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Boards approve 2021 pension budgets; staff to pursue pension software after ERP omitted pension module
Summary
Each pension board approved the proposed 2021 budgets. Staff said the city's enterprise resource planning (ERP) package does not supply the citys pension functionality, and the pension office plans to budget for a dedicated pension system and employee self-service projections; trustees discussed integration concerns.
Trustees for the general employees, police and firefighter pension boards each approved the proposed 2021 budgets after roll-call votes.
Pension administrator Dustin reviewed assumptions used in the budgets (7% investment return assumed for budgeting conservatism, member contribution rates at existing levels) and highlighted one planned investment in pension administration software to allow members to run benefit projections and to provide more modern member-facing services. "The pension software is old and not capable of doing some of the things that we would like to be able to do for our employees and retirees," Dustin said.
Trustees asked whether the planned pension software would integrate with the city's ERP system (the city selected Tyler as its ERP vendor). Staff said the city's ERP does not include pension services and Tyler was not expected to supply the required pension functionality; staff therefore proposed procuring or licensing a separate pension administration product. Trustee questions emphasized the value of integration with ERP and asked staff to evaluate interfaces.
Mindy Johnson of Salem Trust explained a change in the treatment of class-action recovery fees: a third-party vendor that files claims on behalf of plans now withholds 12% of recoveries (down from a prior 20% arrangement the firm had absorbed). Salem Trust will continue monitoring class-action recoveries and the change was noted in the budget materials.
After discussion, each board approved its proposed 2021 budget by roll-call vote. Staff will proceed with budgeting for pension software and will bring procurement details to a future meeting.
