Directors Comments by Linda Barbaro, President

Transcription

1 R E A C The Official Monthly Publication of the Retired Employees of Alameda County, Inc. P.O. Box 302, Oakland, CA VOLUME 38 NUMBER 5 MAY 2017 Directors Comments by Linda Barbaro, President would like to introduce myself as the new I president of REAC. I retired from Alameda County after twenty-three years of service in The position that I held for the last thirteen years of my employment was as a career development specialist II in the Social Services Agency. I supervised a group of job developers and career development specialists. My unit worked in a program funded by the federal Workforce Investment Act which provides funding to assist workers who lost their jobs as a result of a plant closure or mass layoff. We were able to provide job search assistance including vocational training, counseling, and incentives to employers to hire the dislocated workers. I will be following in the footsteps of Jon Orellana, who has been the acting president of REAC. Jon has done an outstanding job. David Nelson, CEO of ACERA, wrote to Jon: I have appreciated your professionalism and cooperative approach as the president of REAC. I firmly believe that it is in the best interest of your members, our customers, for our two organizations to work together. You have done an excellent job advocating for your members with ACERA, and I hope REAC knows about and appreciates the hard work you have done on behalf of your members. I hope to continue the same relationship with ACERA board members and staff and represent the best interests of REAC members. I feel that it is important to keep members informed of issues that may influence their benefits and the benefits of future retirees. Marian Breitbart has been elected as our vice president. Paul Reeves is continuing his role as secretary, and Jessie Guiton is continuing as treasurer. Investment Information from the ACERA Web Site ( ACERA collects regular contributions for the retirement fund from the members and participating employers. They invest the fund all over the world. The combination of employer and employee contributions and the earnings from investments give ACERA the ability to pay the members the retirement benefits that they have earned. The sources of your benefits are 75% from investment earnings and 25% employee and employer contributions. The fund is well diversified and professionally managed. ACERA Investment Report ACERA reported in the March 2017 performance report that the fund had gained $72,283,612. The total fund continued on page 2 REAC Board Meetings May 8, 2017 (Monday) 9:30 am Ala. Cty. Health Care # San Leandro Blvd. San Leandro June 12, 2017 (Monday) 9:30 am Ala. Cty. Health Care # San Leandro Blvd. San Leandro reacwebsite@gmail.com ACERA Trustees Meetings May 25, 2017 (Thursday) 2:00 pm th Street, Oakland June 15, 2017 (Thursday) 2:00 pm th Street, Oakland Welcome New Members Addie Brown Judith Ghidinelli Eugenia Johnson Jose Llamas Karen Pacheco Donna Payne Patricia Ryan Bobby Turner Donald Vieira Donald White

2 Directors Comments continued from page 1 returned 1.22%. The total market value of the fund at the end of March was $7,296,020,237. This is the highest it has ever been. The Supplemental Retiree Benefit Reserve (SRBR), which pays for non-vested benefits including health insurance, had a balance of $874.4 million on December 31, Annual Health Care Planning Meeting ACERA meets yearly with representatives from REAC and ACRE (Alameda County Retired Employees) so that the retiree associations can gather information and provide input. This year the meeting was held on March 1. Representing REAC were Jon Orellana, Mike Smart, Rosalie Masuda, and Jerry Jacobs. In addition, Pete Albert represented ACRE. The topics covered included health care reform; Medicare eligibility for Parts A, B, and D; Wellness Program updates; and information on ACERA sponsored plans for The Board of Trustees will be considering action on medical, dental, and vision benefits in the near future. Health Care Reform The American Health Care Act (AHCA) proposed to repeal and replace parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The AHCA was withdrawn from consideration; therefore, the ACA remains in full force for now. Electronic Version of REAC Newsletter We are continuing to request that members convert to delivery of our newsletter. We have over 4,000 members; and, so far, only about 200 members have converted. That is only about 5%, and our goal is 50%. Thank you in advance for helping us reach that goal, and thank you to the people who have already converted! It is easy to do, and it will save a significant amount of money for printing and postage. Visit the REAC web site at Go to the Members Only link, and follow the easy instructions to obtain the password. Go to the bottom of the page to find the Electronic Newsletter. Type your name and ; then click yes. There are more detailed instructions contained in the April REAC News. California Retired County Employees Fall Conference We are still seeking volunteers to help with hosting this conference. Please contact Jerry Jacobs at jjmjacobs@comcast.net or (510) if you can help. Minutes of the Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Retired Employees of Alameda County, Monday, April 10, 2017 The meeting was called to order at 9:30 am by Jessie Guiton, treasurer, at the Health Care Services Agency Building, Room 242, 1000 San Leandro Boulevard, San Leandro. Roll Call Present were Linda Barbaro, Jerry Jacobs, Jessie Guiton, Marian Breitbart, Rosalie Masuda, Mike Smart, and Liz Koppenhaver. Also present were Michael Fara, ACERA staff member; Nancy Reilly, member and ACERA alternate retired board member; Alan Turner, member; Jon Orellana, member; 2 May 2017 REAC News

3 and Steve Scheinman, director emeritus and member. Previous Meeting Minutes The minutes of the March 13, 2017, board meeting were reviewed. It was moved by Mike and seconded by Marian that the minutes be approved. The motion was approved. Announcements and Communications Jon received a call from a member asking if REAC could take a position on the types of investments ACERA makes, for instance in terms of socially-responsible investments. Jon informed the member that REAC does not take such positions and advised that the member might want to contact ACERA regarding whether they would consider taking a position in making investment decisions. Reports Treasurer s Report: Jessie distributed copies of the March 2017 and Quarterly Treasurer s Reports. Receipts were $6,343.90, and disbursements were $9, resulting in a balance of $14, The only unusual items were deposits of $1,665, which were member checks for the spring luncheon; disbursements of $3, for the spring luncheon; and a total of $2, for CRCEA dues. It was moved by Marian and seconded by Mike that the March 2017 Treasurer s Report be approved as submitted. The motion was approved. Jerry indicated that the CRCEA conference payments were not paid on time; and, therefore, we would not ordinarily be permitted to vote at the next CRCEA meeting. It is expected, however, that there will be a board motion at the meeting to seat Jerry as the REAC delegate, which would allow him to vote. ACERA: Michael Fara reported on the April 5, 2017, Retirees Committee meeting. There were no action items and six information items. The first information item was a report on the Supplemental Retiree Benefit Reserve (SRBR) financial status. The SRBR ending balance as of December 2016 is $874.4 million, up about $20 million. The second information item was discussion of SRBR policy with respect to the Retired Member Death Benefit. This discussion concerns reciprocal members who did not render their last active service with an ACERA employer before retiring. Current policies are legal. Staff brought a recommended change to the SRBR policy requiring the payment of no less than $750, which was not approved by the board. Any potential changes to the SRBR policy will be presented at the May committee meeting. REAC did not take any position. The third item was the Report on Annual Health Care Planning Meeting. The fourth item was a Health Care Reform Update by the benefits consultant indicating that the Affordable Care Act remains in place for now. The final items included the Semi-Annual Report on the Wellness Program, which is trending in the right direction, but will take time to see decreased cost benefits, and miscellaneous updates. CRCEA: Jerry indicated that CRCEA is considering increasing registration fees for the fall conference. While this would probably be to our benefit as host to the fall conference, there was discussion that Jerry, as our representative, should refer such items to the REAC board for discussion. Liz has helped us get Rosie Rios, prior U.S. treasurer, to be keynote speaker at the conference and is trying to schedule Susan Muranishi to be a conference speaker as well. Jerry will follow-up with other speakers. One possibility is a session on pensions from the county s perspective and reaching out to millennials. Nancy will reach out to county task forces on millennial issues. CRCEA confirms the program. Al Turner is Jerry s backup for the conference. SACRS: No update. Jon had previously distributed an electronic copy of the SACRS magazine. Retirement Board: There was no additional information to report. The board of supervisors is moving ahead on replacing Don White. May 2017 REAC News 3

4 Investment Committee: Marian reported on her previously submitted report from the March 8 meeting. The report indicated that Verus expects that over a ten-year time frame it is reasonable to expect fundamental valuation returns to return to the mean and forecast a ten year return of 6.63%. Longer term, ACERA s returns have ranked in the top third of large public pensions. She also noted that a number of managers have been on the watch list for some time, and the policy does not stipulate how long a manager can be on the watch list before they are removed. Heath Care: As of week thirteen of twenty weeks of flu season, California has had minimal activity. Activities: Rosalie reported that there were 115 attendees and thirteen noshows to the spring luncheon, with 125 paid luncheons and three refunds to those who cancelled within the dead- line. There was some discussion of the venue as there is a new catering firm. Membership and Recruitment: Membership at the end of March 2017 stood at 4,096. REAC News: Jon has been doing the directors comments, but is no longer on the board. Generally, the president has written the comments using relevant items on the Retirees Report. Other Reports: There was no additional information to report. Old Business: The REAC board s 2017 Goals and Objectives item was reviewed. Some felt that several items could be combined and further refined. Mike Smart moved and Marian seconded the motion to accept the Goals and Objectives in concept. It is anticipated that this will be a two-year work plan and will be the subject of the May newsletter. The motion was approved with one no vote. New Business Election of Officers: Liz nominated Linda Barbaro for president, and the motion was seconded by Mike and approved. Liz nominated Marian Breitbart for vice president, and the motion was seconded by Rosalie and approved. Marian moved and Mike seconded the motion that Paul Reeves remain as secretary and Jessie Guiton as treasurer. The motion was approved. For the Good of the Order: No additional items. Jessie adjourned the meeting at 11:28 am. Respectfully submitted by Marian Breitbart, Acting Board Secretary Love Your Car. Love Your Loan. Refinance and earn up to $200. Mention this offer or use the promo code LOVELOAN to receive 1% cash back, up to $200. 1stunitedcu.org/autorefinance 1stunitedcu.org (800) Loans are subject to credit approval and cannot be used to refinance an existing 1st United Credit Union loan. Offer ends March 31, Federally insured by NCUA. 4 May 2017 REAC News

5 In Memoriam In deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the following retirees: ANDRADE, Marie 2/28/2017 Survivor of Nicholas G. Andrade AUSTIN, Ernest H. 2/23/2017 Survivor of Doris L. Austin CAMPBELL, Judith 3/23/2017 Probation CASTRO, Eduardo L. 3/12/2017 Survivor of Amelia U. Castro FERGUSON, Wanda E. 2/26/2017 Survivor of Robert L. Ferguson FORD, O. D. 3/23/2017 Emergency Medical Services DEF FUKAYAMA, George M. 3/13/2017 GALES-HUDDLESTON, Climmer J. 3/8/2017 HILL, Nan C. 3/19/2017 Child Support Services HUANG, Pian P. 3/4/2017 HYSON, Paul L. 3/3/2017 Probation PERATA, Marguerite M. 2/8/2017 ROH, Lorraine 2/4/2017 Superior Court Survivor of Herman Roh SHER, Leon P. 1/14/2017 Assessor DEF YOUNG, Barbara C. 1/25/2017 Superior Court The surviving spouse of a member is eligible for REAC membership. To enroll, call Jerry Jacobs, membership chair, at (510) Congratulations On Your Retirement BERZON, Marshall DEF HAIGHT, Jack R. PARKER, Anthony J Superior Court DEF TATUM, Jo Ann BLANK, Peninnah DEF JUSTICE, Keith A. DEF POWER, Roger D. TUTTELMAN, Samuel J. Social Services Agency DEF BURKHARDT, Pamela J. DAHM, Brian K. FELIX, Mary Behavioral Health Care Services FRAZIER, Leatrice A. FURASH, Toby R. Public Health MAYFIELD, Gennitta M. MC DONALD, Judith A. DEF MC GAHEE, Travis MESHESHA, Ganat H. MIJARES, JR., Daniel S. Social Services Agency PRASHER- RICHARDSON, Jean A. Community Development Agency DEF REICHMUTH, Robert W. Fire Department DEF SANDOVAL, Cristina E. Human Resource Services SMITH, Phillip B. Fire Department DEF VANDICKEN, Keith S. WHEAT, Cathlyne M. Social Services Agency DEF WIENCEK, Joseph M. Community Development Agency DEF WOODARD, Michele Superior Court May 2017 REAC News 5

6 REAC Officers and Directors President: Linda Barbaro... (510) Vice President: Marian Breitbart... (510) Secretary: Paul Reeves... (510) Treasurer: Jessie Directors: Jerry Jacobs... (510) Liz Koppenhaver... (510) Rosalie Masuda... (510) Mike Smart... Directors Emeriti: Barbara Jean Hallisey... (510) James J. Hartnett, Jr... (925) Ken Moresi... (510) Steve Scheinman... (925) Emily Shea... (510) Janet Waring... (510) Editor: Diane Sturgeon; Membership: Jerry Jacobs, (510) ; Printing and Mailing: Red Arrow Printing REAC S Mission The purpose of the Retired Employees of Alameda County (REAC) is to promote the common good and general welfare of Alameda County retired employees, subject to the County Employees Retirement Act of 1937, by promoting the interests of its members throughout the community by means of social, political, and educational activities that advance the social welfare of such retirees. Moving? Please fill out and mail this notice to the following address: Name: New Address: City/State: Date of Move: Old Address: REAC, P.O. Box 302, Oakland, CA or jjmjacobs@comcast.net Zip Code: Telephone: 5/2017 Also send change of address to ACERA: Alameda County Employees Retirement Association (ACERA) th St., Ste. 1000, Oakland, CA Phone: or Select Option 1 for the Retiree Benefits Unit (health, vision, dental, etc.) Retired Employees of Alameda County P.O. Box 302 Oakland, CA May 2017 Nonprofit org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit 4174 Oakland, CA ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED C A E R