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Retirement board seeks to remove 90-day waiting period for disability pay; actuarial cost small, consultant says
Summary
Jennifer Schroeder, executive director of the retirement board, proposed removing a 90-day elimination period for approved long-term disability and paying accrued sick and vacation upon approval; consultant Bob Cross said the change would cost about $6,000 a year in actuarial terms.
Jennifer Schroeder, executive director of the county retirement board, presented proposed amendments to the disability rules that would remove a 90-day elimination period and require payout of accrued sick and vacation to employees approved for long-term disability, aligning disability payouts with retirement benefits.
Schroeder said the retirement board's third-party vendor reviews medical eligibility and that the proposals aim to make the disability process less confusing for employees applying while still working. She described the change as similar to current retiree practice and said the vendor vetting process results in relatively few approved cases each year.
Bob Cross of USI Consulting Group said the actuarial impact is small — "about $6,000 a year" — measured against contributions and plan size. Commissioners asked clarifying questions about whether employees would still be required to exhaust leave; Schroeder said the amendment would pay accrued leave when disability is approved (rather than require exhaustion prior to approval).
Commissioners did not vote on the amendment at the work session; Schroeder said the change is intended to refine benefit administration and that the retirement plan has yielded large savings compared with prior practice.
The commission adjourned the work session and moved to the rules committee without formal action on the item.
