[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6603999,"mediaKeyId","2994835-955ca9e3389aa0755e909096ae4d48e8","parentId",2994835,"title","Senate Bill 55 would allow teachers to enroll in Supplemental Benefits System; municipalities and University raise cost and design concerns","audioSeconds",1008,"startMs",5000000,"endMs",6008000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2994835-955ca9e3389aa0755e909096ae4d48e8&start=5000&end=6008","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2994835-955ca9e3389aa0755e909096ae4d48e8/thumbnail_5000000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6603999/Alaska/Senate-Bill-55-would-allow-teachers-to-enroll-in-Supplemental-Benefits-System-municipalities-and-University-raise-cost-and-design-concerns","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6603999-dc7867b31b3699321849bd6016cc3c50/orig.mp4?Expires=1771071941&Signature=WBJbZ8PLjO3em8tPXPbs8ibXWTH6~LxuPWuMD~FX2kZDdDeKVDCEj25YIgdf4xmfF5bjwphhrR697XtPSy4CTfiaXVjfS5tpIhudFgEVtqG3qrVIsYRXQfb-uuhWbrefuPTziILqDUOCJEVOp-0YPqPue-TEcrB0sEFj~THlHh5eHJVLKlFPIIcFtb-hekJsk4Bc0pfb5-rJEQbvMkLdLUprq-f6v0qoidUSSuNyYkTbPW47Hz3H5LXGi5xBL23g6kiBpdVgosmqua7tjdS1aHxAv4JObNQohw5pKgciYiUh-3dHC99GsZzCzJlwsEkltkl7iSyCIeuhu6gDelOXbw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Alaska Legislature","date","2025-04-14T00:00:00Z","article","Senate Bill 55 — a proposal to permit Teachers' Retirement System (TERS) participants to enroll in the Alaska Supplemental Benefits System or Social Security — drew testimony and discussion at a Senate Finance Committee public hearing April 14.

Rose Foley, staff to the bill sponsor, reintroduced SB 55 as an “attempt to create a more equitable retirement system” between PERS and TERS employees. Foley said the bill responds to the gap where some teachers and certain non-state municipal employees lack Social Security or SBS participation and therefore have smaller overall retirement resources.

Nils Andreas, executive director of the Alaska Municipal League, testified that local governments face tradeoffs if SB 55 is implemented. Andreas summarized written testimony provided to the committee and said many local employers joined PERS or similar arrangements by negotiation and that the fiscal consequences of opening SBS to additional employers will vary by community. He cautioned that adding SBS might reduce incentives for some employers to raise salaries and that some communities already supplement retirement through pay increases or other plans.

Heather Levin, director of benefits and compensation at the University of Alaska, asked the committee to consider carving the university out of the bill. Levin told senators the university already operates a UA pension plan that currently costs about $15 million per year and that adopting SBS as structured would add roughly $8 million in annual cost to the university’s budget; Levin said that structural change also would require employees to begin contributing more than 6% of pay and could feel like a pay cut unless state facilitator funding were provided.

Sponsor Senator Stedman framed the bill as an equity measure, saying teachers are often materially behind other public employees in total retirement contributions: “If one person has 25% of salary to invest for retirement, and the other person has 15%, that’s pretty easy to recognize who’s going to come up short.” He said the bill is a work in progress and that further changes and a committee substitute are likely.

Committee members asked for additional fiscal details. Senator Stedman noted a rough calculation presented in the hearing that “would be a little less than $50,000,000 to backstop their 6.13%,” and said any state funding to transition teachers into SBS would likely need to be phased in over several years. The committee closed the public hearing and set the bill aside for further work and possible future amendment.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","04/14/2025 09:00 AM Senate FINANCE","oneSentenceSummary","Senate Bill 55, which would allow Teachers' Retirement System participants to enroll in the Alaska Supplemental Benefits System (SBS) or Social Security, drew public testimony April 14. Municipal League and University of Alaska officials supported choice but warned of significant costs and urged careful design or carve-outs.","taxTitle","2025 Legislature Alaska, Alaska","taxId",78559,"location","Alaska","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6604003,"State actuaries and retirement officials outline employer delinquencies, large account balances in Alaska Supplemental Benefits System",4175,819000,4994000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2994835-955ca9e3389aa0755e909096ae4d48e8&start=819&end=4994","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2994835-955ca9e3389aa0755e909096ae4d48e8/thumbnail_819000.jpg","/articles/6604003/Alaska/State-actuaries-and-retirement-officials-outline-employer-delinquencies-large-account-balances-in-Alaska-Supplemental-Benefits-System","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6604003-ebec17af1de834f856495b733700e33f/orig.mp4?Expires=1771071941&Signature=Str3UrQzU0pcY-0daP4sxBCpJX8mSNMxsiePlFTC9xHzuGH6ipzKKdoma08TWc4mVuQp6bMrZcqPe5q5XiolOi-Vl7FgfVy3pbuhPMDz0SuneFhTWD3LF2P67S7DygkPTv4lTmM0KalH9MadNM3Z7Nr7fgQJJB89w3Pt0a105T6NQFVhp9AWAFtKugIbimaQbzcQa8PbDAAG7lAww9iirNyYlvmBQdTI6Wys0TvMrVBfRk-hDd3mNXHLb7arHB4kk-oXZSrfBAMQKYjSJwSYJxXgoho~U8DmHq3hdkiEQrkxI7dwDj2L3wQn~OJ1TKYFzv7RoiUTn4A2wEpxoXddXg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At a Senate Finance Committee meeting April 14, Division of Retirement and Benefits Director Kathy Lee and staff presented an overview of the Alaska Supplemental Benefits System (SBS), including investment options, participant withdrawal choices and employer participation. An actuarial consultant, David Kirschner of Gallagher, reviewed how normal cost and present-value calculations underpin employer contribution rates for PERS and TERS.

Lee told the committee SBS was created in 1979 and that, after a 1980 employee referendum, the state ceased participation in Social Security and entered SBS as a Social Security replacement for many employers. “Participation in SBS is mandatory,” Lee said, and described the contribution structure: employees pay 6.13% of wages and employers match 6.13%, for a total contribution rate of 12.26%.

The division described the plan’s investment lineup and default. Members who do not make an investment election are placed in an age-based target-date trust that automatically rebalances; other options range from U.S. small-cap to stable-value funds. Lee said members may keep accounts in the plan after termination, take annuities or lump sums, or roll funds to IRAs.

The division displayed participant account balances and identified two participants with balances “up to $4,700,000.” Lee said those accounts appear to reflect high salaries (about $200,000–$220,000) and long retention of funds in the plan, sometimes including rollovers from other accounts.

On employer participation, operations manager Brandon Roomsburg reported the division tracks participation across plans: 54 employers in PERS, 21 in SBS, 85 participating in Social Security, and 17 in the state deferred compensation plan. Roomsburg told senators there is only one deferred-compensation employer that currently provides a matching contribution (6%).

Roomsburg said 18 employers are currently delinquent: nine have long-standing delinquencies and are in termination studies to determine the present liability for employees who remain in the plan; nine more are recent delinquents with contributions and interest accruing. He described interest on late contributions as “1 and a half times the base interest rate, which is 7 and a half percent.”

Lee explained how termination costs are calculated: terminated employers must pay the actuarial amount necessary to fund costs for their terminated employees, including retiree health, disability and death benefit components. For defined-benefit employers, additional past-service costs are added and continue until the past-service liability is extinguished. “Those employers that cannot pay their contributions also cannot pay this part of the requirement either,” she told the committee.

Actuary David Kirschner summarized valuation methodology used to set normal cost and contribution rates for PERS and TERS. He described the present-value-of-future-benefits approach, the entry-age normal cost method, and the use of demographic and economic assumptions — including a 7.25% assumed investment return — to project liabilities and normal costs. He confirmed the ARM board conducts an experience study every four years and that the next study will cover the four years ending June 30, 2025.

Senators asked for additional details the division said it could provide later, including appendices that show example account balance projections based on a $60,000 starting salary with specified salary-growth and investment-return assumptions. The division repeatedly emphasized that statutory and contractual rules determine participation and that statutory language provides limited guidance on remedies for participant protections when employers fail to remit contributions.","Division of Retirement and Benefits staff and an actuarial consultant outlined SBS design, participant account balances and a list of delinquent employers. Officials said SBS participation is mandatory for employers who elected it, described investment options and said 18 employers are delinquent; nine are in long-term termination studies.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6604007,"Senate Finance Committee forwards Senate Bill 57, capital budget, to next committee",131,537000,668000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2994835-955ca9e3389aa0755e909096ae4d48e8&start=537&end=668","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2994835-955ca9e3389aa0755e909096ae4d48e8/thumbnail_537000.jpg","/articles/6604007/Alaska/Senate-Finance-Committee-forwards-Senate-Bill-57-capital-budget-to-next-committee","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6604007-6e57008e66eb0bc162bd2b9749c35d22/orig.mp4?Expires=1771071941&Signature=ENgCtJ8stk2pH~TnRFgQZEQ9hYjkkquMtrARNCgBdlInDUWxtkIwHyGFmP5Zkacd3y4Ei5TzXO-RvuHtQnuw0GVgb6rDto6LqUu3uCKCDc~cNMHtwtwXNlP6XRp3i3tMamzFHQggzW9Hg4kg0AQm3DVEaEQDLMt59LCsxx4aLMiQdLhkPXa4fHpA3GRle-uY13o5SLe2IAv-lSqyjAaEDbXIYvVG15JKEKIUfiizc20pYkkqDa~XOk96aFxBthIBPOqOA4KmLqpMNaxpC1kmR0i0ODuverd-7SyY0elDLhNUvi2MU1uHNls0u5-6QnqM65kyWW0Ac~UlTgqTRzdbpQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Senate Finance Committee voted by unanimous consent April 14 to send the committee substitute for Senate Bill 57 — the proposed capital budget — to the next committee of referral.

Senate Finance Chair Senator Stedman called for a motion and Senator Hoffman moved “the Senate Finance Committee move Senate Committee substitute for Committee substitute for Senate Bill 57 version T to the next Committee of Referral.” The motion passed with no objections. The committee then approved a separate motion directing the divisions of legislative finance and legislative legal to make technical and conforming changes to the bill as necessary.

Committee members did not offer amendments before the motion. Senator Stedman said the version before the committee was the one adopted Thursday, April 10, and the committee had received no amendments from members. After the two unanimous-consent actions, the committee stood at ease for a brief period and then continued its agenda.

No roll-call votes were recorded in committee minutes for the SB 57 actions; committee members present indicated no objection on the record.","The Senate Finance Committee voted by unanimous consent on April 14, 2025, to move the committee substitute for Senate Bill 57 (capital budget, version T) to the next committee of referral and authorized staff to make technical and conforming changes.","actionData","errors"]

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Senate Bill 55 would allow teachers to enroll in Supplemental Benefits System; municipalities and University raise cost and design concerns

State actuaries and retirement officials outline employer delinquencies, large account balances in Alaska Supplemental Benefits System

Senate Finance Committee forwards Senate Bill 57, capital budget, to next committee