DRAFT

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

March 19, 2015

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

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
Robin Kallor, Attorney, Rose Kallor
Tynan Cooney, Court Reporter

GUESTS
Attorney Dan Livingston
Jon Lender
Attorney Bruce Barth
Attorney Cynthia Christie
Attorney Chip Walsh
Loren Casertano
Laurie Casertano
Michael Quintiliano

CALL TO ORDER

Peter Blum, Chairman called the meeting to order at 9:07 a.m.

SWEARING IN OF LISA GRASSO EGAN
Ms. Grasso-Egan was sworn into office by State Comptroller Kevin Lembo on Monday
March 16, 2015.

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

Chairman Peter Blum announced to the Trustees that in the spirit of transparency he has asked the Court Reporter to record the Commission meeting in its entirety. Ms. Brown-Brewton as for a Point of Order (will be completed on review of the recorded transcript)

Division Director's Administrative Report

For the March retirement payroll we had 145 new retirees (124 normal, 14 disabilities, 4 voluntary pending and 3 Hybrid). We were able to finalize 9 retirement applications (3 regular and 6 disabilities) for the month. We were able to hire 2 durational Retirement and Benefit Officers with funding until June 30, 2015 to assist with the finalizations. We are training them to pick up were the summer interns left off to increase our finalizations.

On the ARP to Hybrid transfers we have 247 retirees, 1,479 transfers, 9 waivers and 4 prospective for a total of 1,739. The outstanding number to be audited and processed is 866.

Pending Disability Applications as of March 19, 2015

FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY

The next available meeting for scheduling is June 2015.

With regard to the Medical Examining Board we have mailed seventy letters out to psychiatrists in the New Haven area to try to add at least one more to the Board.

We have been working with the vendor for the Employee Benefit Statements. We identified what the problem was in relation to the new break point and went back and forth with the calculations, just this week the vendor corrected all of their formulas and provided new sample benefit statements for our review. We are still working through the next steps.

MERS Survey Results to Date - 59.5% completed
2364 have not responded
3410 responded, not working
159 responded, working
63 returned by post Office
5996 total

I have provided information on the legislative updates in the documents before you. In addition, there are three PowerPoint Slides on the Pension Module Implementation that were provided to the Agency Council Personnel meeting and the HR Directors meeting for the larger agencies. I have also included the telephone metrics for 2014 for our front desk which total 3,492 calls and the finalization chart.

NEW MATTERS

1. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE FEBRUARY 2015 MINUTES Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the February 2015 Minutes. All voted in favor.
Unanimous Decision

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

3. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION MANAGEMENT TRUSTEES PER DIEM AND TRAVEL EXPENSES REIMBURSEMENTS Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the State Employees Retirement Commission Management Trustee's Per Diem and travel expenses. All voted in favor. Mr. Baus abstained
Unanimous Decision

4. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION UNION TRUSTEES PER DIEM AND TRAVEL EXPENSES REIMBURSEMENTS Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the State Employees Retirement Commission Union Trustee's Per Diem and travel expenses. All voted in favor. Mr. Poulin abstained
Unanimous Decision

5. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION COUNSEL ROSE KALLOR BILLING FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2015 AND SUMMARY OF JANUARY 2015 ACTIVITY Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the State Employees Retirement Commission Counsel Rose Kallor billing for the month of February and Summary of January Activity. Mr. Coffey notified the rest of the Trustees that he and Mr. Casella were designated to review the bills at the Legal and Personnel Subcommittee, but have not done so yet. Mr. Baus moved, seconded by Ms. Egan to table this item until the April meeting. All voted in favor.
Item tabled to the April meeting

6. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE CONNECTICUT STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM SERVICE RETIREMENTS FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2015 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Connecticut State Employees Retirement System Service retirements for the month of February 2015. All voted in favor.

Unanimous Decision

7. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE CONNECTICUT STATE EMPLOYEES SYSTEM DISABILITY RETIREMENTS FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2015 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Connecticut State Employees System Disability retirements for the month of February 2015. All voted in favor.
Unanimous Decision

8. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE CONNECTICUT STATE EMPLOYEES SYSTEM VOLUNTARY PENDING RETIREMENTS FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2015 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Connecticut State Employees System Voluntary Pending retirements for the month of February. All voted in favor.
Unanimous Decision

9. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE CONNECTICUT STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM PRE RETIREMENT DEATH BENEFIT RETIREMENTS FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2015 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Connecticut State Employees Retirement System Pre Retirement Death Benefit retirements for the month of February 2015. All voted in favor.
Unanimous Decision

10. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE CONNECTICUT STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM RETROACTIVE RETIREMENTS FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2015 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Connecticut State Employees Retirement System Retroactive retirements for the month of February 2015. All voted in favor.
Unanimous Decision

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

12. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DENIAL FROM THE MEDICAL EXAMINING BOARD FROM ITS MEETING OF DECEMBER 5, 2014 AND JANUARY 9, 2015 Mr. Luciano asked that Mr. Miller be done separately, seconded by Ms. Brown-Brewton. All voted in favor. Mr. Luciano moved that Mr. D'Imperio, Mr. Chambers, Mr. Ranfone and Ms. Vilorio be denied, and Mr. Miller be sent back to the Medical Examining Board for further clarification, seconded by Mr. Greatorex. All voted in favor.
Unanimous Decision

13. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE JUDGES, FAMILY SUPPORT MAGISTRATES AND COMPENSATION COMMISSIONERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM SPOUSE RETIREMENTS Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Judges, Family Support Magistrates and Compensation Commissioners Retirement System Spouse retirements. All voted in favor.
Unanimous Decision

14. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE CONNECTICUT JUDGES AND EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT FUND PERSONNEL EXPENSES FOR THE PAY PERIOD JANUARY 9, 2015 THROUGH FEBRUARY 5, 2015 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Connecticut Judges and Employees Retirement Fund Personnel expenses for the pay period January 9, 2015 through February 5, 2015. All voted in favor.
Unanimous Decision

15. REQUEST OF ANGELA DIAZ TO RECEIVE PERMISSION TO APPEAR BEFORE THE MEDICAL EXAMINING BOARD Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to grant Ms. Diaz another disability hearing before the Medical Examining Board due to procedural, extenuating circumstances. All voted in favor.
Unanimous Decision

16. DISCUSSION FROM THE LEGAL AND PERSONNEL SUBCOMMITTEE PERTAINING TO DISTRIBUTION OF COMMISSION MATERIALS Mr. Coffey moved, seconded by Mr. Casella to have all packets arrive to the Trustees at least five days prior to the Commission meeting for review. They would also like Executive Session items sent in the same manner as the March packet. All voted in favor
Unanimous Decision

17. DISCUSSION FROM THE LEGAL AND PERSONNEL SUBCOMMITTEE CONCERNING THE ARP PLAN MODIFICATION Mr. Coffey moved, seconded by Mr. Casella to reconsider the motion from last month. Upon further discussion the motion was amended by Mr. Coffey, seconded by Mr. Casella to table this item for review at the April 8, 2015 Legal and Personnel Subcommittee meeting. All voted in favor.
Unanimous Decision

18. REVIEW AND DISCUSSION OF THE LETTER RECEIVED FROM ATTORNEY HUBERT SANTOS CONCERNING MR. DeROSA Mr. Carey moved, seconded by Mr. Casella to deny Attorney Santos' request. All voted in favor.
Unanimous Decision

TABLED FROM FEBRUARY 19, 2015

I. REQUEST OF LOREN CASTERANO FOR THE COMMISSION TO REVIEW AND RECONSIDER ITS APRIL 17, 2014 DECISION TO DENY HIS REQUEST TO HAVE HIS EFFECTIVE DATE OF RETIREMENT ADJUSTED FROM NOVEMBER 2, 2012 TO MAY 20, 2012. After hearing from Mr. Casterano's attorney Mr. Casella moved, seconded by Mr. Coffey to have this item put on the agenda for the next Legal and Personnel Subcommittee meeting on April 8, 2015 and to have Attorney Rose review for comment. All voted in favor
Unanimous Decision

II. REQUEST OF EDWARD DOBBINS THAT THE COMMISSION REVIEW AND RECONSIDER ITS JUNE 19, 2014 DECISION TO DENY HIS REQUEST TO HAVE HIS EFFECTIVE DATE OF RETIREMENT ADJUSTED FROM DECEMBER 5, 2011 TO MARCH 20, 2014. Mr. Casella moved, seconded by Mr. Poulin to have this item put on the agenda for the next Legal and Personnel Subcommittee meeting on April 8, 2015. All voted in favor.
Unanimous Decision

EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 10:06 Ms. Mandour moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to go into Executive Session to take the Robinson & Cole matter out of order to accommodate Attorney Livingston who had to leave on another matter. All voted in favor. Attorney Livingston, Attorney Barth, Attorney Christie, Attorney Kallor, Attorney Rose (via phone) and Director Brenda Halpin were asked to stay.

Following discussion Mr. Greatorex moved, seconded by Mr. Baus to have Robinson & Cole continue to communicate with the IRS and enter into a closing agreement on the Private Letter Ruling. All voted in favor.

At 12:29 p.m. Mr. Poulin moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to go into Executive Session to take up other matters. All voted in favor. Attorney Kallor and Director Brenda Halpin were asked to stay.

At 12:30 p.m. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Coffey to discuss the Sampieri matter with Attorney Kallor.

At 12:35 p.m. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Coffey to come out of Executive Session.
No motion was made.

At 12:40 p.m. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Coffey to receive an update from Attorney Kallor on the Altson Declaratory Ruling.

At 12:48 p.m. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Coffey to come out of Executive Session. No motions were made.

At 12:49 p.m. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Coffey to enter into Executive Session with Attorney Kallor for an update regarding the status of current regulations. Commission Counsel will work with Attorney Braswell on this matter.

At 12:57 p.m. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Coffey to come out of Executive Session. No motions were made.

At 1:02 p.m. Brenda Halpin and Deputy Comptroller Martha Carlson left the room. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Coffey to receive an update from Attorney Kallor on the Brown matter.

At 1:12 p.m. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Coffey to come out of Executive Session. No motions were made.

ADJOURNMENT

At 1:15 Mr. Poulin moved, seconded by Mr. Baus to adjourn. All voted in favor.

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