Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutRetirement Committee - Minutes - 02/17/1993FORT COLLINS GENERAL EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMITTEE FEBRUARY 17, 1993 MEETING MINUTES COUNCIL LIAISON: Loren Maxey MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: Jerry P. Brown Mollie Mercer Dennis Sumner Dave Meyer Alan Krcmarik (Member & Staff Support) OTHERS PRESENT: Angelina Powell, former member and Pension Education Program presenter. Mary Crumbaker (Staff Support - Legal) Jaime Mares, head of Employee Development. Sue Wilcox (Staff Support - Secretary) Don Mazanec of William M. Mercer, Inc., the City's actuarial firm. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Dennis Sumner called the meeting to order at 11:30 a.m. in the Finance Conference Room on February 17, 1993. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the February 4th meeting were reviewed and corrected. Jerry Brown moved and Dave Meyer seconded a motion to approve the minutes as revised. The motion carried unanimously. ITEMS OF NOTE: Mollie Mercer will retire on March 31st and will not be eligible to continue serving on the GERC. Rita Harris of the City Clerk's Office has contacted the GERC liaison with Council, Loren Maxey, and asked him how he would like to proceed with naming a replacement. (See Post Note) The Committee members expressed disappointment that Mollie could not continue as a member of the Committee. Her service has been very valuable and appreciated. Due to other commitments, Angelina Powell had to leave early, so Pension Education topics were addressed first. REVIEW OF DISCUSSION TOPICS: The agenda was approved as presented. DISCUSSION TOPICS: 1. PENSION EDUCATION PROGRAM A. Training Classes MAIN POINTS: The members reported that the employee presentations are going very well. Sue noted that attendance through February 17th had been 308 people, with 10 more presentations to be made. Some comments and questions from .the presentations were discussed and clarified. CONCLUSIONS/DECISIONS: The classes continue to be well -received. Based on comments in the presentations, "automatic" options listed in the "Planning for Your Retirement" booklet should be described more clearly. -1- 2. NEXT STEPS: The presentations will continue. Sue will put a reminder about the remaining sessions on the HPDesk sign -on screen. Fort Notes Articles MAIN POINTS: The decision was made at the last meeting to have more question/answer articles in Fort Notes beginning in March. Angelina has agreed to coordinate this. This is an opportunity to answer plany of the questions heard at the education sessions. In the presentations many Plan members indicated they needed cost information before completing the survey. Based on analyses done by Mercer since 1988, the following estimates were available: % OF PAYROLL Rule of 80 (at age 55) 1.5% Survivor Benefits if Death before 55 yrs .70% Use final 3 yrs pay (instead of 5 yrs) .5% Full vesting at 5 yrs. .01% All of these percentages are estimates based on two assumptions: 1) The GERP is the ONLY plan provided by the City and 2) only one of these options was changed. If more than one of the options were instituted at the same time, the percentages would change. CONCLUSIONS/DECISIONS: Many of the questions raised at the education sessions will be addressed. The members agreed to use the March FortNotes article to publicize the coming survey, which will include a range of cost estimates for various options. It must be made clear that the estimates are based on continuation of the present plan only and advising that combining several of the options might alter those cost estimates. In response to additional concerns expressed during the presentations, the March issue will also try to clarify the defined contribution option. There was some discussion about the details of the defined contribution plans that the City currently has available, the contribution rates, and who is eligible to participate in each. NEXT STEPS: Angelina will draft an article for the March FortNotes and will circulate it for review. Jaime will research the defined contribution plan options currently available to employees and provide this information at the next meeting. Don Mazanec will provide the estimated ranges of costs for the various options and work with Amy on the format for providing this information on the survey form. NOTE: In order to keep their other commitments, Angelina Powell and Jaime Mares left at this point in the meeting. EMPLOYEE SURVEY MAIN POINTS: Prior to the meeting, the members had received a copy of the 2nd survey draft, reviewed it, and asked other employees not -2- 0 • directly involved in the GER Plan to complete the survey to make us aware of parts that need to be clarified or changed. These suggestions were reviewed and revisions made. The schedule and steps for final review were also covered. CONCLUSIONS/DECISIONS: A number of changes were suggested, including formatting changes for clarity. NEXT STEPS: Don will convey the changes to Amy, who is to FAX a final draft on February 24th to Dave and Sue. Dave and Sue will then FAX any final changes to Amy on the 25th. The final survey form, ready to print, will be provided by March 1. 3. RETIREMENT BENEFIT QUESTIONS RELATED TO EMPLOYEES INJURED DURING EMPLOYMENT WITH THE CITY MAIN POINTS: Because the Committee members would be considering personnel questions related to how periods of injury -related leave directly affected service credits for three individuals, Dave Meyer moved that the Committee conduct an Executive Session. Alan Krcmarik seconded the motion. The vote was 5-0 in favor of the motion. Jerry P. Brown then excused himself and left the meeting at this point because he had been Bob Hatten's supervisor while Bob was employed with the City, thus creating a conflict of interest situation. A. BOB HATTEN CONCLUSIONS/DECISIONS: Upon returning to the regular session Alan Krcmarik moved that the Committee approve credited service for Bob Hatten for the 22 months during which he was assigned to part-time modified duty (the entire period of 23 months from date of hire (March 21, 1988) through final termination (January 26, 1990), minus the 25- day period of leave -without -pay, for a total of 22 months). Mr. Hatten should also receive credited service for the maximum allowable months (24) for which he received a Workers Compensation lump sum benefit, noting that the termination date of January 26, 1990 was not affected by the two-year credit associated with the Workers Compensation award. Dave Meyer seconded the motion. The vote was 4-0 in favor of the motion. He will not accrue any further credited service unless he returns to work for the City in employment covered under the plan. Since a minimum of 6 years credited service is necessary to qualify for any benefit under the Plan, Mr. Hatten is ineligible for any benefit at this time. NEXT STEPS: Based on the above decision, Mr. Hatten's total credited service is 46 months. These conclusions will be forwarded to Employee Development Department for inclusion in Bob Hatten's personnel file. NOTE: When discussions and decisions on Bob Hatten were completed, Jerry P. Brown returned to the meeting. -3- B. JACK SEHESTEDT CONCLUSIONS/DECISIONS: A motion was made and seconded that the Committee approve December 27, 1988 as Mr. Sehestedt's recovery date and that his credited service be established at 10 years and 5 months. For purposes of possible re-employment, Mr. Sehestedt's termination from employment was recognized as December 28, 1988. Mollie Mercer seconded the motion. The vote was 5-0 in favor of the motion. NEXT STEPS: Mr. Sehestedt's credited service is 10 years and 5 months. For purposes of possible re-employment, Mr. Sehestedt's termination from employment was recognized as December 28, 1988. These conclusions will be forwarded to Employee Development Department for inclusion in Jack Sehestedt's personnel file. ELSIE IRENE MANNON CONCLUSIONS/DECISIONS: The members concurred that the agreement signed by Ms. Mannon on March 22, 1983 was still in effect and the benefits should be repaid to the Plan without interest before the end of 1993. NEXT STEPS: Mollie will draft a letter to Ms. Mannon to be signed by Dennis, outlining her options for repaying retirement benefits paid to her in 1982/83 and stating December 31, 1993 as the deadline. 4. AUDITOR'S MANAGEMENT LETTER MAIN POINTS: Don Mazanec distributed a copy of a draft reply to the City's auditors (Price Waterhouse) commenting on the assumptions and the recommendations the auditors had noted for 1991. There were some minor changes. CONCLUSIONS/DECISIONS: Jerry Brown moved to accept the letter as corrected. Mollie Mercer seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously. NEXT STEPS: Don will send the final copy to Alan and it will be summarized in the Finance Department's response to the audit management letter and included as an attachment to the letter. 5. FAREWELL TO MOLLIE MERCER MAIN POINTS: Mollie Mercer is retiring March 31st and will no longer be eligible to serve on the General Employees Retirement Committee. The members expressed their regret that they will not be working with her in the future. Individual members expressed their appreciation for all of the help and information that Mollie has provided and especially acknowledged her legendary memory for details of the City's employment history and the Committee's actions. Her presence and her contributions will be missed. CONCLUSIONS/DECISIONS: Rita Harris of the City Clerk's Office has -4- 0 • contacted Loren Maxey, Council Liaison to the Committee, and provided him and other members of the Boards and Commissions screening committee with copies of the other applicants' resumes submitted at the time Mollie was reappointed last June. The tentative plan is for a new Committee member to be appointed from among these applicants, rather than re -advertising for the position. If this plan is followed, an appointment could be made by City Council at the March 16th meeting. NEXT STEPS: Rita will keep the Committee informed of progress in the process. (See Post Note.) POST NOTE: Loren Maxey and Dave Edwards reviewed the applications received in June, 1993 from the other candidates for the GERC position. They selected Jackie Davis of Community Development Block Grants division to serve out Mollie Mercer's term (July, 1994). Their selection was submitted for Council approval on March 16th and she was appointed. She has been sent copies of the minutes, the Plan, annual report, etc. and will be attending the April 1 meeting. ITEMS FOR FUTURE DISCUSSION: 1. Possible seminars or workshops to increase GER Committee members' knowledge of their roles and responsibilities. 2. GERP / Workers Comp / Disability Proposal 3. Legal update on retirement issues. 4. Monitor progress by staff Pension Review Group AGENDA & SCHEDULE FOR NEXT MEETING: The next meeting will be Thursday, April 1, 1993 at 1:15 p.m. in the Finance Conference Room. The agenda will include: 1. Pension Education Program 2. Survey update 3. FortNotes articles 4. Report on 401(a) & 401(k) questions - Jaime Mares ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 3:05 p.m. MEETING SCHEDULE: THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 1993 - As scheduled -5- THURSDAY, MAY 6, 1993 is rescheduled for APRIL 29, 1993 AT 1:15 P.M. in the Finance Conference Room. THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 1993 - As scheduled M