DRAFT
MINUTES OF MEETING
STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION
OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER
55 ELM STREET
HARTFORD, CT 06106
9:00 a.m.

May 21, 2015

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

TRUSTEES ABSENT
Stephen Greatorex
Ronald McLellan

EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
Martha Carlson, Deputy Comptroller

MUNICIPAL LIAISON
Thomas Landry

OTHERS PRESENT
Brenda Halpin, Director, Retirement Services Division
Colin Newman, Asst. Director, Retirement Services Division
Natalie Braswell, Assistant Comptroller
Kishore Solanki, Asst. Director, Retirement Services Division
Peggy Gray, Ex. Secretary, Retirement Services Division
Michael Rose, General Counsel to the Commission
Attorney Bruce Barth
Attorney Cynthia Christie
Margaret Haering, Asst. Director, Benefit Services Division
Tynan Cooney, Court Reporter

GUESTS
Michael Quintiliano
Edward Dobbins
Greg Franklin, Office of the Treasurer
Ray Sweetland
Kristine McHugh
Dierdre Bean

CALL TO ORDER
Peter Blum, Chairman called the meeting to order at 9:12 a.m.

CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

You will be hearing more when the agenda item comes up, but we have heard from the Probation Officer concerning Gina Layman.

Lisa Egan asked for a point of privilege. She moved that the Trustees vote on the recommendation to the Governor to appoint Peter Adomeit as neutral Trustee andChairman of the State Employees Retirement Commission, seconded by Ms. Mandour. All voted in favor of the motion.

Chairman Blum then swore in Mr. Angel Quiros as the newest member as a Management Trustee to the Commission.

Division Director's Administrative Report

For the May retirement payroll we had 143 new retirees (126 normal, 3 disabilities, 10 voluntary pending and 4 Hybrid). We were able to finalize 30 retirement applications (19 regular and 11 disabilities) for the month.
On the ARP to Hybrid transfers we have 268 retirees, 1,495 transfers, 9 waivers and 4 prospective for a total of 1,776. The outstanding number to be audited and processed is 817.

Pending Disability Applications as of April 30, 2015

FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL

The next available meeting for scheduling is July 2015.

I have included information on the MERS Survey responses for your review. I am also looking for your direction on the next steps that you would like the Division to take related to the results. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Ms. Egan to table this item until next month. All voted in favor.

I have provided a copy of our responses to the Auditors of Public Accounts report.
Mr. Baus and Mr. Poulin do have a response to the report. There is still time to add their comments even though the deadline has passed.

This week I accepted an award from the State Employee Campaign for Giving on behalf of the Division and the Retirement Payroll Unit for providing State retiree's the ability to have payroll deductions to the Campaign. This functionality became available when we converted the payroll to Core-CT. The retirees were very generous and donated approximately $50,000.

We are in the process of completing interviews for the vacant investigator position. We have also hired a Retirement and Benefits System Coordinator for the Audit Unit.

We are completing the Conference Room Pilots for the Pension Module and are in the design phase of the process.

In addition to the other materials there is a copy of the Court Support Services Division letter regarding Gina Layman. We received the first payment towards the accounts receivable.

NEW MATTERS

1. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE APRIL 2015 MINUTES Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Ms. Brown-Brewton to approve the April 2015 Minutes. All voted in favor. Ms. Mandour abstained

Majority Decision

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

Unanimous Decision

4. REQUEST COMMISSION TO REVIEW THE APRIL BILLING FROM ROSE KALLOR
Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Ms. Brown-Brewton to review the April bill from Rose Kallor.
For Review only

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

Unanimous Decision

6. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE CONNECTICUT STATE EMPLOYEES SYSTEM DISABILITY RETIREMENTS FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL 2015 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Ms. Egan to approve the Connecticut State Employees System Disability retirements for the month of April 2015. All voted in favor.

Unanimous Decision

7. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE CONNECTICUT STATE EMPLOYEES SYSTEM VOLUNTARY PENDING RETIREMENTS FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL 2015 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Poulin to approve the Connecticut State Employees System Voluntary Pending retirements for the month of April 2015. All voted in favor.

Unanimous Decision

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

Unanimous Decision

9. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE CONNECTICUT STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM PRE-RETIREMENT DEATH BENEFITS FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL 2015 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Poulin to approve the Connecticut State Employees Retirement System Pre-retirement Death benefits for the month of April 2015. All voted in favor.

Unanimous Decision

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

Unanimous Decision

11. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE PROBATE JUDGES AND EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT SYSTEM RETIREMENTS Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Poulin to approve the Probate Judges and Employee's retirement system retirements. All voted in favor.

Unanimous Decision

12. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE CONNECTICUT JUDGES AND EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT FUND PERSONNEL EXPENSES FOR THE PAY PERIOD MARCH 20, 2015 THROUGH APRIL 2, 2015 Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Poulin to approve the Connecticut Judges and Employee's Retirement Fund Personnel expenses for the pay period March 20, 2015 through April 2, 2015. All voted in favor.

Unanimous Decision

13. REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE CONNECTICUT MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT FUND B STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS FOR THE CALENDAR YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2014

REQUEST COMMISSION APPROVAL OF THE CONNECTICUT MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT FUND BALANCE SHEET AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2014
Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Poulin to approve the Connecticut Municipal Employees' Retirement Fund B Statement of Operation and the Fund Balance sheet as of December 31, 2014. All voted in favor.

Unanimous Decision

14. REQUEST COMMISSION REVIEW OF THE MEMORANDUM FROM THE AUDITORS OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Ms. Mandour to review the Memorandum from the Auditors of Public Accounts. All voted in favor.
Mr. Casella asked if it would be possible to sit down with the Auditors and discuss the report and any fiduciary responsibility the Commission may have. Discussion was that the Legal and Personnel Subcommittee would look at this suggestion at their next meeting and decide who would attend the meeting.

Unanimous Decision

15. REQUEST COMMISSION REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON PURCHASE AND RELATED MATTERS Mr. Luciano moved to accept the recommendations of the Subcommittee on Purchase and Related Matters and items 4 and 5 that the subcommittee tabled be taken up at the next meeting of the Subcommittee. All voted in favor.

Unanimous Decision

16. APPOINTMENT OF COMMITTEE TO WORK WITH ROBINSON & COLE TO RESOLVE THE SAG AWARD MATTER Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Casella to appoint a committee to work with Robinson & Cole to resolve the SAG award matter. As it stands now Ms. Egan, Mr. Luciano, Ms. Halpin and Mr. Greatorex will serve on the committee. Others may be requested. Appoints were by consensus.

17. REQUEST COMMISSION ATTENTION TO SCHEDULED APPEARANCE FROM PRUDENTIAL RELATED TO THE INVESTMENT SUBCOMMITTEE - Mr. Sweetland, Ms. McHugh and Ms. Bean gave a brief overview to the Commission on the switch over from VOYA to Prudential.

18. DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE LEGISLATIVE CHANGES TO SERS, POSSIBLE IRS ISSUES AND SERC RESPONSE- Attorney Bruce Barth, Commission Attorney for IRS Matters gave a brief overview of what they are working on and some possible changes in the IRS and issuing Determination letters. For right now the SAG award is their priority and they will work with the members chosen for the committee to resolve issues.

19. DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE USE OF CIVEL PROCESS TO OBTAIN REPAYMENT OF FRAUDULENTLY OBTAINED BENEFITS AND REFERRAL TO THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON REGULATIONS AND OVERPAYMENT. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Poulin to table this item for the Retirement Division to look at for future discussion. All voted in favor. Item tabled.

TABLED ITEMS

EDWARD DOBBIN'S REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION TABLED FROM THE APRIL 16, 2015 MEETING. Attorney Rose requested Executive Session before Commission Trustees discuss this and other tabled issues. Ms. Mandour moved to request Executive Session, seconded by Mr. Fortier to review Counsel's opinion on Mr. Dobbins request and other tabled matters. All voted in favor.

DECISION AND DECLARATORY RULING IN THE MATTER OF MICHAEL QUINTILIANO - will be discussed in Executive Session

REQUEST FOR RECONSIDERATION FROM MR. CASERTANO - will be discussed in Executive Session

APPROVAL OF RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE PURCHASING AND RELATED MATTER SUBCOMMITTEE PERTAINING TO MR. GAGLIARDI - will be discussed in Executive Session

EXECUTIVE SESSION

At 10:41 Ms. Mandour moved, seconded by Mr. Casella to go into Executive Session. Attorney Rose, Ms. Halpin, Ms. Braswell and Mr. Newman and Mr. Solanki were asked to stay. All voted in favor.

Unanimous Decision

At 11:54 a.m. the Trustees came out of Executive Session with the following recommendations:

Mr. Carey moved, seconded by Mr. Luciano to deny the request of Edward Dobbins for reconsideration. All voted in favor.

Unanimous Decision

Ms. Mandour moved, seconded by Mr. Luciano to table the Decision and Declaratory Ruling in the matter of Michael Quintiliano. Attorney Rose has requested additional information including current financial information and an affidavit. He will send a letter to Mr. Quintiliano with the requirements. This item is tabled to the June meeting. All voted in favor.

Mr. Carey moved, seconded by Ms. Mandour to table Mr. Casertano's request for reconsideration to the June calendar. All voted in favor.

Mr. Carey moved, seconded by Mr. Luciano to direct the Retirement Division to process the request of Mr. Gagliardi as any other case.

Bouchard v. SERC - No motion was made
Brown v. SERC (OPH) - Mr. Casella moved to refer to the Legal and Personnel Subcommittee, seconded by Ms. Mandour. All voted in favor
Gagliardi - see above
Quintiliano - see above
Feliciano v. MEB - No motion was made
Sampieri v. SERC - will be discussed at the Legal and Personnel Subcommittee meeting
Alston v. SERC - No motion was made

ADJOURNMENT

At 11:59 a.m. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Ms. Mandour to adjourn. All voted in favor.

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