RSA UPDATE MEA Family Retired Staff Association Newsletter September 2015

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1 RSA UPDATE MEA Family Retired Staff Association Newsletter September 2015 From the President Summer is waning. It s hard to believe it has been a whole season since our annual meeting and reunion. I hope your summer was filled with fun and family as it was for Karen and me. Life is good! I want to thank each of you for the support you have given to the Retired Staff Association in The Executive Board and I appreciate the interest and enthusiasm you have shown for the goals and activities of the RSA. Your representatives continue their work towards our goals. Our SRPB liaisons (Lou Meyette, Bev Wolkow, and Bill Murray) attend all the meetings of the Staff retirement Plan Board, monitoring the board s investment and fund management activities and decisions. RSA is the only organization who actively represents the interest of the MEA family of retired staff members. The Retiree Benefits Committee chaired by Bev Wolkow continues its efforts to provide support for the continuation of our benefits. They have created a permanent repository of important documents including those memorializing the negotiations that created our pension and benefits and continue to add to its data base. In This Update SRP Board meeting update Treasurers Report and budget RSA Website and other technical news RSA Executive Board Directory Our Membership Committee meets regularly to build membership and promote the Association. If you want to help, read further in this Update for more information. At the RSA Annual Meeting, Steve Cook, MEA President, reported that MEA and its affiliates have successfully weathered the year. The Right to Work (RTW) legislation and legislation prohibiting the payroll deduction of dues have presented real challenges for the organization. The work of the active MEA and MESSA staff has changed dra- (Continued on page 2) Page 1

2 (Continued from page 1) matically to address those pressures but the health of MEA and MESSA continues to be strong. At this time, the SRP fund remains strong and stable, and is experiencing good growth. The benefits of retirees remain stable and protected. We are fortunate to have a well managed fund and our interests well looked after. The SRPB board continues its derisking strategies to make the pension fund more stable for the future. Negotiations for new contracts for active staff and revisions to the Staff Retirement Plan have mostly concluded. (ASO continues contract negotiations after rejecting a T.A.) The changes made do not directly alter any current retiree s pension provisions nor insurance benefits. However, they have resulted in very significant changes to the terms and conditions of employment for active staff. Future retirees will have new reduced benefits resulting from these negotiations. As a result, many staff have elected to retiree now to avoid the impact of those changes. If you know any of these folks, please tell them about RSA and encourage their membership in our Association..Bill Murray, RSA President MEA-MESSA-MEA Financial Services Staff Retirement Plan Board Meetings Meetings of the SRPB are regularly attended by representatives of the RSA. The SRPB meets regularly throughout the year and holds its annual meeting in August each year. The following is the report submitted by Lou Meyette, RSA Vice President who attended the meeting.. SRPB Meeting August 10, 2015 Investment report: 03/31/ /30/2015 Funded Status 75.9% 82.0% Assets (million) $492.3 $490.7 Liabilities (million) $648.3 $598.8 The funding status increased from 75.9% on 03/31/2015 to 82.0% on 08/30/2015. The plan's assets decreased by $1.6 million and the plan s liabilities also decreased by $49.5 Page 2

3 million over the quarter. The main contributor to the improved funded status was the decrease in the discount rate used to measure the liabilities. A full report with details was received by the Board. The SRP board received a report on the 401(h) funding: 08/30/ (h) (millions) $ % Decrease Over the total plan year the 401(h)fund increased 2.8% and outperformed its reference index by 0.01%. NEW: The board received a report containing the funding status of the 401(h) plan (health benefits). This was a new report and the first time that the 401(h) plan and the VEBA were combined to determine the overall funded status of the health benefit plans. Mercer reported that the plan was 78% funded at the time of the report. MANY questions were asked surrounding the details of the report. More to follow but a beginning to some of the information we have been trying to track and review. NOTES: An update was discussed regarding the prohibition of any future lump sum payments from the plan. A review of the Glide Path Investment Strategy currently at a 60% growth 40% hedging allocation. The next trigger point for the Plan is when it reaches 85% funded the investment strategy will move to a 50% growth 50% hedge mix. A training session was held reviewing board and member expectations of the office of the plan administrator. * The August report of the Plan Administrator ( A rch Lewis ) is included as an attachment to this . It is also available on the website. Page 3

4 , Group, and RSA communications All official RSA communications (including meeting notices, deaths, illnesses and other personal updates, regular newsletters, etc.) with RSA members will now be made using the address (the address which sent you this update). Please add it to your contact list so our notices won t end up in your junk/spam folder. All s are sent to the address you provide us. You did this when you completed your membership form. If you would like to change your address, just send a note to RetiredStaffAssociation@gmail.com The RSA s web site can be accessed at It may be accessed only by current RSA members. The website is where you will find nearly all of our official communications, governance documents, directories, reports on the activities of the SRPB, etc. on-line. RSA members can access all this information from any web enabled computer. If you need a password, contact the webmaster at retiredstaffassociation@gmail.com. If non-members ask you about joining RSA, please direct them to the website. The membership form and contact info is on the signin page of the site no password is required for such access. Yahoo Group The Yahoo site (meafamilyretiredstaff@yahoogroups.com) has been left active till now but RSA will close the group and it will no longer function. As we informed members in the last RSA Update, we are no longer using the Yahoo group site (meafamilyretiredstaff@yahoogroups.com) for any official RSA communications. Due to changes made by Yahoo in the way these groups function and are managed, the site has become unusable for our purposes. We no longer have control over who has membership in this group. As a result, we are closing this site as of this date. RSA Web Site Page 4

5 RSA Membership Committee We have created a standing committee to promote membership in our Association. It is currently comprised of Lou Diaz (Chair), Karen Murray, Sharon Kelly, Candy Brandon- Watters, Karen Spotts, and Sherryl Benton. The committee is tasked with promoting and maintaining membership in the RSA. They have established a number of goals: 1. Retain all current RSA members 2. Encourage every new retiring staff member to join RSA at the time of their retirement 3. Identify the surviving beneficiaries of all deceased retirees, inform them of their right to membership, and encourage their becoming members* 4. Identify all retired staff and contact all non members and encourage each to join RSA. The goal is to attain 100% membership. They could use help. They are trying to personalize their activities where possible. If you would be interesting in helping contact colleagues and friends of yours, please let the committee know. You can Lou Diaz at lddiaz@me.com The surviving beneficiary of a deceased retiree is eligible for RSA membership on the same terms as the retired staff person. If you know of someone in this situation, please inform them and encourage their membership and participation RSA Budget Income Carryover Unexpended funds from Income Dues (assumes 380 members) Total Available Assets Expenditures Annual Meeting Expenses 200 Committee Expenses for Computer Hardw are/softw are 150 Communications (Mailing/Copying Costs) 1500 Communications (Web Site Maintainence) 500 Contingency 500 Total Expenditures 2850 Legal Defense Fund (excess of unexpended funds) Page 5

6 RSA Treasurer s Report and Finances Annual Financial Statement Beginning Balance as of July 1, Revenue: Membership Dues for Members Membership Dues for Members Annual Meeting Meal Reservations Members Annual Meeting Meal Reservation 27 1 from 2014 Meeting Donation 10 Total Revenue Expenses: Service Fee 0.08 Corporation Filing Fee 20 Dinner Refund 30 Annual Meeting Costs Total Expenses Ending Balance as of June 30, Net Carryover to Page 4

7 The Plan Adminisrator reported at the August 10, 2015 SRPB meeting the following covering the 3 months preceding the meeting: Retiree Deaths Paul Sanchez, MEA Judy Vance, MEA New Retirees Chuck Agerstrand, MEA Susan Ahrens, MEA Larry Banek, MESSA John Briggs, MESSA Donica Cash, MEA Tamra Church, MEAFS Cynthia Coleman, MESSA Lisa Cox, MEA Barb Davis, MESSA Suzanne Dietel, MEA Beth Franco, MESSA Deb Hart, MEAFS Judy Jolley, MESSA Gloria Klyce, MEA Nancy Knight, MEA Bill Kuiper, MEA Renee Leighton, MEAFS Tina Lewis, MESSA Carolyn Logan, MEA Rick Long, MEA Connie Martinez, MEA April Mazzoni, MEA Esther McClain, MESSA Lori Merritt, MESSA Ron Miller, MESSA Rondy Murray, MEA Tim Oatley, MESSA Kelly Patrick, MESSA Joyce Phelps, MEA Mary Phillips, MEA Bonnie Prideaux, MEA Christine Smith, MESSA Dave Stafford, MEA Debra Vielma, MESSA Charlie Watson, MEA

8 RSA Executive Board Members Officers Bill Murray President Lou Meyette Vice President (989) Julie Partee Secretary Mary Anne Adams Treasurer (517) Executive Board Members Zan Alley Stan Burnell Lou Diaz Tom Fette Sharon Kelly Bob Marshall Karen Murray Karen Spotts Janet Suriano-Taylor Beverly Wolkow Page 5