TRULY AGREED
CCS SS SCS HB 1808 -- PENSION BENEFITS AND COMPENSATION
This bill makes changes to several public employee retirement
systems and related provisions.
COUNTY EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT FUND (CERF)
The bill adds a new section to the County Employees' Retirement
Fund that prevents benefits from execution, attachment, and
certain other claims; however, child support and maintenance may
be withheld. The attachment statute is revised to include
deferred compensation plans of the state and its political
subdivisions as exempt from attachment.
HEALTH CARE RELATED TO RETIREMENT
Political subdivisions may provide medical coverage for
dependents of retired and deceased employees. Eligible members
under the Missouri Consolidated Health Care Plan may retain
coverage for themselves or dependents if they had coverage at
the last open enrollment period or under a separate plan within
6 months of termination or eligibility for benefits.
JUDICIAL SYSTEM AND PROSECUTORS
Starting September 1, 2000, judges who retired before August 28,
1995, may become special consultants who will have their
retirement benefits recalculated to incorporate all annual cost--
of-living increases that retired judges received between any
judge's eligibility for retirement and actual retirement.
Judges with 10 years of service who are serving as judges or
prosecutors may receive additional credited service for previous
public employment under certain conditions. Prosecutors with
more than 8 years of service may receive a reduced benefit upon
retirement at 62.
KANSAS CITY POLICE AND CIVILIAN SYSTEMS
(1) POLICE SYSTEM
The multiplier for the Kansas City police pension will be raised
from 2% to 2.5% for those retiring on/or after August 28, 2000.
The minimum police pension and surviving spouse benefit will be
$600 before supplemental benefits and cost-of-living adjustments
(COLAs) and must not exceed 75% rather than 60% of final
compensation. The remarriage prohibition is removed from
surviving spouse benefits, and the bill clarifies that a
surviving spouse who remarried before August 28, 2000, will not
receive a benefit and that a surviving spouse must have been
married to the member at the time of retirement or death in
service.
(2) CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE SYSTEM
The bill requires that votes of the retirement board have 5
members in favor, rather than 4, to pass a motion.
(3) BOTH SYSTEMS
Rather than basing COLAs on the consumer price index, the
retirement board may determine the amount, subject to a 3% cap.
Technical provisions concerning resolutions for payment for
services, supplies, and routine business items are supplied.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM (LAGERS)
The bill:
(1) Authorizes the retirement board to hold administrative
hearings and appoint a hearing officer to preside at the
hearings;
(2) Removes references to attainment of the minimum Social
Security age from 3 benefit options that provide a temporary
benefit for retirees younger than age 62, deletes reference to
positions not covered or no longer covered by Social Security
from benefit L-6, and creates a new benefit option to cover
positions not covered or no longer covered by Social Security;
(3) Changes the calculation of retirement benefits for a
surviving spouse; deletes the requirement that the spouse must
have been living with the member; removes the 2-year marriage
requirement for members who died from a non-duty-related
accident;
(4) Removes the requirement that the surviving spouse of a
former vested member must be living with the member and removes
the mandatory 120-month maximum benefit for surviving spouses
less than 40 years of age; and
(5) Deletes the maximum benefit calculation for a disability
recipient under minimum retirement age and reworks the section
that currently covers death benefits and disability retirement,
by deleting reference to death benefits.
MISSOURI STATE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM (MOSERS) AND
HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORTATION EMPLOYEES AND HIGHWAY PATROL
RETIREMENT SYSTEM (HTEHPRS)
Effective January 1, 2001, the system will provide life
insurance for employees covered by MOSERS, judges, and
administrative judges, and upon the election of the Highways and
Transportation Commission, Highways and Transportation Employees
and Highway Patrol Retirement System (HTEHPRS) employees, in the
amount of the rate of annual pay, with a minimum of $15,000,
rather than the current flat $15,000. This provision applies to
both the existing plans and the Year 2000 Plan. The 2-year
marriage requirement for MOSERS and HTEHPRS is removed from the
surviving spouse benefit for members and disabled members who
die before retirement under the existing plans. Under a current
option in the existing MOSERS plan, a member may elect surviving
spouse benefits if the member has been married for at least one
year before electing the benefit. The bill removes the one-year
period and requires that such election be made within one year
from the date of marriage. A parallel change is made in the
Year 2000 Plan. Retired members may make an election within one
year after the date of marriage to name the new spouse as a
beneficiary.
The definition of creditable service under the existing plans
clarifies that a day of creditable service cannot exceed one
calendar day of eligible service credit. Under the existing
MOSERS plan, employees, administrative law judges, and judges
may elect within one year of subsequent employment in a MOSERS--
administered position to purchase creditable service rather than
within 90 days after a year of such employment. Currently, an
employee in a MOSERS-administered position who had nonfederal
full-time public employment may purchase creditable service.
The bill adds employees who had provided full-time services to
the state by contract and adds requirements for purchase of such
service. The bill permits creditable service under certain
conditions for service as a circuit clerk for actively employed
members. The bill removes the one-year, re-employment period
for restoration of forfeited service as of August 28, 2000. For
retired members who are elected or appointed to state office or
enter employment in a position that requires at least 1,000
hours per year, the one-year waiting period for counting
creditable service is removed and a method for counting
creditable service for calculating additional annuity amounts is
created. Members of the General Assembly through December 31,
2000, covered under the closed plan who have served 2 full
sessions but do not qualify under the closed plan, may elect the
Year 2000 Plan upon meeting the age requirement.
Pop-up benefits for HTEHPRS members in the existing plan will
become effective in the month following the death of the spouse
rather than the month following application for a change in
benefit for those who retire on or after July 1, 2000. If a
member's death before retirement is a result of performance of
duty, no service requirements apply for eligibility for 50%
survivor's benefits for HTEHPRS members. The system will
provide death benefits in the form of life insurance for special
consultants pursuant to subsection 4 of Section 104.515, RSMo,
which may be administered by the Highways and Transportation
Commission; a parallel change is made in the Year 2000 Plan. In
the Year 2000 Plan, members of the Highway Patrol subject to
mandatory retirement are eligible for the temporary annuity when
they reach the mandatory retirement age and have 5 years of
service.
ST. LOUIS FIRE
Currently, the maximum widow's benefit is 50% of the member's
final compensation or $200, whichever is greater; the $200
maximum is changed to 75% of the poverty level. Retired members
who receive less than $350 monthly are now given an additional
payment to bring the total up to $350. The bill changes the
$350 figure to 100% of the poverty level. Technical changes to
the retirement plan are also made.
ST. LOUIS POLICE
The bill provides a new salary matrix effective July 1, 2000.
The changes to the St. Louis police retirement system are
largely technical, making terminology consistent, updating out--
of-date references, and eliminating obsolete provisions.
PUBLIC SCHOOL RETIREMENT SYSTEM (PSRS) AND NONTEACHER RETIREMENT
SYSTEMS (NTRS)
Both systems are revised to accommodate adjustments to Social
Security disability benefits by defining normal retirement as
occurring at age 55 with 25 years of service.
(1) TEACHERS
For teachers, the bill:
(1) Extends the window for 25-and-out from July 1, 2000, to
July 1, 2003;
(2) Raises the cap on cost-of-living increases from 75% to 80%;
(3) Clarifies that for members retiring on or after July 1,
2000, and not for those who retired before July 1, 2000, cost--
of-living increases will begin in the third January following
retirement;
(4) Establishes, for members retired before July 1, 2000, and
the beneficiaries of deceased retired members, a 3.5% increase;
(5) Makes all survivor benefits payable to eligible current and
future survivor beneficiaries; and
(6) Allows certain members who received certification based on
an out-of-state certificate to have their Missouri certificate
back-dated to the beginning of their Missouri service.
(2) NONTEACHERS
For the nonteacher retirement system, the bill:
(1) Revises the definition of "final average salary" from 5
years to 3 years;
(2) Increases the maximum allowable contribution rate from 4.5%
to 5%;
(3) Implements the rule of 80 (retirement eligibility when age
plus years of service equal 80);
(4) Increases the multiplier from 1.45% to 1.51% of final
average salary;
(5) Extends the window for the 25-and-out option from July 1,
2000, to July 1, 2003, and increases the multiplier for each
year of service between 25 and 29 years by .06%, ranging from
1.41% at 25 years up to 1.49% at 29 years of service in contrast
to the current 1.35% for 25 years and 1.43% for 29 years;
(6) Provides a one-time benefit to members who retire before
July 1, 2000, and to beneficiaries of deceased retired members
of 3.4%; and
(7) Creates a temporary multiplier of .4% for members who
retire at less than the minimum Social Security age and have 30
years of service or who are eligible under the rule of 80, until
the member reaches the minimum age of eligibility for Social
Security.
OTHER PROVISIONS
Public higher education institutions must apply their retirement
and severance programs fairly and consistently to similar
positions. The bill creates a method by which public benefit
corporations for churches and church associations will approve
changes to their bylaws.
The bill has an emergency clause and will be effective upon
approval by the Governor or July 1, 2000, whichever is later.
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