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NOTE 8 — DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION PLANS — STATE-WIDE (CONTINUED) <br />There are different types of annuities available to members upon retirement. A single -life annuity is a <br />lifetime annuity that ceases upon the death of the retiree —no survivor annuity is payable. There are also <br />various types of joint and survivor annuity options available which will be payable over joint lives. <br />Members may also leave their contributions in the fund upon termination of public service in order to <br />qualify for a deferred annuity at retirement age. Refunds of contributions are available at any time to <br />members who leave public service, but before retirement benefits begin. <br />The benefit provisions stated in the previous paragraphs of this section are current provisions and apply to <br />active plan participants. Vested, terminated employees who are entitled to benefits but are not receiving <br />them yet are bound by the provisions in effect at the time they last terminated their public service. <br />PERA issues a publicly available financial report that includes financial statements and required <br />supplementary information for GERF and PEPFF. That report may be obtained on the web at mnpera.org, <br />by writing to PERA at Public Employees' Retirement Association, Retirement System of Minnesota <br />Building, 60 Empire Drive, Suite 200, St. Paul, Minnesota 55103-2088 or by calling (651) 296-7460 or <br />(800) 652-9026. <br />B. Funding Policy <br />Minnesota Statutes Chapter 353 sets the rates for employer and employee contributions. These statutes are <br />established and amended by the State Legislature. The City makes annual contributions to the pension <br />plans equal to the amount required by state statutes. GERF Coordinated Plan members were required to <br />contribute 6.25% of their annual covered salary in 2013. PEPFF members were required to contribute 9.6% <br />of their annual covered salary in 2013. The City is required to contribute the following percentages of <br />annual covered payroll: 7.25% for Coordinated Plan GERF members, and 14.4% for PEPFF members. <br />The City's contributions for the past three years ending December 31, which were equal to the contractually <br />required contributions for each year as set by state statute, were as follows: <br />GERF <br />PEPFF Total <br />2013 $ 187,503 $ 260,529 $ 448,032 <br />2012 $ 192,807 $ 269,743 $ 462,550 <br />2011 $ 214,050 $ 273,904 $ 487,954 <br />NOTE 9 — DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PENSION PLAN — STATE-WIDE <br />All City Council members are covered by the Public Employees Defined Contribution Plan (PEDCP), a <br />multiple -employer deferred compensation plan administered by PERA with two members participating. <br />The PEDCP is a tax qualified plan under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code and all contributions <br />by or on behalf of employees are tax deferred until time of withdrawal. <br />Plan benefits depend solely on amounts contributed to the plan plus investment earnings, less administrative <br />expenses. Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 353D.03, specified the employee and employer contribution rates <br />for those qualified personnel who elect to participate. An eligible elected official who decides to participate <br />contributes 5 percent of salary, which is matched by the elected official's employer. <br />82 <br />