Laserfiche WebLink
Attachment A <br />4.Appropriateness of Remaining Relief Association Assets Disposition Designation. The policy issue is <br />the appropriateness of specifying the disposition of any assets of the Roseville Volunteer Firefighters' <br />Relief Association remaining when the last service pension or survivor benefit has been paid. <br />Minnesota public pension laws generally presume that, once created or established, the retirement <br />plan continues indefinitely into the future, with no provision governing the winding up of a retirement <br />plan usually included in the governing legislation applicable to any Minnesota public pension plan. <br />When a retirement plan is placed on phase-out basis, the enactment closing the plan to new active <br />members usually includes a provision governing the disposition of any plan assets remaining upon the <br />last pension benefit payment. The usual recipient of the remaining assets is the governmental entity <br />served or principally served by the retirement plan. The potential proposed legislation follows that <br />pattern. <br />5.Precedent for Potential Proposed Legislation <br />. The policy issue is whether precedent exists for the <br />potential proposed administration and governance legislation applicable to the Roseville Volunteer <br />Firefighters' Relief Association and whether the Roseville Volunteer Firefighters' Relief Association <br />potential proposed legislation will constitute a problematic precedent for other Minnesota public <br />pension plans. There are past precedents of the various parts of the potential proposed Roseville <br />Volunteer Firefighters' Relief Association legislation, as follows: <br />a.Increase in Retiree Representation on Relief Association Board <br />. For the Minneapolis Police <br />Relief Association, phasing out since 1980, as active members declined in number, Laws <br />1983, Chapter 88, Sections 1, 2, and 5; <br />b.Transfer of Plan Administration to PERA. Local police and paid fire relief association law, <br />applicable to 48 local public safety plans and utilized by 44 plans, Laws 1987, Chapter 296; <br />the creation of the Statewide Lump-Sum Volunteer Firefighter Retirement Plan, administered <br />by PERA and intended as a mechanism for administering some portion of the state's numerous <br />volunteer firefighter relief associations electing to change administration under Laws 2009, <br />Chapter 169, Article 9; and the Minneapolis Employees Retirement Fund administrative <br />consolidation into PERA, Laws 2010, Chapter 359, Article 11; and <br />c.Disposition of Phased Out Relief Association Assets upon Final Benefit Payment. Local <br />police and paid fire relief association phase-out asset disposition specified in Laws 1980, <br />Chapter 607, Article 15, Section 4, Subdivision 2, Paragraph (3). <br />The Roseville Volunteer Firefighters' Relief Association potential proposed legislation applies the <br />prior precedents to a set of problems that another municipality and its pension plan would face if a <br />phase-out were implemented and consequently is unlikely to constitute an adverse precedent for <br />other pension plans. The Spring Lake Park-Blaine-Mounds View Volunteer Firefighter Relief <br />Association, another monthly benefit volunteer firefighter relief association, is currently in the early <br />stages of considering a mechanism to transfer the administration of its retirement plan to PERA, <br />since it is ineligible to utilize the Statewide Lump-Sum Volunteer Firefighter Retirement Plan as a <br />monthly benefit volunteer fire pension plan, and the Roseville Volunteer Firefighters' Relief <br />Association potential proposed legislation would be a precedent for that retirement plan to consider. <br />Conclusion <br />I hope that this memorandum and the attached draft potential proposed special legislation adequately <br />respond to your request. If the attached draft does so, it can be forwarded to the Office of the Revisor of <br />Statutes (Attention: Sheree Speer) for final drafting services and the preparation of jacketed bill copies. <br />If you have any questions about this memo or the draft proposed legislation, or require any modifications <br />in the draft proposed legislation, please contact me at 651-296-2750. <br />cc: Hannah Pallmeyer, Legislative Assistant, Sen. Marty <br />Holly Marsh, Legislative Assistant, Sen. Scalze <br />Jenny Nash, Committee Administrator, Rep. Hausman <br />Kevin Labenz, Legislative Assistant, Rep. Isaacson <br />David Breen, President, Roseville VFRA <br />Jim Bodsgard, Treasurer, Roseville VFRA <br />LCPR14-052 Memo.docx Page 3 <br /> <br />