MINUTES OF MEETING
STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION
ACTUARIAL SUBCOMMITTEE

March 19, 2009

MEMBERS PRESENT
Peter R. Blum, Chairman
Robert Baus
Charles Casella
Richard Cosgrove
Steve Greatorex
Claude Poulin

OTHERS PRESENT
Mark Ojakian, Deputy Comptroller and Division Director, Retirement Services Division
Jeanne Kopek, Assistant Director, Retirement Services Division
Peggy Gray, Executive Assistant, Retirement Services Division
Althea Schwartz, Milliman
Rebecca Sielman, Milliman

The meeting began at about 10:30 a.m.

Becky Sielman began by explaining that the Probate Court System Administrator's concerns that the forthcoming December 31, 2008 actuarial valuation of the Probate Judges and Employees Retirement System (PJERS) would result in an employer contribution had precipitated this meeting.

In that connection, during a March 4, 2009 conference call between members of the subcommittee, Division staff and Milliman staff, Milliman was directed to produce draft PJERS valuation results using the previous year's data (2007), the revised assumptions used for the 2008 SERS and JFSMCCRS valuations and this year's PJERS asset losses in order to assess the impact of those losses on the system's employer contribution. Examples of the effect of a possible change in the funding method for PJERS were also requested.

Becky stated that the following assumption changes were used in preparing the draft valuation: an interest rate change from 8.5% to 8.25%, a change in salary scale from 6% to 5%, a lower COLA percentage changed from 3% to 2.5%, changes to the SS wage base assumption and updated mortality tables.

Becky explained that the funding method was a way to systematically put money in the plan to fund the benefits. In addition to the aggregate funding method used for PJERS in the past she presented the valuation results using the entry age normal funding method and the projected unit credit funding method. The effect of a change in the amortization period was also discussed.

The subcommittee requested that Milliman prepare the draft 2008 PJERS using the revised assumptions, the projected unit credit funding method and retaining the 20 year amortization period for their consideration in April.

Meeting adjourned at about 11:30 a.m.

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