Edgewater pension board hears marginal quarterly returns and legal update on Social Security Fairness Act

The City of Edgewater Police Officers Pension Board on March 10, 2025 received an investment update from a Merrick presenter and a legal briefing from counsel.

John, introduced as "John with Merrick," opened the investment review and highlighted the quarter’s top-line return: "for the quarter, it's a negative 0.04," noting the fund was marginally positive on another measured period. The presentation was brief and opened to trustee questions but included no detailed asset-class breakdown in the recorded segments.

Pedro, providing the legal update, said a plan restatement will go before city council after final edits to address a few last-minute changes. He reported that Florida’s legislative session had begun but that, as of the meeting, "there's been nothing filed that would affect our plan specifically." Pedro added that a bill had been filed seeking to amend the Florida Retirement System by reinstituting a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for certain members hired on or after 07/01/2011; board staff will monitor developments and report back if a proposal would affect the plan.

Pedro also discussed a recently enacted federal law, stating: "The Social Security Fairness Act was signed into law on January 5," and summarized that the law rolls back long-standing provisions known as the Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset that had reduced Social Security benefits for some public employees and their spouses. He cited Social Security estimates that about 3,000,000 people nationally and roughly 183,000 in Florida are affected by those prior provisions.

The board did not take action on investments or legislation at the meeting; items described were informational and staff committed to reporting back on any material legislative or regulatory changes.