Legislative Session number- 81

Bill Name: SF0319

E Relating to retirement ARTICLE 1 - FUTURE PERA PENSION BENEFITS FOR PRIVATIZED
PUBLIC HOSPITAL AND OTHER PUBLIC EMPLOYEES Providing special retirement benefit
coverage for employees of the Glencoe area health center, the Luverne community
hospital, the Waconia-Ridgeview medical center and Metro II discontinuing public
employment due to privatization, providing for entitlement to future retirement
benefits under the general employees retirement plan of the public employees
retirement association (PERA) without regard to the vesting requirement;
subjecting deferred annuities to augmentation, specifying the interest rates;
providing for additional allowable service for certain early retirement
purposes, for the application of reemployed annuitant earnings limits and for
refund of employee contributions plus interest after transfer of employment;
specifying certain counseling services requirements; repealing a certain prior
provision authorizing pension coverage for certain transferred Luverne community
hospital employees ARTICLE 2 - ESTABLISHMENT OF LOCAL CORRECTIONAL EMPLOYEES
RETIREMENT PLANCreating the local government correctional service retirement
plan to be administered by the public employees retirement association;
specifying revenue sources and investment options, providing for participation
in the Minnesota postretirement investment fund; providing for the determination
and collection of member and employer contributions; restricting fund
disbursements; defining local government correctional service employee;
providing for retirement annuities, specifying eligibility, amount, eligibility
for early retirement, annuity accrual and duration and a multiple service limit;
providing for augmentation for prior service benefits from PERA or the public
employees police and fire fund, exceptions; providing for duty and nonduty
disability and for survivor benefits; including the plan under certain actuarial
valuation requirements and modifying the allocation of retirement plan actuarial
costs by the legislative commission on pensions and retirement (LCPR);
authorizing local government unit special levies to pay the employer
contribution to the correctional service retirement plan; specifying the
applicable benefit accrual rate; including the plan under certain general
retirement financial reporting requirements and combined service annuity
provisions; repealing a certain existing provision providing for correctional
employee disability benefit coverage under PERA ARTICLE 3 - LOCAL POLICE AND
PAID FIRE RELIEF ASSOCIATION BENEFIT MODIFICATIONSRetroactively increasing
benefits payable to retired police officers, firefighters and surviving spouses
by the Eveleth retired police and fire trust fund; providing an additional
annual postretirement adjustment mechanism for Fairmont police relief
association pension or benefit recipients and for benefits to all surviving
spouses; entitling service and disability pensioners and survivor benefit
recipients under the St. Cloud police consolidation account to a certain prior
public employees police and fire fund (PERA) benefit increase based on a change
in the postretirement fund interest assumption, providing for a one time
retroactive postretirement adjustment ARTICLE 4 - MERGER INTO PERA-P F OF LOCAL
POLICE AND FIRE CONSOLIDATION ACCOUNTSProviding for the merger of existing
police and fire consolidation accounts with the public employees police and fire
fund under the public employees retirement association (PERA), providing for
municipal election to retain consolidation accounts, transferring liabilities
and assets of other municipalities; providing for benefit coverage for active
members, retirees, benefit recipients and deferred members; requiring and
providing for the actuary retained by the legislative commission on pensions and
retirement (LCPR) to determine the final funded status of nonretained local
police and fire consolidation accounts; setting member and employer contribution
rates; providing for the allocation of actuarial costs, including quadrennial
projection valuations in the assessment; providing for a reduction in police
state aid for municipalities with retirement coverage provided by a police
consolidation account for certain excesses; providing for the application of
total police state aid; reducing the employee and employer contribution rates to
the public employees police and fire fund; granting municipalities certain
authority to modify contribution rates; modifying certain actuarial valuation
requirements, providing for recognition of valuation assets in excess of the
actuarial accred liability; providing for the allocation of amortization state
aid, limiting certain total aid amounts; terminating the amortization state aid
programs upon Minneapolis and St. Paul teachers retirement fund associations
(TRA) assets equality with actuarial accrued liability of the plans; repealing a
certain provision providing for the reduction of employee and employer
contribution rates under certain police and fire fund excess conditions ARTICLE
5 - MINIMUM VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER STATE AID AMOUNT CHANGESExpanding eligibility
for minimum fire state aid to post-1993 volunteer firefighters relief
associationsARTICLE 6 - MINNEAPOLIS POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT RELIEF
ASSOCIATIONS GOVERNANCE CHANGESEliminating the use of the Minneapolis police
pension fund to pay the salaries of the secretary and president of the police
relief association; continuing governance of the Minneapolis firefighters relief
association by the board of trustees until reduction to only a certain number of
benefit recipients ARTICLE 7 - METROPOLITAN COUNCIL TARGETED EARLY RETIREMENT
INCENTIVEAuthorizing and providing for the metropolitan council to offer certain
eligible employees a certain early retirement incentive, prohibiting the
rehiring or contracting for services of employees retiring under the
incentiveARTICLE 8 - VARIOUS SMALL GROUP PENSION CHANGESAuthorizing qualified
part time teachers under the teachers retirement association to accrue allowable
service credit in the legislators retirement plan or the state unclassified
employees retirement program under the Minnesota state retirement system (MSRS)
for legislative service; authorizing and providing for the purchase of prior
military service credit in the public employee retirement association by a
certain former Rush City school district employee, of service credit for
uncredited leave from TRA by a certain teacher employed by independent school
district 786, Bertha-Hewitt, of service credit in TRA by a certain member for
certain periods of unrequested leave from teaching service in independent school
district 706, Virginia, of prior service credit in PERA by a certain former St.
Paul bureau of health employee, of prior service credit in TRA by a certain
teacher granted a medical leave by independent school district 276, Minnetonka,
of allowable service credit for sabbatical leave in TRA by a certain teacher
employed by independent school district 16, Spring Lake Park qualifying for an
early normal retirement annuity under the rule of 90, of prior service credit in
PERA by a certain employee of the state board of public defense and of prior
service credit in TRA by a certain elementary school principal in independent
school district 11, Anoka-Hennepin; requiring the teachers retirement
association to repay a certain amount plus interest to a certain member formerly
employed by independent school district 270, Hopkins for a past overcharge in
member contribution shortage payments ARTICLE 9 - MISCELLANEOUS PENSION
CHANGESRequiring the board of directors of the Minnesota state retirement system
to set the age for legislator eligibility for a reduced early retirement
allowance after separation from service, actuarial cost to be covered by the
legislator, requiring a report to the legislature by a certain date on use of
the provision by the executive director of the legislative commission on
pensions and retirement (LCPR); clarifying certain provisions regulating teacher
extended leaves and metropolitan council transit operations representation on
the MSRS board of directors; modifying the definition of timely receipt of
documents under the teachers retirement association and a certain provision
providing for the election of retirees to the TRA board of trustees; requiring
and providing for certain employees of the Minnesota state colleges and
universities board of trustees (MnSCU) in the unclassified service of the state
to participate in the higher education supplemental retirement plan ARTICLE 10 -
INCLUSION OF SUPPLEMENTAL NEEDS TRUSTS AS OPTIONAL ANNUITY FORM RECIPIENTS
Authorizing the designation of certain qualified supplemental needs trusts as
the remainder recipient on optional annuity forms under the Minnesota state
retirement system, the correctional employees retirement plan under MSRS, the
state patrol, legislators and judges retirement plans, the public employees
retirement association (PERA), the public employees police and fire fund, the
teachers retirement associations (TRA), the Minneapolis employees retirement
fund (MERF), the Minneapolis firefighters and police relief associations and the
public employees local government correctional service retirement plan, defining
qualified supplemental needs trust ARTICLE 11 - VOLUNTEER FIRE RELIEF
ASSOCIATION CHANGES Repealing the service credit maximum for receipt of
volunteer firefighters relief association monthly service pensions ARTICLE 12 -
ANNUITY LIMITS Modifying the formula for determining the maximum annual benefit
limit on public employee retirement annuities by including certain elective
deferrals in the definition of compensation ARTICLE 13 - CORRECTIONAL EMPLOYEES
RETIREMENT PLAN CHANGES Expanding coverage under the Minnesota state retirement
system correctional employees retirement plan to certain employees of the
Minnesota extended treatment options on campus program at the Cambridge regional
human services center; increasing the employee and employer contribution rates
to the plan; modifying the early retirement annuity reduction formula ARTICLE 14
- PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEE PENSION PLAN CHANGES Modifying the retirement annuity
reduction percentage for early retirement under the state patrol retirement fund
and the public employees police and fire fund of the public employees retirement
association (PERA); providing for the applicability of certain benefit changes
for pre-1999 relief association consolidations with the police and fire fund;
providing for continuation of membership in the police and fire fund by a
certain Rice county correctional officer; imposing a penalty for membership
miscertifications and certification failures ARTICLE 15 - SPECIAL RETIREMENT
COVERAGE FOR CERTAIN STATE FIRE MARSHAL EMPLOYEES Providing for special benefit
coverage under the Minnesota state retirement system (MSRS) for certain
employees of the state fire marshal division of the department of public safety,
specifying eligibility and the retirement annuity formula; providing for non-job
and job related disability benefits, for employee and employer contributions and
for election of coverage ARTICLE 16 - TEACHER RETIREMENT PLANS PRIOR SERVICE
CREDIT PURCHASE AUTHORIZATION Authorizing and providing for the purchase of
prior or uncredited military service credit and prior service credit for out of
state teaching service, for maternity leaves of absence, for breaks in service,
for private or parochial teaching service, for peace corps or vista service, for
charter school teaching service in the teachers retirement and first class
cities teachers retirement fund associations and for previously uncredited part
time teaching service in the first class city TRAs; modifying certain provisions
regulating the purchase of prior service credit under public pension funds;
specifying certain headnote replacement instructions to the revisor of statutes
ARTICLE 17 - MINNEAPOLIS EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT PLAN CHANGES Modifying certain
provisions under the Minneapolis employees retirement fund (MERF); clarifying
the payment of death benefits from the deposit accumulation fund; requiring
additional employer contributions for deficits in the fund; modifying the
disability allowance adjustment requirement; clarifying the payment of certain
refunds; modifying a certain provision governing the payment of survivor
benefits; providing for cost allocation; repealing the death while deferred
survivor benefit ARTICLE 18 - EMPLOYER MATCHING CONTRIBUTION TAX SHELTERED
ANNUITY CHANGES Expanding authorized supplemental pension or deferred
compensation plan investments except for employees covered by the state colleges
and universities supplemental retirement plan to certain qualified investment
entities; requiring the legislative commission on pensions and retirement (LCPR)
to study the issue of providing partially employer funded tax sheltered savings
opportunities for educational employees ARTICLE 19 - MNSCU INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT
ACCOUNT PLAN CHANGES Expanding eligibility for individual and employer paid
health insurance benefits to certain retired state college or university
employees; excepting certain MnSCU employees from certain annuity reduction
requirements under the Minnesota state retirement system (MSRS) for reemployment
and clarifying and modifying the exception under the teachers retirement
association; providing for participation in the part time mobility program of
TRA by MnSCU teachers teaching only during and retiring immediately after the
first semester of an academic year; making mandatory the additional contribution
to the state college and university individual retirement account plan for
sabbatical leave; expanding investment options for the IRAP, eliminating certain
restrictions on the selection of financial institutions and expanding state
board of investment financial institution selection considerations; modifying
IRAP and higher education supplemental retirement plan administrative expenses
charging and payment requirements; creating an IRAP part time teacher mobility
program ARTICLE 20 - OTHER CHANGESReducing the membership of the legislative
commission on pensions and retirement (LCPR) ARTICLE 21 - KANDIYOHI COUNTY AND
LITCHFIELD CITY VOLUNTEER RESCUE SQUAD MEMBERS ADDED TO PUBLIC EMPLOYEES DEFINED
CONTRIBUTION PLAN Expanding eligibility for participation in the public
employees defined contribution plan of the public employees retirement
association (PERA) to certain members of the Litchfield and Kandiyohi county
rescue squads under certain conditions ARTICLE 22 - PUBLIC PENSION
FACILITIESAuthorizing the commissioner of administration to provide a building
and related facilities to be jointly occupied by the board of directors of the
Minnesota state retirement system (MSRS) and the boards of trustees of the
public employees (PERA) and teachers retirement associations (TRA) for the
administration of the public pension systems; exempting design of the facilities
from designer selection board requirements; requiring the boards and the
commissioner to submit the plans for a public pension facility to the
legislature for approval; prescribing facility contracting procedures;
authorizing and providing for the issuance of revenue bonds, limit, including
the revenue obligations under the waiver of immunity provision; requiring a
joint report to the legislature by a certain date on a plan to consolidate
administrative services for the pension systems sharing the building (rla, mk,
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