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Council hears retirement-code cleanup; staff say changes align local rules with state law
Summary
James Mack, retirement director, explained proposed ordinance edits to align local retirement code with state law (RS 11), to replace ‘qualified domestic relations order’ terminology, remove a certified-mail-only provision and clarify retirement timing; council asked about potential impacts on the system's unfunded actuarial liability; no formal vote is recorded in the transcript.
Council members on Nov. 25 heard a detailed presentation from James Mack, retirement director, on proposed housekeeping amendments to the Employers Retirement System section of the City-Parish Code.
Mack told the council the ordinance language would correct statutory cross-references (changing an incorrect reference to RS 9 to the correct RS 11), replace the phrase "qualified domestic relations order" with "division of benefits order" (because the board is a public pension plan and not governed by ERISA), remove a certified-mail-only notice requirement and clarify the timing and role of board approval so applications that meet statutory qualifications can be finalized without delaying retirements if trustees are unable to meet.
Councilwoman Rocca asked whether layoffs or privatization could increase the retirement system’s unfunded actuarial liability (UAL). Mack explained that workforce reductions do not change the dollar amount of the existing UAL; rather, the accrued liability is spread across fewer active participants, which can raise the UAL percentage and potentially increase employer contribution rates in future years. Mack said he did not expect the changes in the current ordinance package to cause a "huge" immediate impact on employer costs but acknowledged the effect depends on the scale of workforce reductions and other variables.
Mack also said the board unanimously approved sending the cleanup language to the Metro Council and that staff can provide actuary estimates related to a newly incorporated municipality’s contribution schedule if the council wants additional data. Council members asked Mack to email actuarial estimates; he agreed to provide figures and return to a future meeting with details.
Transcript: the item was presented and discussed at length, but the Nov. 25 transcript does not record a final council vote on the ordinance.
Next steps: staff offered to provide actuarial estimates to the council by email and to appear at a subsequent meeting to answer follow-up questions.
