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Commissioners consider $83,006 TCRS buyback to smooth retirement rates
Summary
County finance staff described a proposed $83,005.94 payment into the county’s TCRS fund to create a reserve that smooths employer contribution rates over several fiscal years; staff said a DCRS representative will attend next meeting to answer detailed questions.
Houston County finance staff presented a proposal to place $83,005.94 into the county’s TCRS retirement fund to “buy back” service years or create a fund balance that offsets future market‑driven increases in the county’s annual retirement contribution rate.
Finance staff said the lump sum would be placed in a fund balance for the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System (TCRS) and would reduce the county’s employer rate for roughly two to three fiscal years while the balance remains. The staff member said the county will still pay market differences when rates rise, but the fund acts like a savings account to smooth volatility.
“That $83,005.94 is what it would cost to buy back for years,” the county finance presenter said. “That $83,000 goes into, like, a fund balance for TCRS, and that fund balance helps offset our rate every year.”
Staff noted the county has 19 active employees in the plan and 31 inactive employees who are entitled but not yet receiving benefits; no current retirees were reported under the plan because the county’s plan is recently started. A county representative said the DCRS representative (named Armistead in the discussion) will be at the next Monday meeting to answer final questions.
The commission did not vote on the payment during this meeting; staff presented supporting materials and an overview and offered to have the pension representative attend the next meeting for technical questions.
