Omnibus retirement bill considered

The Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee held a hearing Feb. 8 on the committee’s annual omnibus bill.

Introduced by the committee on behalf of the Nebraska Public Employees Retirement System (NPERS), LB509 would make several changes to the county, state and Class V school retirement plans and the duties of the Public Employees Retirement Board and the Nebraska Investment Council.

Among other changes, the bill would:

• create the County Employees Retirement Fund for deposit of county late filing penalties;
• allow permanent and part-time county and state employees to participate in retirement plans at age 18;
• change the deadline from March 15 to March 31 for the Nebraska Investment Council to provide its annual report to the Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee;
• require the Class V School Retirement Plan board to provide comprehensive preretirement planning programs to plan members;
• remove requirements for the Class V Retirement System to file annual plan summaries;
• require the Class V Retirement System to file an actuarial report annually rather than every four years;
• remove a requirement that the retirement board provide notification if a political subdivision fails to file annual pension reports; and
• suspend retirement distributions from state and county retirement plans pending final outcome of a grievance filed by a member of either plan.

Jason Hayes, legal council for NPERS, testified in a neutral capacity. He said the provision suspending retirement benefits for those who have a pending grievance following termination would benefit both employees and the state.

If a plan member makes a withdrawal from an account and is reinstated after a termination is overturned, he said, the money withdrawn must be paid back.

“Often they will have spent all the money, or a significant part of it,” Hayes said, but he added that NPERS is willing to be flexible on the issue.

Julie Dake-Abel, executive director of the Nebraska Association of Public Employees, also testified neutrally on the bill, saying the union would prefer a partial restriction, rather than a prohibition, on terminated employees making withdrawals pending the final outcome of a grievance filing.

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.