4E Relating to retirement

ARTICLE 1 - VARIOUS CLARIFICATIONS AND CORRECTIONS

Correcting obsolete references to the former Minneapolis teachers retirement fund association; correcting certain errors and omissions in legislators, teachers and Faribault correctional facility retirement provisions

ARTICLE 2 - ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS

Modifying legislator retirement allowance accrual start date; clarifying the definitions of state employee and removing obsolete references under Minnesota state retirement system coverage (MSRS) definitions; modifying the definition of allowable service; providing an authorized leave of absence service credit purchase procedure under MSRS; removing certain restrictions on surviving spouse coverage; including state fire marshal employees under MSRS provisions; providing an exemption from process for MSRS health care savings plan account assets, exception for marriage dissolution and child support; including agricultural utilization research institute, Minnesota technology incorporated and certain Minnesota state colleges and universities (MnSCU) faculty and employees in the MSRS unclassified program; making transfer from the unclassified program to the general plan irrevocable; modifying the accrual date for unclassified program former employees; relating to the public employees retirement association (PERA); making certain administrative changes; clarifying PERA membership; modifying the definition of governmental subdivision and retirement; clarifying board of trustees powers and duties; specifying a payment schedule in the event of insufficient state aid payment to the fund and governmental subdivision dissolution; making certain technical changes; modifying the surviving spouse optional annuity; clarifying surviving spouse benefit termination; authorizing health insurance withholding for certain public safety retirees; relating to the teachers retirement association (TRA); modifying service credit contributions for extended leaves of absence; providing for payments using pretax transfers; modifying provisions under the optional accelerated retirement annuity before normal retirement age; clarifying bounce back annuity provisions; clarifying computation of benefits provisions for permanent disability benefits; providing for account termination and restoration under certain conditions; clarifying option annuity notice requirement to spouse provisions authorizing and providing for purchase of comprehensive employment training act service credit under certain conditions, sunset provision; providing for allocation of receivables upon dissolution of employing unit; repealing certain provisions relating to PERA annuities upon retirement, rights upon termination of membership and officers or employees of noncovered municipalities optional membership;modifying early, mandatory and normal retirement dates for judges retirement; specifying revisor of statutes instructions

ARTICLE 3 - MSRS CORRECTIONAL PLAN MEMBERSHIP PROVISIONS

Providing coverage under the correctional employees retirement plan of the Minnesota state retirement system (MSRS) for certain department of corrections employees; specifying certain review committee evaluation and determination considerations; providing for transfer of past MSRS general service credit to MSRS correctional; authorizing and providing for prior service credit coverage for certain St. Cloud correctional facility employees; providing for additional employee contributions and for the transfer of assets from the general state employees retirement plan to the correctional employees plan and for the effect of the asset transfers

ARTICLE 4 - DISABILITY BENEFIT CHANGES

Defining normal retirement age, duty disability, less frequent duties, line of duty death, normal duties, not line of duty death and regular disability for the public employees police and fire retirement plan and local government correctional service retirement plan members under the public employees retirement association (PERA); modifying disability benefits determination procedures under the public employees retirement association (PERA) general fund, public employees police and fire fund and local government correctional service retirement plan; restricting the PERA disability trail work provision to the general plan; modifying the PERA police and fire plan early retirement provision for new members hired after a certain date; modifying the computation of duty disability benefits; providing for the computation of benefits under a total and permanent duty disability; modifying the optional annuity election for disabled members; reformulating the nonduty disability benefit as the regular benefit; providing for the computation of benefits for total and permanent regular disability benefits; modifying the cessation of disability benefits provision; modifying disability survivor benefits prior to a certain date; modifying the disability application provision; modifying the disability accrual of benefits provision; providing for chemical dependency limitations to disability benefit eligibility; modifying the death while active or disabled survivor benefit eligibility provision; modifying the survivor benefit amount provision; modifying the dependent child provision; defining duty disability, less frequent duties, normal duties and regular disability for PERA correctional plan purposes; changing the nonduty disability provision to a regular disability provision; modifying the disability benefit application provision; modifying the disability benefit continuation provision; repealing the medical advisor and certain disability benefits provisions

ARTICLE 5 - HEALTH CARE FACILITY PRIVATIZATIONS

Providing public employees retirement association (PERA) pension benefits for employees at the Lakefield nursing ,the Lakeview nursing home in the city of Gaylord and the Oakland Park nursing home in Pennington county upon privatization of the facilities

ARTICLE 6 - STATEWIDE RETIREMENT PLAN APPEALS PROCESS

Eliminating the requirement for the for the PERA board to establish a benefit eligibility review procedures in favor of a joint appeal procedure; defining procedures for appealing administrative decisions by chief administrative officers; repealing certain appeal procedures

ARTICLE 7 - FIRST CLASS CITY TEACHER RETIREMENT FUND ASSOCIATION CHANGES

Providing for a St. Paul teachers retirement fund pilot postretirement adjustment, specifying limitations; requiring the legislative commission of pensions and retirement (LCPR) to study postretirement adjustment experience and report to the legislature by a certain date; repealing an aid adjustment termination due to employer retirement contribution rate changes and a St. Paul teacher retirement fund association supplemental administrative expense assessment

ARTICLE 8 - MINNEAPOLIS EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT FUND LIQUIDITY CHANGES

Modifying the definition of salary; authorizing the Minneapolis employees retirement fund (MERF) to invest fund assets with the state board of investment under certain conditions; requiring the executive director of the fund to determine the interest charge; modifying certain liquidity requirements; repealing the additional employer contributions provision under certain conditions

ARTICLE 9 - MINNEAPOLIS POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS RELIEF ASSOCIATIONS CHANGES

Clarifying and modifying the amounts the Minneapolis police relief association allocates for surviving spouse benefits; modifying certain investment income requirements of the Minneapolis firefighters relief association for postretirement adjustments of actuarial assets

ARTICLE 10 - VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER BENEFIT CHANGES

Modifying the definition of qualified recipient; clarifying eligibility for payment of supplemental benefit; clarifying benefit payments to survivors of deceased active or deferred volunteer firefighters

ARTICLE 11 - VARIOUS BENEFIT AND OTHER CHANGES

Prohibiting the legislative commission on pensions and retirement (LCPR) standards from containing a valuation requirement inconsistent with generally accepted accounting principles applicable; authorizing the surviving spouse of a deceased former legislator to election an optional joint and survivor annuity; providing an option for payment of a partial benefit amount to alternative payees under a marriage dissolution decree; extending the state of Minnesota postretirement option eligibility to staff of public employees retirement association (PERA); clarifying the rule of 90 is an unreduced retirement annuity for purposes of the state postretirement option; authorizing Minnesota state retirement system (MSRS) general plan membership for certain middle management association employees; adding the gang and drug oversight council statewide coordinator to the law enforcement retirement fund; authorizing public safety retiree insurance withholding under certain conditions; adding the statewide coordinator of the gang and drug oversight council to the definition of peace officer; increasing the surviving spouse benefit for the Thief River Falls police trust fund; extending eligibility for early retirement incentives under certain conditions

ARTICLE 12 - SMALL GROUP AND SINGLE PERSON PROVISIONS

Authorizing and providing for the purchase of prior service credit in the public employees retirement; exempting Anoka county field investigators from reemployment annuitant provisions under the public employee retirement association (PERA) police and fire plan; providing a Minnesota state retirement system (MSRS) and public employees retirement association (PERA) annuitant an annuity back payment; authorizing a sabbatical leave salary service credit purchase for teachers retirement association (TRA) Minneapolis school teachers; authorizing and providing for the purchase of prior uncredited service in the public employees retirement system (PERA) by a certain former community education employee for independent school district #535, Rochester; authorizing the filing of a late disability benefit application from the general employees retirement plan of the public employees retirement association (PERA) by a certain former employee of independent school district #777, Benson, providing disability benefits under certain conditions
(Ch. 134, 2007)