The Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) has posted its 2016 Actuarial Valuation Reports for its defined benefit plans under the Financial Overview section on its website. As expected, the annual actuarial valuation for PERS shows a slight decrease in its funded status on an actuarial basis from 60.40 percent as of June 30, 2015, to 60.00 percent as of June 30, 2016. The primary factor contributing to this decrease in the funded status was an investment return for the year (1.15 percent) that was below the assumed rate of 7.75 percent.

Projection reports should be available and posted to the Financial Overview section of the PERS website in late December. The projection report for PERS will show whether PERS remains on target for meeting its goal of being at least 80 percent funded by 2042.

PERS Annual Actuarial Valuation Report as of June 30, 2016

Please take time to read and share Pat Robertson’s open letter to all Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) members and retirees regarding the affordability of PERS and addressing recent headlines about whether Mississippi is in a pension crisis.

Read “The Affordability of PERS”

The National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) has published
Pensionomics 2016: Measuring the Economic Impact of Defined Benefit Pension Expenditures. This is the fourth report of its kind (2009, 2012, 2014, and 2016), and, collectively, these reports reveal that state and local pension funds in Mississippi have consistently had positive effects on the state’s economy, tax revenues, and jobs. Below is the state fact sheet for Mississippi.

Mississippi Pensionomics 2016

The Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) has published its quarterly investment report for the quarter that ended June 30, 2016. The investment report is prepared quarterly by the PERS Investments Department. The report provides PERS’ current asset allocation, lists the top 10 holdings, gives an overview of agency investment returns, and lists the current investment managers. Questions about the report should be directed to PERS at 601-359-3589 or 800-444-7377.

PERS Investment Report

The Mississippi Retired Public Employees’ Association (MRPEA) has published its summer 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.

MRPEA Guardian Summer 2016

There are a number of agendas in place today that have anti-government or anti-public-education initiatives at their root. Rather than approach them head on, critics have found common ground by opposing retirement income security for government workers. It would be refreshing if they just fessed up and said, “Look, we don’t like government intervention in our affairs and will do whatever it takes to make government as ineffective as possible. As a starting point, we need to ensure that public sector employers do not have the total compensation arrangements required to attract and retain quality employees.”

Overcoming Fear, Part I and Part II

The Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) recently mailed Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) notices, and retirees who receive an annual lump sum COLA may notice that tax withholdings for this payment differ from last year.

On its website, PERS explains that the reason for the change is because PERS switched to a new pension administration system last year, which defaulted each retiree’s COLA tax withholdings to the same preference set for his or her monthly benefit distribution.

PERS sends COLA notices every summer to inform retirees of their December COLA amount and the amount to be withheld in taxes. Once an individual receives and reviews his or her notice, he or she has the option to make any necessary changes before the COLA is paid in December. Any retiree who would like to adjust his or her lump sum COLA tax withholding preference should indicate the preferred change on the bottom portion of the notice and return that part of the notice to PERS by October 31.

Any retiree who did not receive or who no longer has his or her notice may call PERS at 601-359-3589 or 800-444-7377 to request a duplicate notice.

Understanding your lump sum COLA Notice

Dr. Randy D. McCoy has transitioned from vice chairman to chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) for fiscal year 2017, which began July 1.

McCoy is a retired superintendent of Tupelo Public Schools and a board retiree representative. He previously served as board vice chairman for the 2016 fiscal year. At the Board’s June 28 meeting, McCoy became chairman for fiscal year 2017, succeeding Lee County’s Chancery Clerk Bill Benson. ​

The PERS Board elected Mississippi Treasurer Lynn Fitch as its new vice chairman.

The chairman presides at board meetings, appoints members of board committees, and can call special meetings. The vice chairman transitions to chairman after a year and serves as chairman when the current chairman is absent.

The 10-member 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.

The Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) is seeking candidate nominations and petitions for its Board of Trustees Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) employee representative for the six-year term beginning January 1, 2017, and running through December 31, 2022.

Candidates must be IHL employees and active PERS members with at least 10 years of creditable service. Candidate nomination petitions must be signed by at least 25 active PERS members working for any of Mississippi IHLs.

Nomination forms, petitions, and a cover letter with a complete election schedule are available on the PERS website, www.pers.ms.gov. Deadline for receipt of completed nomination forms and petitions is 5 p.m. July 29. Ballots for these elections will be cast from September 7 to October 7, and the Board will certify the election results at its regularly scheduled meeting October 25.

The 10-member PERS Board includes the state Treasurer, a gubernatorial appointee who is a member of PERS, two PERS 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.