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NOTE 8 – DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION PLANS – STATE-WIDE A. Plan Description All full-time and certain part-time employees of the City are covered by defined benefit plans administered by the Public Employees’ Retirement Association of Minnesota (PERA). PERA administers the General Employees’ Retirement Fund (GERF) and the Public Employees’ Police and Fire Fund (PEPFF) which are cost-sharing, multiple-employer retirement plans. These plans are established and administered in accordance with Minnesota Statutes, Chapters 353 and 356. GERF members belong to either the Coordinated or Basic Plan. Coordinated Plan members are covered by Social Security and Basic Plan members are not. All new members must participate in the Coordinated Plan. All police officers, firefighters, and peace officers who qualify for membership by statute are covered by PEPFF. PERA provides retirement benefits as well as disability benefits to members, and benefits to survivors upon death of eligible members. Benefits are established by state statute, and vest after three years of credited service for members who started before July 1, 2010 and five years of credited service for members who started on or after July 1, 2010. The defined retirement benefits are based on a member’s highest average salary for any five successive years of allowable service, age, and years of credit at termination of service. Two methods are used to compute benefits for PERA’s Coordinated and Basic Plan members. The retiring member receives the higher of a step-rate benefit accrual formula (Method 1) or a level accrual formula (Method 2). Under Method 1, the annuity accrual rate for a Basic Plan member is 2.2% of average salary for each of the first 10 years of service and 2.7% for each remaining year. The annuity accrual rate for a Coordinated Plan member is 1.2% of average salary for each of the first 10 years of service and 1.7% for each remaining year. Under Method 2, the annuity accrual rate is 2.7% of the average salary for Basic Plan members and 1.7% for Coordinated Plan members for each year of service. For PEPFF members, the annuity accrual rate is 3% for each year of service. For all PEPFF members and for GERF members hired prior to July 1, 1989, whose annuity is calculated using Method 1, a full annuity is available when age plus years of service equal 90. Normal retirement age is 55 for PEPFF members, and 65 for GERF Basic and Coordinated Plan members hired prior to July 1, 1989. Normal retirement age is the age for unreduced Social Security benefits capped at 66 for Coordinated Plan members hired on or after July 1, 1989. A reduced retirement annuity is also available to eligible members seeking early retirement. There are different types of annuities available to members upon retirement. A single-life annuity is a lifetime annuity that ceases upon the death of the retiree—no survivor annuity is payable. There are also various types of joint and survivor annuity options available which will be payable over joint lives. Members may also leave their contributions in the fund upon termination of public service in order to qualify for a deferred annuity at retirement age. Refunds of contributions are available at any time to members who leave public service, but before retirement benefits begin. The benefit provisions stated in the previous paragraphs of this section are current provisions and apply to active plan participants. Vested, terminated employees who are entitled to benefits but are not receiving them yet are bound by the provisions in effect at the time they last terminated their public service. PERA issues a publicly available financial report that includes financial statements and required supplementary information for GERF and PEPFF. That report may be obtained on the web at mnpera.org, by writing to PERA at Public Employees’ Retirement Association, Retirement System of Minnesota Building, 60 Empire Drive, Suite 200, St. Paul, Minnesota 55103-2088 or by calling (651) 296-7460 or (800) 652-9026. Page 81