RECENT PENSION LEGISLATION

New Bills introduced in Spring 2010 session

Bill-(Sponsor) – short synopsis

HB 5059 (Joyce) - prohibits new investments in derivatives in off or non-open markets, divest current holdings within 1 year of passage

HB 5069 (Verschoore) - allows fund to charge for the first 50 pages of copying charges

HB 5286 (Lyons) - for employees hired on or after the effective date, annual salary would be limited to civil service rank salary

HB 5312 (Saviano) - raises minimums to widows and retirees, annual cost to fund approximately 875,000 estimated on 1450 minimums annuitants (51 of which are retired members, the rest are minimum widows.

HB 5317 (Joyce) - child’s disability raised from $100 to $300, est. 140 recipients, total annual cost to fund $336,000 per year, this is of course an unfunded benefit. Originally $30 per month per child, rose to $100 per child on 7/12/2001.

HB 5318 (Joyce) - increases tax levy multiplier to 3.0 from 2.0. Last increase in 1982, from 1.97 to 2.0

HB 5366 (Burke) - removes the LT and above and Sergeant spots on the board, allows all police officers to vote for three active members of any rank and one retired spot. The active member can be from any rank but all police officers vote for three spots and the elected active trustees “shall” be detailed to the fund office by the Superintendent

HB 5389 (McAuliffe) – Credit under this section (214) may be granted only to a person who first became a participant in this fund before the effective date of this amendatory act of the 96th General Assembly

HB 5391 (McAuliffe) - Would allow for 75% of current pay for all duty disability benefits going forward. Right now they are awarded 75% of current pay but will not receive an increase until 7 years on duty disability, at which time their benefit cannot be less than 60% of salary.

HB 5392 (McAuliffe) and SB 3190 (DeLeo) - Changes effective birth date for 3% cola to 1/1/60 from 1/1/55.

HB 5393 (McAuliffe) SB 3189 (DeLeo) - mandates fund reimburse member for legal fees and litigation expenses if Board reversed in administrative review on duty (inc. occupational) disability cases.

HB5395 (McAuliffe) - Raises minimum to $1500 per month for retirees, $1200 for widows plus 100 more each year through 2014 to 1400 as of 1/1/2015. We have about 1425 widows at the minimum, meaning an additional $1.7 million to minimum widows and we have about 430 potential retired members with base retirement annuities that would be eligible for at most a $450.00 increase in the minimum, which could add no more than $2.3 million annually

HB 5396 (McAuliffe) - Similar to HB 5391 above, only occupational disability would be kept at 65% of current salary going forward.

HB 5397 McAuliffe) - Mandates retired CPD annuitant health care premium charged to retired members pay no "higher premium or other cost" than the active plan participants with the same Medicare status.

SB 3008 (Munoz) - Duplicates HB raising minimum for child disability, see above

SB 3009 (Munoz) -  Public Safety Employees Benefits Act - removes the controlling effective for those officers catastrophically injured, so those members injured in such a way prior to 1997 could apply, if allowed, city pays health care for member, for spouse after annuitants death until re-marriage and children up to age 25

Added 2/18/2010

HB 5684 (Fritchey) – establishes a 3% COLA for all widows, retroactive to the effective date of a widows annuity

SB 3022 (Jacobs) – adds section 214.3 to section 214 to allow prior service credit for military service prior to CPD appointment. Calls for employee and employer contributions as well as the normal cost plus interest for the additional service accrual, maximum period allowed 2 years.

HB 2582 (McAuliffe) – adds “a law enforcement officer with any agency of the United States government that contributed to the Federal Employee Retirement System” as eligible for portability section 214.2

SB 3162 (Harmon) – requires the posting on our website of any contracts with fund of fund managers, including our hedge fund of funds.

SB 2525 (Martinez) – states each system “must” indemnify and protect trustees, staff and consultants against all claims & suits. Bill also amends PA 096-0006 with regard to the goals established for minority managers shall be based on the % of total dollar amount of assets to be managed for” and also allows for trustee or staff “acceptance of educational materials or other costs associated with educational purposes”