HIGHWAY PATROL RETIREMENT SYSTEM

Transcription

1 Quarterly Newsletter September 2018 HIGHWAY PATROL RETIREMENT SYSTEM 2019 HEALTH CARE BILLS INTRODUCED TO IMPROVE BENEFITS OFFERED BY PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS DEATH BENEFIT FUND The Ohio House and Senate have introduced bills that, if enacted, would greatly benefit survivors of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. The proposed legislation has to do with the Ohio Public Safety Officers Death Benefit Fund. A major change that has been proposed, which is a new benefit entirely, is permitting Death Benefit Fund recipients to participate in any health care plan that is offered by the Department of Administrative Services. Survivors would pay the same premium that a state employee pays. There are additional changes to benefits that have been proposed. Currently, the initial death benefit paid to recipients continues until the time the deceased officer would have been eligible for retirement. The new proposal would allow the death benefit to continue until the time the deceased officer would have been eligible to retire with the maximum age and service pension allowable. OPEN ENROLLMENT The open enrollment period for 2019 health care is November Please complete a Health Care Election form for new enrollment or adding a dependent. The form can be found at under Forms. If you do not have any changes, coverage will continue as previously selected. Please note that termination of medical / prescription coverage (excluding dental and vision) may be done at any time. Our office will be closed on: November 12 (Veterans Day) November 22 & 23 (Thanksgiving) Finally, at the deceased officer s maximum pension eligibility date, benefits would decrease to 75% or the officer s salary as opposed to 50% under current law. ATTENTION MEDICARE RECIPIENTS: Members with Medicare Part A and Part B or Part B only The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has started issuing new Medicare ID cards which will continue through April The new ID cards will no longer show your social security number (SSN). Your SSN is being replaced with a Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) number. You do not need to submit a copy of your new Medicare ID card to HPRS. We will receive the new MBI number from Aetna or Medical Mutual. Those of you covered through Aetna will continue to show only your Aetna ID card. Those of you covered through Medical Mutual will continue to show your Medical Mutual ID and your Medicare ID cards. When you receive your new card, destroy the old one. As a reminder, scam artists may try to obtain personal information (like your current Medicare Number) by contacting you about your new card. If someone asks you for your information, for money, or threatens to cancel your health benefits, hang up and call CMS at You may contact HPRS if you have any questions.

2 Page 2 Highway Patrol Retirement System On August 16, 2018, re-elected Maj. (ret.) Darryl Anderson and Capt. Cory Davies were sworn in. (pictured at right) Additionally, Capt. Cory Davies was elected board chair and Lt. Andre Swinerton was elected vice-chair. BOARD NEWS Ballot counting for the Special Election (pictured above). Congratulations to Tpr. Brice Nihiser (pictured at left) on being elected to the HPRS Board of Trustees as an employee member. As a result of the special election for the board seat vacated by Heidi Marshall, Tpr. Brice Nihiser received the most votes from the six candidates vying for the position. He will be sworn in on October 18th and his term will continue until July 31, HPRS Facts & Figures Data as of 9/15/2018 Number Average Pension Benefit Average Age Age & Service Retirees 1,242 $45, Disability Retirees 138 $35, Surviving Spouses & Children 257/20 $18,740/$2, /22.8 Total 1,657 $40, Track Your Health Care Costs You should always review all medical bills and explanations of benefits (EOB) you receive. If you believe your claim has not been paid properly, you should first try to resolve the problem by contacting the issuing agent of the bill or your plan provider, Aetna or MMO. You should be looking for false charges and/or charges already paid by the health care provider. If necessary, request an itemized bill. Your attention to detail may save you and/or HPRS money.

3 Page 3 HPRS Investment Returns September 2018 NEW LOCATION: Date Investment Portfolio Market Value YTD Increase/(Decrease) 8/31/2018 $914,100,000 (est.) 3.8% 12/31/2017 $902,452, % 12/31/2016 $825,505, % Central Ohio Primary Care (COPC) Imaging and Cardiac Testing (includes screenings) has moved locations to 625 Africa Road, Suite 140, Westerville, Ohio /31/2015 $809,209,000 (0.3%) 12/31/2014 $849,000, % 12/31/2013 $813,953, % Staff News Please help us welcome Brian Fike to HPRS! Brian started with HPRS on Monday, September 24, 2018, as finance director and benefits coordinator. Brian is a graduate of Miami University and Keller Graduate School of Management with degrees in political science, accounting, and financial management. He also holds a CPA certification. He replaces Mike Press who was promoted to general counsel and CIO upon the departure of Dennis Smith. We are pleased to have Brian as part of our team. The DROP interest rate for July 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018 has been set at 2.678%. Flu season is coming! We urge you to consider getting a flu vaccine, but first check with your doctor to determine if this vaccine is right for you. Flu shots can help prevent serious problems and may save lives. There are different options on how to get these vaccines at no cost to you. You must use network physicians or network pharmacies. Please check with your medical provider (MMO or Aetna) or Express Scripts for network providers.

4 R E T I R E E S A S S O C I AT I O N A N N UA L D I N N E R & M E E T I N G The Retirees Association annual meeting and dinner were held September 22nd at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Columbus, Ohio. Approximately 100 were in attendance. Association officers for 2019 were sworn in and include (pictured below from left to right): Past President Gil Jones, Treasurer Brenda Collins, Secretary Christine Untraurer, 2nd Vice President Ginny Fogt, 1st Vice President Dale Larue, and President Robert Booker. We thank them for their service. Page 4 MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS! The 85th Ohio State Highway Patrol Anniversary Celebration will be held on Saturday, November 10, To commemorate the 85th anniversary of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Ohio State Highway Patrol Retirees Association, the Ohio Troopers Coalition, the State Highway Patrol Federal Credit Union, and the Ohio State Highway Patrol Auxiliary are hosting the celebration. For more information, please visit statepatrol.ohio.gov/85. HAM AND BEAN LUNCHEONS ARE BACK The academy will once again host ham and bean luncheons on the 3rd Wednesday of every month at 12:00 noon. The ham and bean luncheons are open to all retirees of the division. In order for the academy staff to plan appropriately, it is necessary for those attending to RSVP by the Monday prior to each luncheon date, with Lori Pallante via at lapallante@dps.ohio.gov or by phone at Annual Snowbird Reunion The 32nd Annual Snowbird Reunion will be held on February 28 - March 3, 2019, at the Marriott at Lake Mary in Orlando, Florida. The reservation deadline is February 1, More information will be forthcoming.

5 September 2018 Page 5 From the Executive Director Over the last six years, a lot of the consternation from all five state pension systems members has centered on three concerns: health care; COLA (cost of living adjustment); and employee contribution. Of course, these are the three things where changes have mostly occurred. During this time, and especially in 2018, HPRS s board has met numerous times in an attempt to deal with the number of ever-changing and sometimes competing variables that affect all three. Some of you may have attended these meetings which culminated in July at the academy and August in Cleveland. Since the 1960s, legislation has changed to accommodate changes in our membership, society, and funding status of our system. Until recently, all of the benefit changes had been positive for our membership. The financial crisis of coupled with recent actuarial assumption changes and spiraling health care costs have created a perfect storm for the ability of any pension system to provide benefits, including HPRS. One of the reasons benefits were able to be increased over the last 50 years is because the actuarial assumed rate of return on investments continued to increase. When this happens, even though the value of assets stays the same, the level of unfunded liability decreases. Thus our funding status is positively affected. With pension reform legislation in 2012, HPRS was on track to be fully funded by For the first time in 2016, our statutorily mandated 5-year experience study forced the board to reduce HPRS s investment assumed rate of return. This, along with other key actuarial assumption changes, had the opposite effect and added an additional $50 million of unfunded liability to the system. Without changes and additional legislation, HPRS would have fallen out of compliance with state law that requires HPRS to be able to amortize its unfunded liabilities within 30 years. The board has a fiduciary responsibility to fund our pension system first. Only then can it work on subsidizing the health care fund. Balancing negative actuarial assumption changes and skyrocketing health care costs has become a monumental task for the board to manage. The board has to consider many variables when determining annual rates of employee contribution and COLA while still ensuring solvency of our system. A historical overview of our system was provided at the July board meeting and it is posted on the secure section of our website at This overview may help you understand the effects that changes have made over time on HPRS. Although HPRS s investments overall have done well in the past, there are some years where they have not done as well. Decisions are not based on good or bad returns over a one or two year period, but looked at from a much longer perspective. Actuaries look at a future 5-10 year investment assumption trend when determining a rate of return going forward. In the coming years, the board may be faced with again lowering HPRS s investment assumption rate of return. If this occurs, additional negative changes to benefits and/or health care may be forced upon the board. Remember, your board is made up of you active and retired members.

6 Page North Coast Sunbird Reunion The 2018 North Coast Sunbird Reunion was held on August 11th at the Ohio Veterans Home Pavilion in Sandusky, Ohio. Approximately 135 retirees & active members were in attendance. Thanks to Tim & Mary Mahoney and Ken & Marti Wellendorf for their efforts in hosting this event. HPRS Board of Trustees Capt. Cory Davies, Chair Lt. Andre Swinerton, Vice-Chair Maj. (ret.) JP Allen Maj. (ret.) Darryl Anderson Kenneth Boyer 1900 Polaris Parkway, Suite 201 Columbus, OH Sgt. Jeremy Mendenhall Tpr. Brice Nihiser Col. Paul Pride Capt. (ret.) Lester Reel S/Lt. Matthew Them Joseph Thomas 1900 Polaris Parkway, Suite 201 Columbus, OH «AddressBlock» (Columbus) (Toll-Free) (Press * for a dial-by-name directory) system@ohprs.org Website: