Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Pensions topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County HR explains URS Tier 2 hybrid pickup for public-safety employees; commission approves related agenda items
Summary
Human Resources explained that employee contributory rates for URS Tier 2 hybrid public-safety plans will rise and the county is proposing to pick up most of the increased employee share (about 4.03%), leaving employees with a small remainder; commissioners thanked HR and approved the related agenda items as presented.
Ralph Barnes, representing the county human-resources office, briefed the commission on changes from Utah Retirement Systems (URS) affecting the tier 2 hybrid public-safety plan. Barnes said URS’s certified contribution rate for public-safety employees is increasing and that, under plan rules, employees are technically required to pay the certified amount that exceeds the employer base rate. Under the proposal before the commission, Utah County would 'pick up' roughly 4.03 percentage points of the employee portion of the public-safety contribution, reducing the employee burden to about 0.7 percentage points.
Barnes said this pickup affects only employees in the tier 2 hybrid system and is permitted by the legislature. He also noted a separate but timing-related effort to move county firefighters from the general public system into the firefighter retirement system.
Commissioners had no substantive objections, thanked HR for outreach, and asked staff to be available to answer employee questions. After HR’s presentation and follow-up discussion, the commission approved the held agenda items that included the URS pickup by motion and voice vote.
Barnes and HR staff will field employee questions and coordinate implementation details; commissioners emphasized staff and employee outreach so workers understand the change and its effect on paychecks.
