2003 Minnesota Statutes

     352.98 Postretirement health care savings plan. 

    Subdivision 1.    Plan created.  The Minnesota State 
 Retirement System shall establish a plan or plans, known as 
 postretirement health care savings plans, through which public 
 employers and employees may save to cover postretirement health 
 care costs.  The Minnesota State Retirement System shall make 
 available one or more trusts, including a governmental trust or 
 governmental trusts, authorized under the Internal Revenue Code 
 to be eligible for tax-preferred or tax-free treatment through 
 which employers and employees can save to cover postretirement 
 health care costs.  

    Subd. 2.    Contracting authorized.  The Minnesota State 
 Retirement System is authorized to administer the plan and to 
 contract with public and private entities to provide investment 
 services, record keeping, benefit payments, and other functions 
 necessary for the administration of the plan.  If allowed by the 
 Minnesota State Board of Investment, the Minnesota State Board 
 of Investment supplemental investment funds may be offered as 
 investment options under the postretirement savings plan or 
 plans.  

    Subd. 3.    Contributions.  (a) Contributions to the 
 plan shall be determined through a personnel policy or in a 
 collective bargaining agreement of a public employer with the 
 exclusive representative of the covered employees in an 
 appropriate unit.  The Minnesota State Retirement System may 
 offer different types of trusts permitted under the Internal 
 Revenue Code to best meet the needs of different employee units. 

    (b) Contributions to the plan by or on behalf of the 
 employee shall be held in trust for reimbursement of employee 
 and dependent health-related expenses following retirement from 
 public employment.  The Minnesota State Retirement System shall 
 maintain a separate account of the contributions made by or on 
 behalf of each participant and the earnings thereon.  The 
 Minnesota State Retirement System shall make available a limited 
 range of investment options, and each employee may direct the 
 investment of the accumulations in the employee's account among 
 the investment options made available by the Minnesota State 
 Retirement System.  At the request of a participating employer 
 and employee group, the Minnesota State Retirement System may 
 determine how the assets of the affected employer and employee 
 group should be invested.  

    (c) This section does not obligate a public employer to 
 meet and negotiate in good faith with the exclusive bargaining 
 representative of any public employee group regarding an 
 employer contribution to a postretirement health care savings 
 plan authorized by this section and section 356.24, subdivision 
 1, clause (7).  It is not the intent of the legislature to 
 authorize the state to incur new funding obligations for the 
 costs of retiree health care or the costs of administering 
 retiree health care plans or accounts.  

    Subd. 4.    Reimbursement for health-related expenses.  
 Following termination of public service, the Minnesota State 
 Retirement System shall reimburse employees at least quarterly 
 for submitted health-related expenses, until the employee 
 exhausts the accumulation in the employee's account.  If an 
 employee dies prior to exhausting the employee's account 
 balance, the employee's spouse or dependents shall be eligible 
 to be reimbursed for health care expenses from the account until 
 the account balance is exhausted.  If an account balance remains 
 after the death of a participant and all of the participant's 
 legal dependents, the remainder of the account shall be paid to 
 the employee's beneficiaries or, if none, to the employee's 
 estate.  

    Subd. 5.    Fees.  The Minnesota state retirement plan 
 is authorized to charge uniform fees to participants to cover 
 the ongoing cost of operating the plan.  Any fees not needed 
 shall revert to participant accounts or be used to reduce plan 
 fees the following year.  The Minnesota State Retirement System 
 is authorized to charge participating employers a fee, not to 
 exceed one-sixth of the Federal Insurance Contribution Act 
 savings realized by the employer as a result of participating in 
 the plan, until the initial costs of establishing the plan or 
 plans authorized by this section are recovered, or $75,000, 
 whichever is less.  

    Subd. 6.    Advisory committee.  (a) The Minnesota State 
 Retirement System shall establish a participant advisory 
 committee for the plan, made up of one representative appointed 
 by each employee unit participating in the plan.  Each 
 participating unit shall be responsible for the expenses of its 
 own representative.  

    (b) The advisory committee shall meet at least twice per 
 year and shall be consulted on plan offerings and vendor 
 selection.  By October 1 of each year, the Minnesota State 
 Retirement System shall give the advisory committee a statement 
 of fees collected and the use of the fees.  

    Subd. 7.    Contracting with private entities.  Nothing 
 in this section shall prohibit employers from contracting with 
 private entities to provide for postretirement health care 
 reimbursement plans.  

    HIST: 1Sp2001 c 10 art 7 s 1