HCS SCS SB 411 -- PUBLIC EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT SYSTEMS

SPONSOR:  Crowell (Viebrock)

COMMITTEE ACTION:  Voted "do pass by consent" by the Committee on
Retirement by a vote of 9 to 0.

This substitute changes the laws regarding public employee
retirement systems.

MISSOURI DEVELOPMENT FINANCE BOARD EMPLOYEES

Beginning August 28, 2009, the substitute allows an employee of
the Missouri Development Finance Board who is paid a salary or
wage by the board in a position normally requiring the
performance of duties of not less than 1,040 hours per year to be
a state employee and to be eligible for retirement benefits in
the Year 2000 Plan of the Missouri State Employees' Retirement
System (MOSERS).

An employee of the board prior to August 28, 2009, may elect to
purchase prior credited service and to transfer his or her
individual account balance under the board-sponsored retirement
plan to MOSERS up to the amount necessary to fund the benefit
attributable to the credited service.  The board will be required
to pay any additional costs necessary for purchasing the service.

PUBLIC SCHOOL RETIREMENT SYSTEMS

The substitute:

(1)  Allows the boards of the Public School Retirement System of
Missouri and the Public Employee Retirement System of Missouri
to establish and maintain an investment fund account to combine
moneys from both systems for investment purposes only.  The funds
of each system will be accounted for separately and for all other
reporting purposes;

(2)  Allows a member when purchasing prior service credit who has
not paid the entire cost of the service by September 30 to have
the purchase price recalculated as of October 1 of the same year
instead of charging interest.  Currently, if a member has not
paid for the service by June 30, the purchase price will be
recalculated as of July 1;

(3)  Allows the retirement systems to prohibit or impose
requirements for purchasing service if necessary to comply with
federal law;

(4)  Specifies that, upon the death of a member, benefits will be
paid in the order of the surviving spouse, surviving children
equally, surviving parents equally, or to the estate of the last
person receiving benefits if a member chooses a guaranteed
payment option and no designated beneficiary is living upon the
death of the member;

(5)  Prohibits the employees of any additional nonprofit
educational association or organization from becoming a member of
the retirement systems beginning July 1, 2010; and

(6)  Allows the retirement systems, to the extent determined
appropriate by the board of trustees, to indemnify and protect
any trustee or employee of the systems against liability claims.
No employee or trustee will be entitled to indemnification for
his or her gross negligence or willful misconduct or unless
written notice is given to the board within 15 days of receiving
a service of process.

FISCAL NOTE:  No impact on state funds in FY 2010, FY 2011, and
FY 2012.

PROPONENTS:  Supporters say that the bill will allow employees of
the Missouri Development Finance Board to become members of the
Missouri State Employees' Retirement System (MOSERS).  MOSERS has
already completed an actuarial valuation of the cost of
transferring their service to MOSERS.

Testifying for the bill were Senator Crowell; and Missouri
Development Finance Board.

OPPONENTS:  There was no opposition voiced to the committee.

Missouri House of Representatives
95th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated November 17, 2009 at 9:26 am