the targets. • The tables for the 401(a)(9) calculations were not available as of the meeting. The information for the Annual Financial Report was also a little late. • Milliman completed the Personal Retirement Planning Statements very efficiently this year. The longer the relationship, the better the service on recurring tasks. • The Committee found it should renew the contract for another year. If concerns arise, the Committee should communicate them to the Actuary as they occur. On behalf of the Committee, Alan should prepare a letter to renew the contract for another year. Alan moved to renew the contract. Bill seconded the motion. The Committee adopted the motion unanimously, 6-0. Susan asked support staff to keep the Committee informed of any concerns or issues. 3. Preparation for Council Review: Each year the Council conducts reviews of some of the boards and commissions. This year is the Committee's turn for Council review. Council has scheduled the review for July 23, 2002, at the Council Study Session. To facilitate the review, the City Clerk distributed a short questionnaire. Alan reviewed proposed answers to the questions. The Committee made a few wording changes. The final version is attached. Alan will file the completed questionnaire with the City Clerk's Office. The Council expects the Chair and Vice -chair to attend the meeting on July 23. As staff liaison, Alan will also attend. 4. Monthly Investment Update: Each month Finance Department staff provide an update of the investment conditions and results. Julie Depperman noted that it has been difficult stretch for investments, especially mutual fund holdings. The major market indexes have been down for the past month; the NASDAQ was down 10% since the end of March and the Dow Jones Industrials were down 3%. According to the investment policies, staff conducts a compliance report every quarter. Staff reviews each fund for quarterly returns, manager turnover, and comparisons with peers in the investment markets. Staff uses the Morningstar publications and ratings to conduct the review. Given the investment environment at this time, the Plan's investments are doing about as well as one could expect. Using the Morningstar software, Julie compiled a report that shows that the Plan's investments earned 4 stars (out of a possible 5) for the most recent quarter. General t,nployses' Retirement Committee May 2, 2002, Meeting Minutes Page 3 of 5 5. Status on Part-time Change: The Committee has been reviewing a proposed change to the Plan to better match service credits with actual time worked. In some cases, employees that switch between part-time and full-time receive more service credit than the corresponding amount the City has contributed into the Plan. Staff has developed a method to correct for this situation. The Committee asked staff to review the remaining members of the Plan to see how many Members the proposed change would affect. The review entails reviewing each active Member's file, going back to the time they started with the City. Julie estimated that there is about two months of work remaining on this project. She noted her hope that Human Resources would be able to help in the coming weeks. Other Business • Susan noted she had received a brochure about a seminar on investing during the recession. • The Committee found that Nancy should attend the next meeting. • Due to a light agenda for June, Susan moved to cancel the regular June meeting. Alan seconded the motion. The Committee approved the motion unanimously, 6-0. Dottie Nazarenus had to leave during the meeting. • The Committee's next regular meeting is on July 11, 2002. Adjournment: Susan adjourned the meeting at 3:44 p.m. Topics for Next Regular Meeting Plan Member Comments Approval of Minutes Retirement Philosophy Preparation for Council Review Monthly Investment Update Legal Issues - Distribution to Terminated Vested Members Status on Proposed Part-time Plan Change Other Business General Employees' Retirement Plan Web Page The General Employees' web page can be found at www.fcgov.com/city clerk. The Committee's 2001 Annual Report, 2002 Work Plan, and monthly minutes are available at this site. 2002 Meeting Schedule The Committee meets 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 set the following meetings: dandaFy 49 APF 1 4 Fneved to APFil 12 July 11 October 3 €ebRaFy 7 May-2 August 1 November 7 Mareh 7 d1­1A9 6 GARGAII September 5 December 5 General Employees' Retirement Committee May 2, 2002, Meeting Minutes Page 4 of 5 Boards and Commissions Periodic Review Questionnaire DATE PREPARED: May 2002 BOARD/COMMISSION NAME: General Employees' Retirement Committee LIST OF MEMBERS: Susan Lehman, Chair Bill Switzer, Vice -chair Michele Hays -Johnson Dottie Nazarenus Jim ONeill Alan Krcmarik COUNCIL LIAISON: Mayor Ray Martinez 1. Are the current duties of the board, as defined by City Code, realistic? If not, what duties would you suggest be added and/or deleted? Yes, the current duties are realistic. Currently, the City's 457 Deferred Compensation Plan and 401(a) Money Purchase Plans do not have an advisory board. Employees that are participants in these plans have the responsibility to make their own decisions regarding investments. To help members keep up with changes in these plans and improve educational opportunities about the plans, it may be helpful to have an advisory board. 2. Is the board's workload (annual work plan) too much; too little; about right? Explain. The Committee's workload is about right. Two to three years ago, the Committee initiated a partial conversion of the Plan. The conversion required many extra meetings for the Committee and a special series of educational programs for Members of the Plan. It was difficult for the support staff (from Finance, City Attorney's Office, and Human Resources) to keep up with the efforts required. Since the completion of the conversion, the work load has moderated to just about the right amount. 3. Does the board effectively accomplish its annual work plan? The Committee has been able to achieve its annual work plan. The Committee schedules 12 meetings per year, one each month. The Committee may be able to reduce the number of meetings in the future. 4. Are board meetings conducted in an effective manner? What could be done to improve board meetings? General Liaployses' Retirement Committee May 2, 2002, Meeting Minutes Page 5 of 5 The Committee believes its meetings are conducted effectively. The Committee would like to rotate its meetings from location to location. Currently, we meet at the CIC Room in the City Hall. We may use other locations to reach more participants or to be closer to staff support in the 215 N. Mason Building, however, there is a charge for parking for Members and support staff that may have to drive to meetings. 5. Is the current size of the board appropriate? Yes. The Conunittee has six Members. Council added the provision for the sixth Member just a few years ago and reserved this slot for an employee that has retired from the City who is a Member of the Plan. The Committee may have one "outside" person, that is, someone that is not in or has never been part of the Plan or an employee of the City. The Committee believes the addition of the retired person slot to the Committee's membership has proven beneficial. 6. Are communications between the board and Council effective? What could be done to improve these communications? The Committee believes that communications have been very good. When we need Council liaison assistance, it has been supportive. The Council has adopted just about all of the resolutions and ordinances that the Committee has forwarded without controversy. To improve communication in the future, we may invite the liaison to important meetings, for example, those regarding Plan changes and the annual valuation report. 7. Other Comments: With the changes made in recent years, the Plan is not available to new employees. Many younger employees that were previously in the Plan elected to convert to the money purchase option. Because of the "closed nature" of the Plan, it is very important that the investment assumptions be met. In the last two years, the investment markets have been very weak. The Committee is monitoring this situation closely. The current contribution rate is 4.5% and this level has been sufficient to maintain the Plan. If investment results do not meet the Plan assumptions, it is likely that the rate would have to be increased. The Committee will keep Council informed of issues in the future. We expect that there will be Plan changes required by the IRS later this year.