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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRetirement Committee - Minutes - 06/03/19930 FORT COLLINS GENERAL EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMITTEE JUNE 3, 1993 MEETING MINUTES COUNCIL LIAISON: Ann Azari, Mayor MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: Jerry P. Brown Jackie Davis Dennis Sumner Dave Meyer Alan Krcmarik (Member & Staff Support) OTHERS PRESENT: Janet Meisel, Plan member, Community Planning & Environmental Services Ann Turnquist, 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 1:15 p.m. in the Finance Conference Room on June 3, 1993. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the April 29th meeting were reviewed. Sue apologized for not transmitting the electronic copy of the minutes in a timely manner and will send them as soon as possible. Dennis noted that the revised chart in the April 29th minutes (showing the different pension plans) was reviewed by him, Ann Turnquist, and Linda Brown for accuracy and completeness and noted this review process delayed completing the minutes. Dave Meyer moved and Jackie Davis seconded a motion to approve the minutes as presented. The motion carried. (See Post Note #1.) ITEMS OF NOTE: --Dennis noted that he has the computer disk containing the data base of the survey information. This data may help the GERC in sorting responses by demographic categories. --Dennis advised the Committee that in answer to a request from City Council for any budget impact items from boards and commissions, he had advised Ann Azari of his intent to send an update of the GERC's workplan and asked for any other direction from her. Dennis will proceed with that plan. --The Personal Retirement Benefit Reports have been received from William M. Mercer and will be distributed with the June 11th paychecks. It was deemed advisable to add a memo from the GERC outlining several items: 1) The inclusion of combined retirement benefits for those individuals with breaks in service; 2) the printing of the financial planning worksheet on the back of the Benefit Report forms; and 3) the information explaining the assumptions Mercer used in projecting future Social Security benefits. REVIEW OF DISCUSSION TOPICS: The agenda was approved as presented. DISCUSSION TOPICS: 1. STAFF COMMITTEE ON PENSION ACTIVITIES MAIN POINTS: Ann Turnquist, representing the Staff Committee on Pension Activities, reported that the committee had received conflicting legal so opinions on IRS guidelines, whether the City is in compliance with them, and what future ramifications of the guidelines would be after implementation on January 1, 1996. After consulting with pension attorneys and experts, it was agreed that the City is in compliance with current IRS requirements and the committee will begin analyzing what changes need to be made in the current 401(a) plans in order to comply in 1996. Don Mazanec cautioned the group that history could indicate that the requirements and/or compliance date may change again before the guidelines are finally implemented. The Committee will create an action plan and generate some options, which will be presented to the Executive Lead Team (ELT) in July. Other items of note: the Staff Committee on Pension Activities includes members of the Attorney's office, Finance, and Employee Development and meets as schedules allow; it hopes the City will eventually hire a pension coordinator; and the 457 plan is not considered a pension plan under IRS guidelines, so the Staff Committee does not oversee it. CONCLUSIONS/NEXT STEPS: The Staff Committee on Pension Activities will continue to share information and activities with the GERC. ;WA1;[W*WJWd4*1 MAIN POINTS: Dennis distributed draft copies of the article he wrote for the July FortNotes. He asked for comments by June 14. CONCLUSIONS/NEXT STEPS: A few questions were asked and the members will reply by the deadline. 3. EMPLOYEE SURVEY MAIN POINTS: Jerry Brown drafted a special summary of the Employee Survey results, which was distributed with the May 14th issue of FortNotes. In it he noted that the Executive Summary and the survey data were available through GER Committee members. Janet Meisel expressed her concern that the April 29th minutes were not available yet and asked why the full report on the survey results was not available for public review. She felt the comments from individual respondents, especially if they concerned topics not covered by the survey, should be part of the open record. It was explained that the GERC wished to encourage survey respondents to be candid and honest in their answers, so the survey was designed to ensure the confidentiality of the respondents. The final "comments" sections of the survey were printed in Mercer's report, but because the size of the computer data -entry field was limited, the comments were limited to 8 lines, even if the original comment was longer. The confidentiality of the Plan members who responded might be compromised if the comments sections were made public. One option is that a summary of the comments be prepared and made available, but there was concern for the time and/or expense involved in this task. Another suggestion was to hold post -survey focus group meetings on specific issues. The GER Committee was primarily interested in the Survey's quantifiable data, -2- i 0 which were reviewed and analyzed in Mercer's Executive Summary. The Executive Summary and the Raw Data pages, along with the supplemental data - sort information requested by the Committee, are all available for review by contacting a member or Sue Wilcox. CONCLUSIONS/NEXT STEPS: The question of whether/how the Committee can release the comments will be referred to Mary Crumbaker, legal staff support for the Committee, for an opinion. Sue will send an electronic message to the distribution list for the GERC minutes repeating that the survey's summary report and raw data are available through the Committee members. Also, the members will make copies of the report available in their work areas. 4. EXECUTIVE LEAD TEAM CONSIDERATION OF GERP/WORKERS COMP/DISABILITY PROPOSAL MAIN POINTS: The Executive Lead Team (ELT) is exploring the possibility of researching the GERP/Workers Comp/Disability subject (i.e. a possible link between reduced benefits for early retirements and a possible increase in disabilities incurred as workers age). The workers' interest in the Rule of 80 may illustrate their concern about this possible connection also. CONCLUSIONS/NEXT STEPS: The ELT will continue to look at this topic and how it might be researched. 5. ACTUARIAL VALUATION MAIN POINTS: Don Mazanec reported that the actuarial valuation his firm prepares each year should be available for the July meeting. He does wish to consult with Price Waterhouse, the City's auditor, about the management letter before that time. CONCLUSIONS/NEXT STEPS: The actuarial valuation will be on the agenda for the July 1st meeting. POST NOTE #I: After the April 29th minutes were copied electronically, Claudia Haack -Benedict requested that her department designation be corrected to read Dept. of Community Planning and -Environmental Services. 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 -3- AGENDA i SCHEDULE FOR NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be at 8:30 A.M. on Thursday, July 1, 1993 in the Finance Conference Room. The agenda will include: 1. Pension Education Program 2. Employee Survey/Future Committee Direction 3. Report on E.L. Team consideration of GERP/Workers Comp/Disability proposal. 4. Actuarial Valuation Report 5. Questions Related to Worker Disabilities. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 3:40 p.m. MEETING SCHEDULE: The General Employees Retirement Committee meetings are normally held at 1:15 p.m. on the 1st Thursday of each month in the Finance Conference Room. Any change from that will be noted. THURSDAY, JULY 1, 1993 - THIS MEETING ONLY AT 8:30 A.M. THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 1993 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1993 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1993 IEZ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1993 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1993