Legislative Session number- 84

Bill Name: SF0427

2E Modifying and clarifying certain retirement provisions

ARTICLE 1 -
CLARIFICATION/RECODIFICATION OF STATEWIDE SPECIALTY RETIREMENT PLANS

Modifying
and recodifying certain provisions under the legislators retirement plan of the
Minnesota state retirement system, defining or redefining certain terms,
clarifying administrative responsibility, modifying certain retirement allowance
qualification, deferred annuities and survivor benefit provisions and clarifying
certain provisions relating to the reduced retirement allowance, optional
annuities, contributions, the irrevocability of certain elections, service
credit, coverage by more than one retirement system or association and exemption
from process and taxation; applying certain provisions of the elective state
officers retirement plan under MSRS to a certain former constitutional officer
and clarifying the administrative agency and standards of the plan; clarifying
certain coverage requirements under the state unclassified employees retirement
program; clarifying and revising certain provisions under the MSRS judges
retirement plan relating to administration of the fund, fiduciary
responsibility, the judges retirement fund, member and employer contributions,
annuities and benefits and compulsory retirement; recodifying and revising
certain provisions governing the board on judicial standards; repealing certain
definitions and certain obsolete provisions and providing for the effect on
benefit coverage of the judges retirement plan changes

ARTICLE 2 - COVERED
SALARY; AVERAGE SALARY

Defining average salary under the Minnesota state
retirement system (MSRS), the elective state officers and judges retirement
plans, the public employees retirement association (PERA), the public employees
police and fire plan, the teachers retirement associations (TRA) and the
Minneapolis employees retirement fund (MERF) for retirement annuity calculation
purposes

ARTICLE 3 - ALLOWABLE SERVICE CREDIT

Providing for purchase of
allowable service credit for certain strike periods by public employees under
certain defined benefit plans, by certain metro transit employees and by certain
employees of the Crosby Ironton school district and for certain periods of
authorized leaves of absence under the judges retirement plan of the Minnesota
state retirement system (MSRS); extending the sunset for prior service credit
purchase for certain employees serving in the armed forces

ARTICLE 4 -
ACTUARIAL FINANCIAL REPORTING AND OTHER GENERALLY APPLICABLE ADMINISTRATIVE
CHANGES

Clarifying certain references to actuarial services in determining
actuarial
equivalence under the Minnesota state retirement system (MSRS), the
public employees retirement association (PERA), the teachers retirement
associations, the Minneapolis employees retirement fund (MERF) and the judges
retirement plan; clarifying the handling of employee contributions from pretax
savings accounts for TRA members on extended leaves of absences, modifying the
interest rate; requiring public pension fund annual financial reports to contain
an itemization of administrative expenses; authorizing the rollover of amounts
in reemployed annuitant earnings limits accounts to other tax qualified plans
in lieu of a lump sum distribution

ARTICLE 5 - MEMBERSHIP INCLUSIONS AND
EXCLUSIONS

Expanding membership in the state patrol retirement fund of the
Minnesota state retirement system to peace officers employed by the insurance
fraud prevention division of the department of commerce; providing for
membership in the MSRS correctional employees retirement plan for certain
additional employees of the department of corrections and certain employees of
the department of human services, requiring the departments to establish a
procedure for evaluating and recommending potential employment positions for
membership; including and excluding certain police officers employed by the
university of Minnesota in and from the public employees police and fire plan of
the public employees retirement association (PERA); modifying the time limit for
election between defined benefit and defined contribution plan coverage under
the Minnesota state colleges and universities (MnSCU) system (higher education)
individual retirement account (IRA) plan of
the teachers retirement association
(TRA)

ARTICLE 6 - RETIREMENT CONTRIBUTIONS

Providing for the collection of
unpaid employer contributions due to employees of local government units not
funded directly from the proceeds of the property tax under the public employees
retirement association; authorizing and providing for the payment of interest by
PERA on the return of certain excess prior service credit purchase payments by
certain Minneapolis community development agency (MCDA) employees

ARTICLE 7 -
PENSION BENEFITS UPON PRIVATIZATION

Expanding privatized public hospital
pension benefits under the public employees retirement association to employees
of the Northfield hospital, Bridges medical services and the Hutchinson area
health care facility, specifying certain actuarial accrued liability
calculation; eliminating coverage under PERA for privatized water and wastewater
facility employees; extending the deadline for filing of the certificate of
special law approval with the secretary of state by the city of Renville
relating to continued benefits coverage under PERA following privatizations of
the RenVilla nursing home requirements

ARTICLE 8 - FIRST CLASS CITY TEACHER
RETIREMENT FUND ASSOCIATIONS

Requiring and providing for the chief
administrative officers of the first class city teachers retirement fund
associations (TRA) to biennially publish updated compilations of articles of
incorporation and bylaws of the association; requiring certification of accuracy
and completeness and an index; specifying certain availability requirements,
authorizing a fee for copies; authorizing the associations to contract with the
revisor of statutes for preparation of the compilation

ARTICLE 9 - MINNESOTA
STATE COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNT PLAN
CHANGES

Modifying an investment option under the Minnesota state colleges
and
universities (MnSCU) system (higher education) individual retirement account
(IRA) plan of the teachers retirement association (TRA), authorizing the
inclusion of various investment accounts offered through the Minnesota
supplemental investment fund as investment products

ARTICLE 10 - SUPPLEMENTAL
RETIREMENT PLANS

Expanding the provision providing exceptions to the
prohibition on the contribution of public funds to supplemental pension or
deferred compensation plans for the benefit of employees to contributions to
laborers local pension funds, increasing the allowable contribution amount to
labor pension funds and clarifying the exception relating to supplemental plans
organized and operated under the federal internal revenue code (IRC) funded by
accumulated sick or vacation leave and severance pay, accumulated leave and
severance pay to be at the date of retirement or the termination of active
employment

ARTICLE 11 - VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER RELIEF ASSOCIATION
CHANGES

Implementing the recommendations of the volunteer firefighter relief
association working group of the state auditor; modifying the trigger date for
the filing of financial reports for certain salaried and volunteer firefighters
relief associations; modifying and clarifying certain provisions relating to the
volunteer firefighters relief association financing guidelines act; modifying
the basis of certain determinations by the state auditor and excluding certain
municipalities or nonprofit firefighting corporations or associated relief
associations from eligibility for fire state aid based on certain violations;
clarifying certain financial requirements of relief associations paying lump sum
or monthly service pensions, requiring the amortization of experience losses;
modifying the limit on mutual fund investments and clarifying corporate stock
and exchange traded funds investment authority; modifying the per firefighter
financing requirements for monthly benefit service pensions; clarifying the
deferred service pension options available to defined contribution plans;
modifying the options for crediting interest on deferred service pensions;
providing for the crediting of service during military service leaves; modifying
the municipal representation requirements on relief association governing
boards; clarifying the payment of benefits following consolidation by volunteer
firefighters under the consolidating volunteer firefighters relief
association

ARTICLE 12 - VARIOUS CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

Clarifying
exemptions from process and taxation for certain statewide and major local
retirement plans; updating language usage and style, clarifying and correcting
cross references in certain provisions relating to police and fire state aid,
the Minnesota state retirement system, the state patrol retirement plan, the
unclassified employees retirement program under MSRS, the public employees
retirement association, the teachers retirement associations, the Minneapolis
employees retirement fund and fiduciary responsibility; excluding certain labor
service employees from certain refund eligibility under MSRS; providing
statutory language for the special retirement fund of the TRA; modifying the
prior service credit purchase payment amount determination procedure; specifying
certain reference replacement instructions to the revisor of statutes; repealing
a certain definition of adjustable fixed benefit annuity for postretirement
investment fund participation under MSRS, certain deferred annuity, prior
service credit purchase, survivor rights and benefits and retirement annuity
benefits under PERA, a certain state university teachers additional retirement
allowance provision under TRA and certain refund provisions under MERF

ARTICLE
13 - LOCAL RETIREMENT PLANS

Increasing the interest and single rate salary
assumptions for the Bloomington fire department relief association and providing
for amortization of the unfunded actuarial accrued liability; providing for
administration of the Hennepin county supplemental retirement program by the
Minnesota state retirement system (MSRS) on behalf of the county; modifying a
certain provision providing for eligibility for service pensions from the
Minneapolis police and firefighters relief associations based on a certain
funding ratio and prohibiting the recomputation of firefighters relief
association disability benefits at retirement age; providing for calculation of
the service pension amount for members of the Aurora, Biwabik, Hoyt Lakes and
Palo volunteer firefighters relief associations after consolidation; providing a
retroactive ad hoc postretirement adjustment to retired police officers,
firefighters and surviving spouses of the Eveleth police and fire trust fund;
authorizing and providing for the Maplewood firefighters relief association to
transfer assets to the Oakdale fire department relief association for members
eligible to receive a combined service pension for service in both
associations

ARTICLE 14 - MINNEAPOLIS EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT FUND
CHANGES

Exempting the Minneapolis employees retirement fund (MERF) executive
director from the compensation limit for persons employed by local government
units; authorizing the investment of assets with the state board of investment;
authorizing and providing for accounts receivable transfers in lieu of cash
between the deposit accumulation and retirement benefit funds; repealing a
certain liquidity transfer obligation relating to additional employer
contributions to correct deficiencies

ARTICLE 15 - ONE PERSON AND SMALL GROUP
RETIREMENT CHANGES

Entitling the surviving spouse of a certain St. Louis Park
police officer killed in the line of military duty in Iraq to survivor benefits
from the public employees police and fire plan of the public employees
retirement association (PERA); authorizing the purchase of prior service credit
in the teachers retirement association (TRA) by a certain person employed by
independent school district #11, Anoka-Hennepin
(mk, ja)