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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRetirement Committee - Minutes - 11/07/1996L , t„ City of Fort Collins Adm9strative Services Finance Administration FORT COLLINS GENERAL EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 7, 1996 MEETING MINUTES COUNCIL LIAISON: Mayor Ann Azari COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT: ABSENT: Jerry P. Brown, 221-6350(w), 226-0800(h) Jim Hume, 221-6776 Kevin Westhuis, 221-6156 Dave Agee, 221-6770 Alan Krcmarik, Member/Staff Support OTHERS PRESENT: Sue Wilcox (Staff Support - Secretary) Russ Proctor - Watson Wyatt Worldwide, the City's actuarial firm Bobbie Burnette (Staff Support - Assistant City Attorney) Bob Eichem (Staff Support - Treasury Administrator) Brian Hahn, Deferred Vested Plan Member CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Jerry P. Brown called the regular meeting to order at 1:20 p.m. in the Council Information Center of City Hall West. ITEMS OF NOTE: Jerry welcomed new members Kevin Westhuis of Light and Power (com- pleting Gary Ellis's term) and Dave Agee from the Finance Accounting Division (serving the balance of Jacci Peterson's term). Jerry expressed everyone's pleasure at having a fiill committee again. Jerry also noted that as part of the GERC's goal to continue educating Plan members about their benefit, the GER Plan Summary booklets were recently distributed to all Plan members. This book underwent a thorough revision by a subcommittee composed of former GERC member Jacci Peterson, Laurie Harvey of Human Resources, and GERC clerical support person Sue Wilcox. Jerry received favorable comments on the booklet and he thanked the subcommittee for its perseverance. Another effort to educate members was an article published in both FortNotes and the Wellness & Benefits Newsletter which explained how receiving full Social Security benefit payments is deferred past age 65 to help keep the Social Security Fund solvent. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Alan Krcmarik moved and Jim Hume seconded a motion to approve the minutes as distributed. The vote was unanimous (4-0) in favor of the motion, with Kevin Westhuis abstaining. DISCUSSION TOPICS: 1. GER PLAN MEMBER COMMENTS/CITIZEN PARTICIPATION: There were no member or citizen comments. 300 LaPorte Avenue • P.O. Box 580 • Fort Collins, CO 80522-0580 • (970) 221-6788 • FAX (970) 221-6782 J GERC Minutes - November 7, 1996 2. ANNUAL EVALUATION OF ACTUARIAL CONSULTANT SERVICES MAIN POINTS: Russ Proctor of Watson Wyatt Worldwide reported that he had received only one of the comment sheets he distributed to GERC members and support staff at the September meeting. Several people reported they had submitted comment sheets. Russ will check at his office for those additional replies and will report on them at the next meeting. Two concerns were identified from the form received: more clearly communicating costs for services; and timeliness, especially for benefit calculations requiring a short tum-around and for distributing materials in advance of the meetings. CONCLUSION/NEXT STEPS: Russ stated that he and Dave Agee have already agreed that a letter will document all estimated costs for services, with a copy to Sue. He also said that calculations requiring 24-hour tum-around will receive special attention. He will make every effort to have materials available far enough in advance so they can be distributed to Committee and staff members before the meetings. 3. STANDING RULES MAIN POINTS: Jerry distributed copies of the current Standing Rules for the annual review and revision. CONCLUSION/NEXT STEPS: However, since the newer members had not had an opportunity to review the Standing Rules, Jerry deferred consideration of this topic to the December meeting. 4. MEETING DATES CHANGED MAIN POINTS: Previously there were possible conflicts for the GERC's standing meeting time on the first Thursday of each month at 1:15 p.m. in the CIC. It now appears that the conflicts have been resolved and the members agreed to keep the current meeting time. Russ, however, has a conflict for the December meeting, so it will need to be changed. Also, the January meeting falls the day after a holiday and Jerry suggested changing it. CONCLUSION/NEXT STEPS: The December meeting has been moved to MONDAY. DECEMBER 16THAT 1:15 P.M. IN THE FINANCE CONFERENCE ROOM. (Please note the meeting place has also changed.) The January meeting was moved to THURSDAY. JANUARY 9771 AT 1:15 P.M. 17V THE QC, 5. 1997 GERC WORK PLAN MAIN POINTS: Jerry distributed a draft of the 1997 GERC Work Plan. Because the provision of MPP and 457 plans has never been competitively bid, this might be worth considering. The GERC has no direct responsibility for these services, but it does represent a large segment of current members in those plans. Also, it was agreed to add "Review of pension simplification issues" and -2- GERC Minutes - November 7, 1996 "Review of percentage of GERP investments in equities". In the list of GERC meeting dates, it was noted that the July GERC meeting falls the day before a holiday and 3-day weekend. CONCLUSIONS/NEXT STEPS: Alan Krcmarik moved and Kevin Westhuis seconded his motion to move the July meeting to THURSDAY JULY 10 1997 AT 1:15 PM IN THE CIC: and to approve the revised 1997 Work Plan. The vote was unanimous in favor of the motion. A copy of the Work Plan is attached. 6. POTENTIAL STUDY SESSION FOR GER CONffvE=E MAIN POINTS: Because the Committee is now composed of three relatively new members, a study session might be helpful. Russ suggested a handbook called Trustee's Handbook. which is published by the International Foundation for Employee Benefit Plans, which could be used for training. Bob Eichem suggested contacting Craig Lantree at CSU about resources they might have. Also, there are two firms in Denver which train boards on fiduciary responsibilities, which are specific to the group rather than general. It was also suggested that the State Auditor's office might have resources, and that a member of the PERA Board might be helpful. CONCLUSIONS/NEXT STEPS: For the next meeting, Dave and Bob will check on local and State resources, and Russ will bring information from his firm and the board training firms in Denver to the Committee. 7. CREDIT FOR PART-TEME SERVICE MAIN POINTS: There are currently about 80 employees who have either moved from full-time to part-time employment with the City, or from part-time to full-time positions. It was discovered that the way the retirement benefit is calculated for these groups can cause inequities because of the use of full years in the calculation formula, even if the work was part-time. Russ suggested three alternatives: A. Highest 5 Years Income. Use the highest five (5) years of all service in the formula. B. Annualize Pay/Prorate Service. This option would annualize (calculate on a yearly basis) all pay, but service would be prorated, using the appropriate percentage, ie .5 for half-time, etc. C. Freeze First Benefit/Begin New Benefit: When an employee changes from full-time to part-time, the fiM-time benefit is frozen and a new benefit begins (or vice versa for those moving from part-time to full-time). The benefits and disadvantages of each were discussed including system shortcomings, such as inconsistency among departments in classifying part-time and full-time positions. CONCLUSION/NEXT STEPS: It was suggested that Russ work with Laurie Harvey and Linda Brown in Payroll to put together some examples of employee situations and from that compile a list of pros and cons of each method. It would also be necessary to compare the costs of the alternatives, taking into consideration whether there is a higher percentage of people who moved from full-time to part-time or vice versa. This item will be put on the December 16th agenda. ' %Z GERC Minutes - November 7, 1996 8. RETIREMENT PHILOSOPHY MAIN POINTS: In previous meetings, the GERC had begun working on a defined Retirement Philosophy, to be used as a guide for future plan changes and GERC actions. This grew out of employee education efforts which lead to Plan changes and enhancements over the last five years. Future steps will involve determining what changes Plan members would like, analyzing options, and making recommendations to City Council. Russ said that, contrary to popular theory, statistics show that employees are staying with one employer for longer periods of time, which impacts retirement plans. The City's total compensation method puts aside funds out of current salaries for retirement benefits. Any increase in current or future retirement benefits could reduce current salaries. Jerry reviewed the GERC request to Council to consider funding a COLA (cost -of- living adjustment) for current retirees in the 1997 budget. The GERC's request would have been separate from the total compensation plan so current employees were not paying for COLAs for retirees. This request was not funded for 1997. The last COLA was implemented in 1991, and was graduated to provide a greater benefit for those who were retired the longest. CONCLUSIONS/NEXT STEPS: A survey to determine what characteristics various groups think make up an ideal retirement program was completed some months ago by the GERC members, EL Team, and support staff. The new GERC members were asked to complete the same philosophy survey and return to Russ before the next meeting. 9. ELECTION OF GERC OFFICERS FOR 1996/1997 MAIN POINTS: Current GERC members are: Alan Krcmarik Ex-officio (no term limit) Jerry P. Brown Term expires June 30, 1997 Dave Agee Term expires July 1, 1998 Kevin Westhuis Term expires July 1, 1999 Jim Hume Term expires July 1, 2000 Jerry advised that his term expires next June, but that he would be willing to serve as committee chair until then, at which time the vice chairperson would assume the position of chairperson until the annual election of officers in September. (The election was deferred till November this year because of pending member appointments.) CONCLUSIONS/NEXT STEPS: Alan moved that Jerry P. Brown be re-elected to chair the GERC. Tim Hume seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously. Alan moved that Jim Hume be elected as vice -chair of the GERC. Kevin Westhuis seconded the motion, which was approved unanimously. 10. THIRD QUARTER, 1996 INVESTMENT REPORT MAIN POINTS: The bond portfolio yield was 6.79% for the third quarter of 1996, compared with the benchmark 5-year Treasury notes, which returned 6.54%. For the first 9 months of 1996, the bond yield was 6.21% an$ the market value was $19,834,632. -4- GERC Minutes - November 7, 1996 The domestic mutual fund portfolio's yield for the third quarter was 4.1%, while the benchmark Standard & Poor's Index 500 was up 2.3% for the same period. Year-to-date, mutual funds were up 13.5% for the GER Plan, compared with Standard & Poor's Index 500 rate of 12.6%. Taking advantage of an 11% correction (downturn) in the stock market in July, the investment team followed the GERC's investment strategy and doubled the monthly purchase of mutual funds to $200,000. The net asset value of the domestic mutual funds totaled $8,702,761. The international mutual funds in the GERP portfolio had a negative return of .3% for the quarter, after experiencing almost a 25% correction in the market in July. However, for the year the return remains 9.6%. The net asset value of the international mutual funds was $1,867,145. CONCLUSION/NEXT STEPS: The report was accepted as presented. 11. INVESTMENT GUIDELINES REVIEWED MAIN POINTS: Within the City's Investment Policies, (currently being reviewed by the City Attorney's Office), the GERC sets guidelines and limits on the amount of different types of investments, and the investment team determines specific purchases. Current policies set the target for the mutual fund portion of the GERP portfolio at 35%, with 10% of that being international mutual funds. The mutual fund portion is approaching the 35% cap. The investment team and actuarial consultant both recommend that the GER Committee authorize increasing the mutual fund target to 5016 of investments, with a potential ultimate goal of 60-70% of investments being in mutual funds. The non -mutual fund investments consist of U. S. Treasury Notes and Bonds, U. S. Agencies, corporate investments, and repurchase agreements and cash. Kevin expressed interest in using the Internet and other sources to keep abreast of investments and the stock market in general. The proposed revised City Investment Policies include such thing as the 50-50 bond -mutual fund split, uncapping the 5-star investment rating to allow 4-star investments, and seeking professional advice on investments. It is hoped that the Financial Policy revisions will soon be presented to Council for consideration. CONCLUSIONS/NEXT STEPS: The Committee will continue to review this issue during 1997. 12. GERC WORLD WIDE WEB SITE ON THE INTERNET MAIN POINTS: Jim has begun making a template for a GERC page on the World Wide Web. It will have various headings and he plans to eventually include the following Plan information: GERC meeting minutes, the Plan document, Annual Report, Work Plan, and the history of the Plan. CONCLUSIONS/NEXT STEPS: Tun plans to work on this through the end of the year and will keep us posted of progress. -5- GERC Minutes - November 7, 1996 AGENDA & SCHEDULE FOR NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be Monday, December 16th at 1:15 p.m. in the Finance Conference Room of City Hall West. (This will be preceded by a Committee and Staff working lunch at Bisetti's Restaurant.) The agenda will include: 1. Plan Member Comments/Citizen Participation 2. Update on GERC Study Session 3. Standing Rules Review 4. Update on Annual Review of Actuarial Consultant 5. Dealing with Plan Members who Won't Make a Lump-Sum/Rollover Decision 6. Update on Web Page 7 Credit For Part -Time Service Issue 8. Retirement Philosophy Discussion ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 4:15 p.m. FUTURE MEETING SCHEDULE: The General Employees Retirement Committee normally meets at 1:15 p.m. on the 1st Thursday of each month in the Council Information Center, City Hall West. However, the next meeting will be MONDAY, DECEMBER 16,1996 AT 1:15 PM IN THE FINANCE CONFERENCE ROOM. NOTE MEETING LOCATION HAS ALSO CHANGED! THE JANUARY MEETING HAS ALSO BEEN MOVED TO MONDAY, JANUARY 16TH AT 1:15 P.M. IN THE CIC, THURSDAY, JANUARY 9,1997• THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 1997 THURSDAY, MAY 1, 1997 THURSDAY, JULY 10, 1997• THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1997 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1997 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1997 THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 1997 THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 1997 THURSDAY, AUGUST 7, 1997 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1997 THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1997 *Meeting dates changed because of holidays.