Agenda - Council Work Session - 06/28/2016

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Firefighter Employment Provisions and Volunteer Benefits—The Omnibus Public Safety Finance and Policy Bill made a number of changes related to firefighters, including: allowing relief association dues as a voluntarily payroll deduction, allowing volunteer firefighters to be paid less frequently than every 31 days,requiring the licensure of all full-time firefighters by the State Board of Firefighter Training and Education, and expanding"continued employer health insurance benefits"to include dependents of volunteer firefighters killed in the line of duty. Police and Firefighter Retirement Supplemental State Aid — The volunteer firefighter portion of the Police and Firefighter Retirement Supplemental State Aid Program was made permanent. The minimum obligation of municipalities to an associated relief association special fund is now reduced by the amount of both fire state aid and police and firefighter retirement supplemental state aid. Police and firefighter retirement supplemental state aid is also added to the calculation of the exception to municipal ratification requirement for lump-sum plans. Pensions — A number of changes to the pension plans administered by the Public Employees Retirement Association(PERA)were adopted,effective June 30, 2015,including: • The future interest rate actuarial assumption for the PERA General Plan and PERA Police and Fire Plan are changed from 8.5 percent to 8.0 percent for actuarial valuations prepared after June 30,2015. • The refund repayment interest rate and prior service credit purchase payment determination rate for the PERA General Plan and PERA Police and Fire Plan are also changed from 8.5 percent to 8.0 percent. • The CPI-based post-retirement adjustment mechanism for the PERA Police and Fire Plan is replaced with a flat 2.5 percent increase when the plan reaches a 90 percent funding level. • The contribution stabilizer mechanisms applicable to the PERA General Plan are revised, broadening the factors the plan's Board of Trustees may consider before recommending an increase in the plan contribution rates. • Definitions of salary, termination of service, allowable service, retirement, and volunteer firefighter were revised for all applicable PERA plans. • Changes in eligibility, service pension levels, ancillary benefits, and service time calculations were made to the PERA Statewide Volunteer Firefighter Plan, lump sum retirement division. A change was also made to create a "monthly benefit retirement division" within this plan to facilitate the transfer of individual volunteer firefighter association monthly benefit plans to the statewide plan. • A number of administrative language changes were made to complete the merger of the Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund into the PERA General Plan, which was effective January 1, 2015. -18-