Legislative Session number- 85

Bill Name: SF0430

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)