All-New Merit Board Learns About Officers’ Retirement Plan, Insurance
June 12, 2019 at 11:46 p.m.
All-New Merit Board Learns About Officers’ Retirement Plan, Insurance
By David [email protected]
They also learned along the way that not all of the paperwork got properly approved last year for this year’s life insurance.
Member Ron Truex said, “(Retirement) program management is one of the primary concerns of the merit board, and as you all know the merit board is 100% brand new. So we’ve talked to the different institutions that are holding money. We’re trying to understand everything we can about the retirement plan, where the money is at, how it’s invested and things like that. So we’re getting up to speed as to what our responsibilities are and making sure we’re doing them. So that’s just an intro with what we’re trying to accomplish going through this process.”
Stan Brown, with McCready & Keene Inc., which is part of OneAmerica Retirement Services, presented the Kosciusko County Police Retirement Plan and Benefit Plan to the merit board.
“This presentation is very similar to what I’ve done with the merit officers the last two years at the county benefits fair,” Brown said.
He said he works in 91 of the state’s 92 counties. State statue “lays out some things that are minimums and maximums, and then the rest of the plan provisions are sort of left to the county – retirement age, investing, so forth..”
On the retirement plan, Brown said the benefit eligibility is based on the date of hire. Normal retirement age for a merit officer is 55 if they were hired prior to Nov. 1, 2014; it’s age 55 and 10 years of service or more if hired on or after Nov. 1, 2014. He said that was pretty standard.
According to his presentation, there is no special early retirement age in the plan. Early retirement age can be attained at 45 and with the completion of 20 or more years of service, but the benefits are reduced.
Severance benefit is applicable if an officer has eight or more years of service and is 100% vested, if hired prior to Nov. 1, 2014. An officer must have 10 or more years of service and be 100% vested if hired on or after Nov. 1, 2014.
Disability benefits are medically determined.
The merit board heard and discussed at length the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP). It requires attainment of normal retirement age and less than 32 years of service.
During discussion of retirement death benefits, Brown said the plan is being operated as if the insurance match changed to $50,000 at the start of this year. He said the amendment to do that didn’t get signed last year by the prior merit board. He said the former sheriff – Rocky Goshert – sent a letter stating the base coverage was changed to $50,000 for 2019. So the plan paid the premium for $50,000 in coverage. Brown said he still needed the amendment signed that puts that into place.
Truex asked if what they were discussing Wednesday was already done in 2018. Brown said in theory it was, but it didn’t get finished.
He also said the plan amendment needs adopted because the Kosciusko County Council didn’t get it either last year.
“This was in the fall. We did the plan amendment in late August. It was our understanding that it got adopted. So it needs to be adopted,” Brown said.
A little later, Truex sought to clarify that the plan had already gone to $50,000 and “we were paying accordingly.”
Brown said, “The (former) sheriff sent us a letter ... last November, saying that the plan had been amended to go to $50,000. So Standard Life processed the premiums at the start of this year under that assumption.”
Truex asked how that was done without county council approval. Brown said they didn’t know, and the merit board said it didn’t know either.
“The council did not approve the increase,” Truex said.
Travis McConnell, merit board member, asked if the increase should have gone forward with just a letter from the former sheriff.
“We didn’t have any reason not to believe (it),” Brown said.
He said the benefit plan paid the premium. The county funds the plan.
“So the council didn’t ever know it went up because they didn’t have to approve it,” Truex said, though it should have.
Brown said the merit board did approve it in August. Minutes from that meeting were found and showed that the merit board did approve the increase. It just never got approval from the county council.
“So it would be our responsibility to sign proper work. Sign it and make sure the council is aware,” Truex said. Brown said the council also should sign it.
Brown said the increase in the premium was “minimal.”
The 2019 budget figure was $547,000 with the supplemental benefit plan trust at $91,000. For 2020, it went up to $551,000 with the supplemental at $73,000.
He said 11 counties last year changed to the $50,000 amount and Standard Life wanted letters from the sheriffs on letterhead that indicated the change.
Toward the end of the approximate 80-minute discussion on the insurance, Brown said, “Your plan is very well funded.”
More information on a couple of different aspects on the retirement plan was requested. Brown will return to the board at its meeting at noon Aug. 15 to discuss those options.
They also learned along the way that not all of the paperwork got properly approved last year for this year’s life insurance.
Member Ron Truex said, “(Retirement) program management is one of the primary concerns of the merit board, and as you all know the merit board is 100% brand new. So we’ve talked to the different institutions that are holding money. We’re trying to understand everything we can about the retirement plan, where the money is at, how it’s invested and things like that. So we’re getting up to speed as to what our responsibilities are and making sure we’re doing them. So that’s just an intro with what we’re trying to accomplish going through this process.”
Stan Brown, with McCready & Keene Inc., which is part of OneAmerica Retirement Services, presented the Kosciusko County Police Retirement Plan and Benefit Plan to the merit board.
“This presentation is very similar to what I’ve done with the merit officers the last two years at the county benefits fair,” Brown said.
He said he works in 91 of the state’s 92 counties. State statue “lays out some things that are minimums and maximums, and then the rest of the plan provisions are sort of left to the county – retirement age, investing, so forth..”
On the retirement plan, Brown said the benefit eligibility is based on the date of hire. Normal retirement age for a merit officer is 55 if they were hired prior to Nov. 1, 2014; it’s age 55 and 10 years of service or more if hired on or after Nov. 1, 2014. He said that was pretty standard.
According to his presentation, there is no special early retirement age in the plan. Early retirement age can be attained at 45 and with the completion of 20 or more years of service, but the benefits are reduced.
Severance benefit is applicable if an officer has eight or more years of service and is 100% vested, if hired prior to Nov. 1, 2014. An officer must have 10 or more years of service and be 100% vested if hired on or after Nov. 1, 2014.
Disability benefits are medically determined.
The merit board heard and discussed at length the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP). It requires attainment of normal retirement age and less than 32 years of service.
During discussion of retirement death benefits, Brown said the plan is being operated as if the insurance match changed to $50,000 at the start of this year. He said the amendment to do that didn’t get signed last year by the prior merit board. He said the former sheriff – Rocky Goshert – sent a letter stating the base coverage was changed to $50,000 for 2019. So the plan paid the premium for $50,000 in coverage. Brown said he still needed the amendment signed that puts that into place.
Truex asked if what they were discussing Wednesday was already done in 2018. Brown said in theory it was, but it didn’t get finished.
He also said the plan amendment needs adopted because the Kosciusko County Council didn’t get it either last year.
“This was in the fall. We did the plan amendment in late August. It was our understanding that it got adopted. So it needs to be adopted,” Brown said.
A little later, Truex sought to clarify that the plan had already gone to $50,000 and “we were paying accordingly.”
Brown said, “The (former) sheriff sent us a letter ... last November, saying that the plan had been amended to go to $50,000. So Standard Life processed the premiums at the start of this year under that assumption.”
Truex asked how that was done without county council approval. Brown said they didn’t know, and the merit board said it didn’t know either.
“The council did not approve the increase,” Truex said.
Travis McConnell, merit board member, asked if the increase should have gone forward with just a letter from the former sheriff.
“We didn’t have any reason not to believe (it),” Brown said.
He said the benefit plan paid the premium. The county funds the plan.
“So the council didn’t ever know it went up because they didn’t have to approve it,” Truex said, though it should have.
Brown said the merit board did approve it in August. Minutes from that meeting were found and showed that the merit board did approve the increase. It just never got approval from the county council.
“So it would be our responsibility to sign proper work. Sign it and make sure the council is aware,” Truex said. Brown said the council also should sign it.
Brown said the increase in the premium was “minimal.”
The 2019 budget figure was $547,000 with the supplemental benefit plan trust at $91,000. For 2020, it went up to $551,000 with the supplemental at $73,000.
He said 11 counties last year changed to the $50,000 amount and Standard Life wanted letters from the sheriffs on letterhead that indicated the change.
Toward the end of the approximate 80-minute discussion on the insurance, Brown said, “Your plan is very well funded.”
More information on a couple of different aspects on the retirement plan was requested. Brown will return to the board at its meeting at noon Aug. 15 to discuss those options.
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