MINUTES OF THE MEETING
STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION
55 ELM STREET
7TH FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM
HARTFORD, CT 06106
9:00 a.m.

November 20, 2014

TRUSTEES PRESENT
Peter R. Blum
Robert Baus
Sandra Fae Brown-Brewton
Michael Carey
Charles Casella
Robert Coffey
Richard Cosgrove
Paul Fortier
Steven Greatorex
Sal Luciano
Laila Mandour
Ronald McLellan
Claude Poulin
Linda Yelmini

EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
Martha Carlson, Deputy Comptroller
Lee Ann Palladino, CIO, State Treasury

MUNICIPAL LIAISON
Thomas Landry

OTHERS PRESENT
Brenda Halpin, Director, Retirement Services Division
Colin Newman, Asst. Director, Retirement Services Division
Natalie Braswell, Assistant Comptroller
Peggy Gray, Exec. Secretary, Retirement Services Division
Michael Rose, General Counsel to the Commission - VIA PHONE
Bruce Barth, Counsel to the Commission on Federal Tax Matters
Cynthia Christie, Counsel to the Commission on Federal Tax Matters
Ralph Efird, Court Reporter
Holly Williams, OFA
Karen Nolen, OPM
Richard O'Reilly
Elaine O' Reilly
Robin Peoples
Lorraine Montesi
Attorney Stacey Lafferty

CALL TO ORDER

The Chairman called the meeting to order at 9:09 a.m.

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
On behalf of the Trustees I would like to express our condolences to Treasurer Nappier on the passing of her mother Barbara Nappier.

I would like to also congratulate the Treasurer and the Comptroller on their reelection to office.

You have in front of you the disposition of the LaChance matter. I will follow up with Attorney Leonard Boyle on the issue of property or assets he may have.

For the 2015 calendar that you will be voting on today, I will be around till January 9, 2015 during any transition period there may be.

DIVISION DIRECTOR'S ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

I have two months of retirement payroll data to report. For the October retirement payroll we had 179 new retirees (147 normal, 13 disabilities, 10 voluntary pending and 9 Hybrid). For the November retirement payroll, we had 168 new retirees (149 normal, 5 disabilities, 10 voluntary pending and 4 Hybrid).

We have received a total of 1,257 requests to transfer from the ARP to Hybrid. Of that number 1014 are transfers, 230 retirees, 9 waivers, 4 prospective. We received in 28 applications during the month. Of the 1014 transfers we have 569 applications waiting to be processed. As of Monday, November 17th I have an ARP to Hybrid SWAT Team of three full time employees working on the backlog of applications for the next three months, exclusively. We will reassess the status of the project at the end of that time. We are also in the process of drafting a letter to all current ARP members to advise them that the cost of the transfer will be increasing effective January 1, 2015 due to the change in the breakpoint and the actuarial factors. This could cause a large influx of applications.

Pending Disability Applications as of October 31, 2014

The next available meeting for scheduling is May 2015. The rehired retiree from the Office of Healthcare Advocate, Antonia (Toni) Alt has begun her work in the Disability Unit. She has been reviewing older cases and contacting the individuals directly. We have a backlog of 24 month reviews due to the pending decision on the definition of "suitable and comparable".

Another training session was held on November 3rd for two new Medical Examining Board doctors.

The Employee Benefit Statements will be mailed December 3, 2014 there is a delay due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Tier II and IIA Estimators have been revised and are now operational on the website.

At the Actuarial Subcommittee meeting yesterday we had two accounting firms in to discuss the GASB 67 reporting. Requests for bid are expected by December 8, 2014 at 1:30 p.m.

I want to clear up the matter on the LaChance case: I reported this information to the Commission at the September 2013 meeting. We did not hear anything back from Agent Jack until September 24, 2014 when he called the Assistant Division Director, Bonnie Price. He stated that we should be receiving a check soon for the full amount of $182,832.25. Then the Staff Attorney received an email from Agent Jack late Wednesday, October 23rd and it stated that the Assistant United States Attorney would need a statement/email from the appropriate state legal authority declining to prosecute the case. The email was forwarded to the Attorney General's Office however the Assistant Attorney General advised that since it was a criminal prosecution it would fall under the authority of the Chief State's Attorney Office. In further discussions it was determined that a letter was required by Monday, October 27th to be sent to Florida regarding the Commission's acceptance of the terms. So the Retirement Division did not have any advance notice of this case being finalized. So I apologize for not keeping in touch with Agent Jack on the status of the case. I appreciate and accept the apology from Trustee Mr. Luciano regarding the handling of this matter.

As a follow up to the LaChance matter, we have 2,138 retirees/optionees over the age of 90 years old receiving a benefit.

NEW MATTERS

1. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE October 16, 2014 MINUTES. Mr.
Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the October 16, 2014 Minutes. All voted in favor Ms. Mandour abstained

Unanimous Decision

2. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION CHAIRMAN'S PER DIEM EXPENSES REIMBURSEMENTS. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the State Employees Retirement Commission Chairman's Per Diem expenses reimbursements. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

3. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE CONNECTICUT STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM SERVICE RETIREMENTS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2014. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Connecticut State Employees Retirement System Service retirements for the month of October 2014. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

4. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE CONNECTICUT STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM VOLUNTARY PENDING RETIREMENTS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2014. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Connecticut State Employees System Voluntary Pending retirements for the month of October 2014. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

5. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE CONNECTICUT STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM DISABILITY RETIREMENTS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2014. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Connecticut State Employees Retirement System Disability retirements for the month of October 2014. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

6. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM RETROACTIVE RETIREMENTS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2014. Mr.
Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the State Employees Retirement System Retroactive retirements for the month of October 2014. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

7. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM RETIREMENTS. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Municipal Employee Retirement System retirements. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

8. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE JUDGES AND EMPLOYEES' RETIRMENT SYSTEM RETIREMENTS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER 2014 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Judges and Employees' Retirement System retirements for the month of October 2014. All voted in favor.

Unanimous Decision

9. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE CONNECTICUT PROBATE JUDGES AND EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT FUND PERSONNEL EXPENSES FOR THE PAY PERIOD SEPTEMBER 5, 2014 THROUGH OCTOBER 16, 2014 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Connecticut Probate Judges and Employees' Retirement Fund Personnel expenses for the pay period September 5, 2014 through October 16, 2014. All voted in favor.

Unanimous Decision

10. a. REQUEST COMMISSION REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE JUDGES, FAMILY SUPPORT MAGISTATES' AND COMPENSATION COMMISSONERS' RETIREMENT FUND STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2014 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to review and accept the Judges, Family Support Magistrates' and Compensation Commissioners' Retirement Fund Statement of Operations for Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 2014. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

b. REQUEST COMMISSION REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE JUDGES', FAMILY SUPPORT MAGISTRATES' AND COMPENSATION COMMISSIONERS' RETIREMENT FUND BALANCE SHEET AS OF JUNE 30, 2014 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to accept the Judges', Family Support Magistrates' and Compensation Commissioners' Retirement Fund Balance Sheet as of June 30, 2014. All voted in favor.

Unanimous Decision

11. a. REQUEST COMMISSION REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE PUBLIC DEFENDERS' RETIREMENT FUND STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2014 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to review and accept the Public Defenders' Retirement Fund Statement of Operations for fiscal year ending June 30, 2014. All voted in favor.

Unanimous Decision

b. REQUEST COMMISSION REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE PUBLIC DEFENDERS' RETIREMENT FUND BALANCE SHEET AS OF JUNE 30, 2014 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to accept the Public Defenders' Retirement Fund Balance Sheet as of June 30, 2014. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

12. a. REQUEST COMMISSION REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PENSION FUND STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2014 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to accept the General Assembly Pension Fund Statement of Operations for fiscal year ending June 30, 2014. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

b. REQUEST COMMISSION REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY PENSION FUND BALANCE SHEET AS OF JUNE 30, 2014 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to accept the General Assembly Pension Fund Balance Sheet as of June 30, 2014. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

13. a. REQUEST COMMISSION REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE STATE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2014 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to accept the State Employees' Retirement System Statement of Operations for fiscal year ending June 30, 2014. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

b. REQUEST COMMISSION REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE STATE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM BALANCE SHEET AS OF JUNE 30 2014 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to accept the State Employees' Retirement System Balance Sheet as of June 30, 2014. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

14. a. REQUEST COMMISSION REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE STATE ATTORNEYS' RETIREMENT FUND STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2014 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to accept the State Attorneys' Retirement Fund Statement of Operations for fiscal year ending June 30, 2014. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

b. REQUEST COMMISSION REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE STATE ATTORNEYS' RETIREMENT FUND BALANCE SHEET AS OF JUNE 30, 2014 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to accept the State Attorneys' Retirement Fund Balance Sheet as of June 30, 2014. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

15. a. REQUEST COMMISSION REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE PROBATE JUDGES'AND EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT FUND STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS FOR PLAN YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2014 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to accept the Probate Judges and Employees' Retirement Fund Statement of Operations for the plan year ending June 30, 2014. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

b. REQUEST COMMISSION REVIEW AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE PROBATE JUDGES' AND EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT FUND BALANCE SHEET AS OF JUNE 30, 2014 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to accept the Probate Judges' and Employees' Retirement Fund Balance Sheet as of June 30, 2014. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

16. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION MANAGEMENT TRUSTEES PER DIEM AND TRAVEL EXPENSES REIMBURSEMENT Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the State Employees Retirement Commission Management Trustees Per Diem and Travel expenses reimbursements. All voted in favor Mr. Baus abstained

Majority Decision

17. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION UNION TRUSTEES PER DIEM AND TRAVEL EXPENSES REIMBURSEMENT Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the State Employees Retirement Commission Union Trustees Per Diem and Travel expenses reimbursements. All voted in favor Mr. Poulin abstained

Majority Decision

18. a. REVIEW OF BILLING FROM THE OFFICE OF ROSE KALLOR FOR THE
MONTH OF OCTOBER 2014 For Review only

b. FROM ROSE KALLOR A SUMMARIZATION OF ACTIVITIES AND PENDING LEGAL MATTERS DURING THE MONTH OF OCTOBER, 2014 For Review only

19. FOR COMMISSION REVIEW AND CONSIDERATION OF THE PROPOSED CALENDAR FOR RETIREMENT COMMISSION MEETINGS FOR 2015. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Cosgrove to review and consider the proposed calendar for the Retirement Commission meeting for 2015. Mr. Baus asked the Commission to move the January 2015 date to January 22, 2015. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Ms. Mandour to move the January 2015 meeting of the Retirement Commission to January 22, 2015. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

20. REQUEST COMMISSION ACCEPTANCE OF THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE ACTUARIAL SUBCOMMITTEE TO ACCEPT THE STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM VALUATION REPORT PREPARED AS OF JUNE 30, 2014 Mr. Baus moved, seconded by Mr. Poulin to accept the recommendation of the Actuarial Subcommittee to accept the State Employees Retirement System Valuation Report prepared as of June 30, 2014. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

21. REQUEST COMMISSION ACCEPTANCE OF THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE ACTUARIAL SUBCOMMITTEE TO ACCEPT THE CONNECTICUT JUDGES, FAMILY SUPPORT MAGISTRATES AND COMPENSATION COMMISSIONERS' RETIREMENT SYSTEM VALUATION REPORT PREPARED AS OF JUNE 30, 2014 Mr. Poulin moved, seconded by Mr. Baus to accept the recommendations of the Actuarial Subcommittee to accept the Connecticut Judges, Family Support Magistrates and Compensation Commissioners' Retirement System Valuation Report prepared as of June 30, 2014. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

22. COMMISSION REVIEW AND RECONSIDERATION OF ITS JUNE 19, 2014 DECISION TO DENY ELAINE O'REILLY'S REQUEST TO RECEIVE FREE CREDIT FOR ALL VOLUNTARY LEAVE TAKEN BETWEEN JUNE 1999 AND MAY 2010 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to reconsider the decision to deny Elaine O'Reilly's request to receive free credit for all voluntary leave taken between June 1999 and May of 2010. Ms. O'Reilly presented her case to the Commission. Further information has been requested by the Commission before a decision is rendered. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Ms. Yelmini to table this item until the January 22nd meeting of the Commission. All voted in favor of tabling this item until the January, 22, 2015 meeting.

Unanimous Decision

23. COMMISSION REVIEW AND RECONSIDERATION OF ITS JULY 17, 2014 DECISION TO DENY ROBIN PEOPLES' REQUEST FOR WAIVER OF OVERPAYMENT
Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Ms. Mandour to reconsider the decision to deny Robin Peoples' request for waiver of overpayment. After Ms. Peoples' received a further explanation from Commission members, Ms. Yelmini moved, seconded by Ms. Mandour to deny Ms. Peoples' request for waiver of overpayment. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

24. COMMISSION REQUEST AND RECONSIDERATION OF ITS JULY 18, 2013 DECISION TO DENY LORRAINE MONTESI'S REQUEST FOR WAIVER OF OVERPAYMENT Ms. Montesi's lawyer Attorney Lafferty presented her case to the Commission. Following the presentation Mr. Casella moved, seconded by Mr. McLellan to deny Ms. Montesi's request for waiver of overpayment as previously considered at its July 18, 2013 meeting. All voted in favor

Unanimous Decision

Mr. Casella initiated further discussion on the ability to grant a partial waiver of Ms. Montesi's overpayment, the conclusion of the Trustees was that additional information is required from Ms. Montesi's attorney. It was determined that the State Comptroller's Office should contact the attorney to follow up on the outstanding questions and present the results to the Commission for the December Commission meeting so the matter was tabled.

TABLED ITEMS

REVIEW AND RECONSIDERATION ITS DECEMBER 20, 2013 DENIAL OF VINCENT DEROSA'S CLAIM CONCERNING HIS RETIREMENT BENEFIT Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Carey to remove this item from the table for discussion purposes. Colin Newman had received a phone call from HR saying they do not distinguish between the type of over-time and how it applies for coding purposes. Mr. DeRosa's overtime will be considered mandatory. The Division will send a letter out to Mr. DeRosa.

DECISION AND DECLARATORY RULING IN JOSEPH MATURO JR. MATTER - This matter is in Executive Session

At 10:35 a.m. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Casella to go into Executive Session for matters of discussion with Attorney Rose, excluding the last item listed for Executive Session. Attorney Barth will participate in that discussion. Director Halpin, Assistant Comptroller and Attorney Michael Rose were invited to attend. All voted in favor

Ms. Yelmini moved, seconded by Mr. Casella to take the agenda items out of order so that the Director and other staff would not need be required to stay because they would not participate in all of the items. All voted in favor

EXECUTIVE SESSION
Sampieri v. State Employees Retirement Commission (Appeal)
Etim v. MEB
Brown v. SERC
Bouchard v. SERC (Class Action)
Maturo Petition for Declaratory Ruling
David Carter
Counsel Opinions (CMERS)
i. East Haven
ii . Mansfield
iii. Montville
iv. Thompson Opinion
Template letter for those affected in CMERS
Request from Auditors of Public Accounts

At 11:35 a.m. Ms. Brown-Brewton moved to come out of Executive Session, seconded by Mr. Casella. Ms. Halpin, Attorney Braswell and Deputy Comptroller left the meeting at that time.

At 11:37 a.m. Attorney Bruce Barth and Attorney Cynthia Christie joined the Trustees for Executive session to discuss a Request from Auditors of Public Accounts.

At 12:15 p.m. The Trustees came out of Executive Session. No motions were made on the first twelve items. On the matter of the request from Auditors of Public Accounts Mr. Casella moved, seconded by Ms. Brown-Brewton to have Robinson and Cole consult with Chairman Peter Blum consistent with the discussion held in Executive Session.

ADJOURNMENT

At 12:17 p.m. having no further business before the Commission, Mr. Casella moved, seconded by Ms. Brown-Brewton to adjourn the meeting. All voted in favor.

 

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