2006 Minnesota Statutes

354A.021 TEACHERS RETIREMENT FUND ASSOCIATIONS IN CITIES OF THE
FIRST CLASS.
    Subdivision 1. Establishment. There is established a teachers retirement fund association
in each of the cities of Duluth and St. Paul. The associations shall be known respectively as the
"Duluth Teachers Retirement Fund Association" and the "St. Paul Teachers Retirement Fund
Association." Each association shall be a continuation of the teachers retirement fund association
with the same corporate name established pursuant to the authorization contained in Laws 1909,
chapter 343, section 1.
    Subd. 2. Organization. Each teachers retirement fund association shall be organized and
governed pursuant to this chapter and chapter 317A, except that each association shall be
deemed to be a nonprofit corporation without coming within the definition in section 317A.011,
subdivision 6 . Any corporate action of any teachers retirement fund association taken prior to
April 9, 1976, shall be deemed to be valid if it conformed with Minnesota Statutes 1976, chapter
317 or 354A, or Revised Laws 1905, chapter 58, as amended through April 9, 1976.
    Subd. 3. Fund. Within each teachers retirement fund association there shall be created a
special retirement fund, which shall include all of the assets of the teachers retirement fund
association other than assets of a tax sheltered annuity program and fund authorized pursuant
to subdivision 5 which were acquired for the specific purpose of being credited to that fund.
The special retirement fund shall be credited with all employee and employer contributions, all
interest and all other income authorized by law. Within the special retirement fund there may be
established separate special retirement fund accounts for the purpose of providing convenience in
the funding of and accounting for retirement annuities and any authorized ancillary benefits.
    Subd. 4. Fund disbursement restricted. The assets of the special retirement fund shall be
disbursed only for the purposes provided for in this chapter, the articles of incorporation or bylaws
in effect as of March 31, 1975, and the articles of incorporation or bylaws adopted subsequent to
March 31, 1975 in accordance with the provisions of section 354A.12. All appropriate expenses
of and any authorized benefits provided by the teachers retirement fund association shall be
paid from the special retirement fund. Amounts necessary to make payments from the special
retirement fund of a teachers retirement fund association are hereby appropriated.
    Subd. 5. Tax sheltered annuity program and fund. A teachers retirement fund association
may establish a tax sheltered annuity program and fund meeting the requirements of section
403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which must include all assets which
were acquired for the specific purpose of being credited to the program and fund and to which
must be credited all employee contributions and employer contributions, if negotiated under a
collective bargaining agreement, designated for this purpose and all interest income attributable to
the assets of the program and fund.
    Subd. 6. Trustees' fiduciary obligation. The trustees or directors of each teachers retirement
fund association shall administer each fund in accordance with the applicable portions of this
chapter, of the articles of incorporation, of the bylaws, and of chapters 356 and 356A. The purpose
of this subdivision is to establish each teachers retirement fund association as a trust under the
laws of the state of Minnesota for all purposes related to section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue
Code of the United States, including all amendments.
    Subd. 7. Actuarial consultant. The board of trustees or directors of each teachers retirement
fund association may contract for the services of an approved actuary and fix the reasonable
compensation for those services. Any approved actuary retained by the board shall function as
the actuarial advisor to the board and may perform actuarial valuations and experience studies to
supplement those performed by the actuary retained under section 356.214. Any supplemental
actuarial valuations or experience studies must be filed with the executive director of the
Legislative Commission on Pensions and Retirement.
    Subd. 8. Audit by state auditor. The books and accounts of each teachers retirement fund
association must be examined and audited periodically as considered necessary by the state
auditor. A full and detailed report of the examination and audit must be made and a copy provided
to the teachers retirement fund association board of trustees. The cost of any examination and
audit must be paid by the teachers retirement fund association in accordance with section 6.56.
For purposes of section 6.56, each teachers retirement fund association is considered a local
governmental entity equivalent to a county, city, town, or school district.
    Subd. 9. Updated articles of incorporation and bylaws; filing. (a) On or before July 1,
2006, and within six months of the date of the approval of any amendment to the articles of
incorporation or bylaws, the chief administrative officer of each first class city teacher retirement
fund association shall prepare and publish an updated compilation of the articles of incorporation
and the bylaws of the association.
(b) The chief administrative officer of the first class city teacher retirement fund association
must certify the accuracy and the completeness of the compilation.
(c) The compilation of the articles of incorporation and bylaws of a first class city teacher
retirement fund association must contain an index.
(d) The compilation must be made available to association members and other interested
parties. The association may charge a fee for a copy that reflects the price of printing or otherwise
producing the copy. Two copies of the compilation must be filed, without charge, by each
retirement fund association with the Legislation Commission on Pensions and Retirement, the
Legislative Reference Library, the state auditor, the commissioner of education, the chancellor of
the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, and the superintendent of the applicable
school district.
(e) A first class city teacher retirement fund association may contract with the revisor of
statutes for the preparation of the compilation.
(f) If a first class city teacher retirement fund association makes an updated copy of its articles
of incorporation and bylaws available on its Web site, the retirement fund association is not
obligated to file a hard copy of the documents under paragraph (d) for the applicable filing period.
History: 1979 c 217 s 2; 1983 c 286 s 10; 1987 c 259 s 48; 1987 c 284 art 7 s 1; 1987 c
372 art 11 s 1; 1989 c 304 s 135; 1989 c 319 art 8 s 18; 1990 c 488 s 43; 1992 c 598 art 6 s 11;
1993 c 336 art 1 s 2; 1993 c 375 art 8 s 14; 2004 c 223 s 5; 1Sp2005 c 8 art 7 s 1; art 10 s
61; 2006 c 277 art 3 s 13