The Mississippi Retired Public Employees’ Association (MRPEA) has published its winter 2017 issue of The Guardian. Catch up on current MRPEA-related news and events – as well as news related to the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) – in this issue of The Guardian.
Category Archives: News
PERS-related bills that are still alive
Only two PERS-related bills survived the Jan. 31 committee deadline, and both bills are PERS-sponsored/supported bills. The two PERS-related bills that remain alive are listed below.
HB 978 – Mac Huddleston on behalf of PERS – Seeks to revise certain provisions of the Government Employees’ Deferred Compensation Law.
HB 1301 – Mac Huddleston on behalf of PERS – Seeks to make minor technical corrections to PERS, SLRP, and MHSPRS law; seeks to exempt PERS Executive Director from salary cap.
PEER releases 2016 update on financial soundness of PERS
The Mississippi Legislature’s Joint Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) has released its 2016 update on the financial soundness of the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS). This is the fifth in a related series of annual reports issued by PEER since December 2012 and provides a concise overview of where PERS stands financially. The report also includes an update on the status of the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol Retirement System.
PERS: 2016 Update on Financial Soundness (Executive Summary)
MRPEA surveys candidates for PERS retiree rep post
The Mississippi Retired Public Employees’ Association (MRPEA) is surveying candidates running for one of two retiree representative positions on the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS). All candidates are invited to complete the survey and return it to MRPEA. Click on the names listed below to review the responses received; additional responses will be added to this page as received from the candidates.
Twenty-three candidates qualified to run for this position. Visit www.pers.ms.gov to view the election schedule and a sample ballot listing all the candidates, their biographical information, and their candidate statements. Voting is open through 5:00 p.m., February 6, 2017, and the PERS Board will certify the election results at its February 28 meeting. The new term for this position will run from May 1, 2017, to April 30, 2023.
PERS mailed the ballots on or about January 6 to PERS retirees to elect a representative to replace Richard C. Miller, whose term will end April 30, 2017. When he leaves the Board, Miller will have served nearly 22 years as a trustee. He served from January 1993 to June 2008 as the Institutions of Higher Learning employee representative. His six-year term as a retiree representative began May 2011.
The 10-member PERS Board includes the state Treasurer, a gubernatorial appointee who is a member of PERS, two retirees, two state employees, and one representative each of public schools and community/junior colleges, Institutions of Higher Learning, counties, and municipalities. With the exception of the state Treasurer and the gubernatorial appointee, board members are elected to staggered six-year terms.
PERS mails ballots for retiree representative election
The Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) mailed ballots to eligible voters Friday, January 6, 2017, to elect a representative for the retiree trustee term that runs from May 1, 2017, to April 30, 2023. The deadline to cast ballots is Monday, February 6, 2017, at 5 p.m. Click the link below to view the election schedule and sample ballot.
Election Schedule and Sample Ballot
According to the PERS website, candidate statements will be posted the week of January 9, 2017.
Dr. Brian Rutledge elected to PERS Board of Trustees
Dr. Brian Rutledge, University of Mississippi Medical Center chief of staff, has been elected as the new institutions of higher learning representative on the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) Board of Trustees.
“I am pleased to have Dr. Rutledge join the PERS Board,” said Pat Robertson, PERS executive director. “From his work as a fellow to Senator Thad Cochran to his commitment to excellence at UMMC, Dr. Rutledge has dedicated his career to serving the people of Mississippi. We are fortunate to have him share his values and experience with those served by PERS.”
At its Dec. 13 meeting, the Board certified the results of the runoff election between Rutledge and Porter Richard Swann, Mississippi State University Extension Service fiscal administrator.
Rutledge’s term will run from December 2016 to December 2022, which includes the remaining two weeks of a term left vacant at the passing of Dr. Cecil L. Hill, associate professor of accounting at Jackson State University.
The 10-member PERS Board includes the state treasurer, a gubernatorial appointee who is a member of PERS, two retirees, two state employees and one representative each of public schools and community/junior colleges, institutions of higher learning, counties, and municipalities. With the exception of the state treasurer and the gubernatorial appointee, board members are elected to staggered six-year terms.
For more information about PERS, visit www.pers.ms.gov.
Public pension fund faces test
The Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) may be asking public agencies to contribute more next year.
The projection results for PERS as of June 30, 2016, show that, with a fixed employer contribution rate of 15.75 percent of payroll and with an assumed annual rate of return of 7.75 percent, PERS will achieve a funding ratio of 62.6 percent in 2042, down from a projection of 80.6 percent as of June 30, 2015. The funding policy target is 80.0 percent by 2042. According to a report recently released by PERS, if the projected funded ratio in 2042 does not increase above 75 percent in 2017, an increase in the employer contribution rate may be needed beginning in 2018.
Check out this story on clarionledger.com:
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/politics/2016/12/18/public-pension-fund-faces-test/95581252/
PERS releases 30-year projection report
The projection results for the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) as of June 30, 2016, show that, with a fixed employer contribution rate of 15.75 percent of payroll and with an assumed annual rate of return of 7.75 percent, PERS will achieve a funding ratio of 62.6 percent in 2042, down from a projection of 80.6 percent as of June 30, 2015. The funding policy target is 80.0 percent by 2042. According to the report released by PERS, if the projected funded ratio in 2042 does not increase above 75 percent in 2017, an increase in the employer contribution rate may be needed beginning in 2018.
Report on Thirty Year Projections of the Mississippi Retirement Systems Prepared as of June 30, 2016
PERS updates Facts & Figures
The Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) has updated its Facts & Figures publication with tables, charts, and graphs updated as of June 30, 2016. Click the link below to review the latest version of the PERS Facts & Figures publication.
MRPEA publishes fall 2016 issue of The Guardian
The Mississippi Retired Public Employees’ Association (MRPEA) has published its fall 2016 issue of The Guardian. Catch up on current MRPEA-related news and events – as well as news related to the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) – in this issue of The Guardian.