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IPERS IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION

IPERS NEWS UPDATES

February 13, 2012
The following bills have been filed and assigned to the State Government Committees in the Senate and House:

SF 2098  by Kettering  Subcommittee, Kibbe, Danielson, and Dix

This bill provides that retired members under the Iowa public employees’ retirement system (IPERS) are excluded from the definition of employee for purposes of IPERS. By excluding retired members from the definition of employee, a retired member returning to employment with an IPERS-covered employer shall not become a member of the system for that employment and shall not make contributions to the system or be granted membership service for that employment. Under current law, a retired member who returns to employment with an IPERS-covered employer can be considered an employee for purposes of IPERS coverage. New Code section 97B.11B provides that an employer of a retired member shall make employer contributions to the system for that member in an amount equal to what the employer would have been required to contribute if the retired member was not excluded from the definition of employee as provided in this bill. Contributions made pursuant to this Code section shall not be refunded to the retired member.  Code section 97B.48A, concerning reemployment, is amended to provide that current requirements applicable to retired reemployed members apply to retired members who return to full-time employment with an IPERS-covered employer. The provision allowing the refund of accumulated contributions made on behalf of retired reemployed members is amended to provide that only employer contributions made prior to July 1, 2012, can be refunded. Code section 97B.52A, concerning bona fide retirement, is amended to provide that covered employment for purposes of determining a bona fide retirement for a retired member means employment that would have been covered employment under IPERS if the retired member was not excluded from the definition of employee as provided in the bill.

HF 2117  by Baltimore  Subcommittee Cownie, Mascher, and Pettingill

This bill amends Code section 97B.1A(26), concerning the definition of wages for purposes of the Iowa public employees’ retirement system (IPERS) for elected officials and members of the general assembly. The bill provides that per diem payments to elected officials and members of the general assembly and daily allowance paid to members of the general assembly are not considered wages for purposes of IPERS.

Your Association wants your opinion on the bills filed with the legislature. Please use our email address or contact a Board representative in your area.

August, 2011

The 2011 legislative session produced one bill that affects IPERS.  HF 484 was signed by the governor April 20, 2011.  The bill provided that state funds and funds administered by the state, including public employee retirement funds, should not be invested in companies that provide power production-related services, mineral extraction activities, oil-related activities, or military equipment to the government of Iran.

The legislature also left six other bills in subcommittee that are eligible for action during the 2012 session.  The bills are listed below with a brief explanation and assigned subcommittee members.

SF 215 Introduced by Feenstra, Subcommittee, Kibbie, Behn, and Jochum
This bill provides that any newly hired part-time employee working 1,300 hours or less on an annualized basis is not eligible to participate in the Iowa public employees’ retirement system (IPERS). In terms of an employee’s weekly hours, any employee working 25 hours or less per week would not be eligible for participation in the system.

SF 309 Introduced by Black, Subcommittee, Black, Danielson, and Seymour
This bill requires that any disability payments earned for service in the armed services of the United States not be used to offset allowances within the Iowa public employees’ retirement system (IPERS) for IPERS members who are employed in a protection occupation.

SF 403 Introduced by Kettering, Subcommittee, Danielson, Kibbie, and Smith
This bill relates to the statewide fire and police retirement system by providing for the transition of the system and its members into the Iowa public employees’ retirement system (IPERS). The bill provides that all newly hired police officers and fire fighters of a city with a population of more than 8,000 shall not be eligible for membership in the statewide fire and police retirement system, but instead shall be required to become a member of the Iowa public employees’ retirement system as protection occupation members. The bill further provides that the board of trustees of the statewide fire and police retirement system must work with the chief executive officer of the Iowa public employees’ retirement system to develop a plan for the transition of all statewide fire and police retirement system members and assets into the Iowa public employees’ retirement system. The bill provides that the chief executive officer of IPERS must develop a transition plan and related transition documents to be presented to the Iowa public employees’ retirement system benefits advisory committee for its review and comments in 2013. The bill provides that the chief executive officer may consider any recommendations from the committee, and must then adopt a transition plan and related transition documents. The bill provides that the members and assets of the statewide fire and police retirement system on June 30, 2015, become members or assets, respectively, of the Iowa public employees’ retirement system as of July 1, 2015.

HF 418 Introduced by Iverson, Subcommittee, Iverson, Drake, and Mascher
This bill establishes a mandatory defined contribution retirement plan for all employees commencing covered employment on or after July 1, 2013, and creates an option for employees covered under the Iowa public employees’ retirement system (IPERS) to elect out of coverage under that system and into a defined contribution plan established by IPERS effective July 1, 2013.

HF 447 Introduced by Murphy, Subcommittee, Helland, Kaufmann, and Mascher
This bill creates a state employees’ group whole life insurance program and allocates realized benefits from the program to the Iowa public employees’ retirement system (IPERS). The bill requires that the director of administrative services contract with a third-party administrator to modify current group term life insurance to group whole life insurance. The bill requires that employee death benefits remain the same, but that when an employee becomes inactive or is terminated, the death benefit shall vest to IPERS. The bill requires that employees hired after the date of enactment participate in a group term life insurance policy, and those employees have the right to continue such coverage at the employee’s own expense upon the end of employment with the state. The bill requires that IPERS record the present value of IPERS’ interest in the employee group whole life insurance program as an asset. The bill strikes language in current law that would allow any employee, current or future, to carry the employee’s death benefit after employment if the former employee was responsible for the continued expense. The current law pertained only to group term life policies.

HF 572 Introduced by Committee on Local Government, Subcommittee, Jorgensen, Iverson, and Mascher
This bill delays for a period of one year statutory changes that alter the contribution rates of employees and employers contributing to the Iowa public employees’ retirement system. Statutory changes relating to contribution rates that are set to take effect on July 1, 2011, would instead take effect on 12 July 1, 2012.

Use the following link to access copies the proposed bills. The link can be used during the next legislative session to track the progress of legislation affecting our IPERS fund. http://www.legis.state.ia.us/aspx/Cool-ICE/BySubject.htm

IIA will be watching the 2012 legislative action.  Check our news section for information on the progress of IPERS legislation during the 2012 session.