Click here to view the agenda for the August 31, 2011 Board meeting.
The office will be closed Tuesday, August 23, 2011. Staff is attending an all day Educational Conference. We will be back on Wednesday, August 24, 2011.
Do you want to know more about your benefits through the Franklin Regional Retirement System? Join us for a short presentation followed by a question and answer session on Thursday, August 25, 2011, 10:00 a.m. in the Orange Town Hall, 6 Prospect Street, Orange, MA. Check out the Flier. Click here to browse a copy of the Public Employee Retirement Guidebook.
In 2010, the Board approved offering discounts to member units (towns, schools, agencies) that wanted to pay their annual assessments in full on July 1st each year (otherwise make semiannual payments on July 1st and January 1st). This year, participation was up markedly over last year with 34 out of 39 making the early payment (22 last year). This year we collected $4,719,171, left $285,104 outstanding (until Jan 1), and gave a total of discounts of $84,110. Last year we collected $4,129,880, left $808,500 outstanding, and discounted $65,334. All of this is a great benefit to the towns. They save the interest on half the assessment for half a year (7.875 % annual), and they get the money into our investments sooner so we get that much more opportunity for positive returns – which goes right back into our reserves and helps knock-down future costs, thereby lowering future assessments to the towns. Click here to see the assessment chart for this year.
The minutes of the June 29, 2011 Board meeting have been uploaded to the 2011 minutes page. Click here.
The cost of living increase, approved by the Board earlier this year, and effective as of 7/1/2011, has been added to the July retirement benefit for all retirees with an effective retirement date of June 30, 2010 or prior. The increase is equal to 3% of the annual benefit up to a maximum of $390 annually, or $32.50 monthly.
Click here to view the agenda for the July 27, 2011 Board Meeting.
PERAC just released the latest rankings list of funded ratios (funding for future retirements) for all the systems and we look pretty good comparatively. Granted, all the data dates are not the same, some are current, some are three years old, ours is a year and a half old, but it still gives some basis for comparison (without a lot of effort updating everyone’s numbers out-of-schedule). With our old number (66.6%), we are ranked number 43 out 107 systems. Out latest calculation of funded ratio was 73.5% as of May 31, 2011 – so clearly we are climbing out of the 2008/2009 stock drop and approaching our pre-drop status of 80%. (Hold off on the champagne until we hit 100% – but nice to see we’re heading in the right direction – forward Ho!)
The minutes of the May 25, 2011 Board meeting have been uploaded to the 2011 minutes page. Click here.
Most of the retirement systems in Massachusetts are in the habit of marking your “start date” as the day you first work – and paid for – in their system. For example, if your last day of work with us is Friday, and you start your new job in Hampshire County on Monday, you will lose the two days in between. Not a big deal if it is only that one time. However, if you leave one of our units (Orange, for example), and you take your remaining vacation pay in a lump-sum - and wait a few weeks before you start your new job – you will lose those few weeks. The solution? Take your vacation pay regularly (not lump-sum) and have your official resignation date be the day before you start your new job. Also, make sure the person (treasurer/payroll person) at your old job uses the correct date when they report to us what your last day was. A good idea is to keep a copy of your resignation letter/notice – and make sure you use the best date (send us a copy?). One note: there has to be pay associated with the service time (maybe with the exception of the weekend scenario (change jobs mid-week?)(resign the old job as of Monday morning?)). Another note: when the treasurer/payroll person is issuing the checks for your “regular” vacation, don’t let them date them all the same – have them date the checks every two(?) weeks and mail them on those dates. Otherwise, when we see the payroll records, we might consider them as lump-sum payouts and not grant you the service credit.)
What is important here is that you are aware of this snafu. ASK AHEAD-OF-TIME HOW YOUR SYSTEM HANDLES THE GAPS. If these gaps happen every time you switch jobs – they will add up to months (maybe) of lost service credit. You think you’ve worked 20 years and can retire but guess what? You need 2 or 3 more months!
Another thing to watch out for – the retirement system that throws away the extra days. That’s right – if you transfer out of their system after 5 years, 3 months, and 10 days of worked service – your old system might drop the ten days and only give you years and full months! Ask before you leave.