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. . . Note4: CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS DECEMBER 31, 2003 DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION PLANS - STATEWIDE A. Plan Description All full-time and certain part-time employees of the City are covered by defmed benefit plans administered by the Public Employees Retirement Association of Minnesota (PERA). PERA administers the Public Employees Retirement FlUld (PERF), wlrich js a cost-sharing, multiple-employer retirement plan. This plan is established and administered in accordance with Minnesota statutes, chapters 353 and 356. PERF members belong to either the Coordinated Plan or the Basic Plan. Coordinated Plan members are covered by Social Security and Basic Plan members are not. All new members must participate in the Coordinated Plan. PERA provides retirement benefits as well as disability benefits to members, and benefits to survivors upon death of eligible members. Benefits are established by Minnesota statute, and vest after three years of eredited service. The defined retirement benefits are based on a member's highest average salary for any five successive years of allowable selVice~ age and years of credit at termination of service. Two methods are used to compute benefits for PERF's Coordinated and Basic Plan members. The retiring member receives the higher of a step-rate benefit accrual fonnula (Method I) or a level accrual formula (Method 2). Under Method 1, the annuity accrual rate for a Basic Plan member is 2.2 percent of average salary for each of the fIrst 10 years of service and 2.7 percent for each remaining year. The annuity accrual rate for a Coordinated Plan member is 1.2 percent ofavcrage salary for each of the fITS! 10 years and 1.7 percent for each remaining year. Under Method 2, the annuity accrual rate is 2.7 percent of average salary for Basic Plan members and 1.7 percent for Coordinated Plan members for each year of service. A reduced retirement annuity is also available to eligible members seeking early retirement. There are different types of ammities available to members upon retirement. A single-life annuity is a lifetime annuity that ceases upon the death of the retiree - - no survivor annuity is payable. There are also various types of joint and survivor annuity options available which will be payable over jomt lives. Members may also leave their contributions in the fund upon termination of public service in order to qualjry for a deferred annuity at retirement age. Refunds of contributions are available at any rime to members who leave public service, but before retirement benefits begin. The benefIt provisions stated in the previous paragraphs of this section are current provisions and apply to active plan participants. Vested, terminated employees who are entitled to benefits but are not receiving them yet are bound by the provisions in effect at the time tiley last terminated their public service. PERA issues a publicly available fmaneial report that includes financial statements and required supplementary infonnation for PERF and PEPFF. That report may be obtained on the web at www.mnpera.org,bywritingto PERA, 60 Empire Drive, Suite 200, St. Paul. Minnesota 55103-1855 or by calling 651-296-7460 or 800-652-9026. B. Funding Policy Minnesota statutes, chapter 353 sets the rates for employer and employee contributions. These statutes are established and amended by the State legislature. The City makes annual contributions to the pension plans equal to the amount required by Minnesota statutes. PERF Basic Plan members and Coordinated Plan members are required to contribute 9.10 percent and 5.10 percent, respectively, of their annual covered salary. The City is required to contribute the following percentages of annual covered payroll: 11.78 percent for Basic Plan PERF members, and 5.53 percent for Coordinated Plan PERF members. The City's contributions to the PERF for the years ending December 31, 2003, 2002, and 2001 wcrc $57,633, $52,340, and $43,560, respectively. The City's contributions were equal to the contractually required contributions for each year as set by Minnesota statute. -23-