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Retiring lieutenant asks board to review DROP policy language for members leaving DROP early
Summary
Retiring Lieutenant Robert Russell asked the board to review language in the DROP policy after he reported that leaving the DROP before three years locked him into a previously elected payment form that increased his out-of-pocket cost; board said it will consult plan counsel and actuary and discuss the issue in closed session.
Retiring Lieutenant Robert Russell addressed trustees during public comment to request a review of the plan’s Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) language.
Russell said he will retire after 29½ years and exited the DROP at two years — before the program’s three‑year “maturity” provision. He told trustees the plan document states that if a participant leaves DROP before the three‑year mark, their benefits are recalculated “as if you never entered the DROP,” but that the form-of-payment election made before entering DROP remained locked. Russell said that in his case the recalculation produced a higher monthly benefit but nearly doubled his elected distribution cost out of pocket, and he asked the board to allow someone who exits DROP early to select a different distribution option consistent with the “as if never entered” recalculation.
The plan administrator and trustees said they would research the request. The chair and other trustees recommended consulting the plan attorney (Mary Claire Cheshire) and the actuarial consultant (Boomershine and/or Bolton) for legal and cost analysis; the plan administrator confirmed she has Russell’s election forms and will gather the plan-document language and participant calculations. Board members indicated the topic will be raised in closed session and that they will report back after consulting counsel and the actuary.
Robert Russell did not request immediate action at the meeting; the board committed to review the documents and expert input and to return with recommendations.
