PRB: compliance with trustee education improving overall, but many Telfer and small plans lag
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Summary
Annual MET compliance reporting shows gains across system types but uneven performance: municipal plans improved most, while many Telfer and several chapter 8 10 plans remain partially or fully noncompliant. Board discussed legislative remedies and recognition for 100% compliance.
PRB staff presented the agency's annual MET (training) compliance report on Nov. 7, showing gradual improvement across system types but persistent noncompliance in a small number of plans.
Jasmine Loomis, PRB education and communication specialist, explained recent rule changes that moved core training and continuing education cycles to calendar years and introduced new reporting timelines. She said the compliance report (data as of Nov. 7, 2025) uses MET forms submitted to PRB and classifies trustees and administrators as "compliant," "in progress" or "not compliant." "To be compliant, a trustee or administrator must have completed all training required in their previous MET cycles and their current cycle," Loomis said.
Loomis reported improvements since 2022: municipal systems' compliance rose almost 8% and toll‑free systems improved about 6.5%. But Loomis also listed systems with 0% compliance (one Telfer and five chapter 8 10 plans) and said staff had sent targeted outreach and offered system compliance reports to help them catch up.
Board members debated enforcement options. One member proposed a simple annual PRB recognition (a one‑page award) for systems that hit 100% compliance to create positive incentives. Others suggested statutory remedies for chronic noncompliance, including making MET compliance a condition of service on a plan board or considering escalation to pooled plans for systems that cannot meet fiduciary requirements.
Staff noted the PRB is developing an IT portal to make MET reporting and compliance status visible to system administrators and to streamline submissions. Loomis said the portal — when deployed — will show administrators which trustees need training and allow forms to be filed directly through the portal.
The board asked staff to consider an Education Committee meeting in mid‑summer to prepare any recommended legislative proposals for the PRB biennial report and to discuss enforcement options and recognition mechanisms.
