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CITY OF ELK RIVER, MINNESOTA <br />NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS <br />DECEMBER 31, 2011 <br />Note 4: OTHER INFORMATION — CONTINUED <br />There are different types of annuities available to members upon retirement. A single -life annuity is a lifetime <br />annuity that ceases upon the death of the retiree —no survivor annuity is payable. There are also various types <br />of joint and survivor annuity options available which will be payable over joint lives. Members may also leave <br />their contributions in the fund upon termination of public service in order to qualify for a deferred annuity at <br />retirement age. Refunds of contributions are available at any time to members who leave public service, but <br />before retirement benefits begin. <br />The benefit provisions stated in the previous paragraphs of this section are current provisions and apply to <br />active plan participants. Vested, terminated employees who are entitled to benefits but are not receiving them <br />yet are bound by the provisions in effect at the time they last terminated their public service. <br />PERA issues a publicly available financial report that includes financial statements and required supplementary <br />information for GERF and PEPFF. That report may be obtained on the internet at www.mnpera.org, by writing <br />to PERA, at 60 Empire Drive #200, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55103 -2088 or by calling (651) 296 -7460 or 1 -800- <br />652 -9026. <br />b. Funding Policy <br />Minnesota Statutes Chapter 353 sets the rates for employer and employee contributions, These statutes are <br />established and amended by the state legislature. The City makes annual contributions to the pension plans <br />equal to the amount required by state statutes. GERF Basic Plan members and Coordinated Plan members are <br />required to contribute 9.1 % and 6.25 %, respectively, of their annual covered salary in 201 1. PEPFF members <br />were required to contribute 9.6% of their annual covered salary in 2011. In 2011, the City of Elk River was <br />required to contribute the following percentages of annual covered payroll: 11.78% for Basic Plan members, <br />7.25% for Coordinated Plan members, and 14.4% for PEPFF members. The City's contributions to the General <br />Employees Retirement Fund for the years ending December 31, 2011, 2010, and 2009 were $528,696, <br />$501,726, and $496,994, respectively. The City's contributions to the Public Employees Police & Fire Fund for <br />the years ending December 31, 2011, 2010, and 2009 were $355,670, $357,977, and $340,677, respectively, <br />The City's contributions were equal to the contractually required contributions for each year as set by state <br />statute. <br />c. Defined Contribution Plan <br />Three council members of the City of Elk River are covered by the Public Employees Defined Contribution <br />Plan ( PEDCP), a multiple - employer deferred compensation plan administered by the Public Employees <br />Retirement Association of Minnesota (PERA). The PEDCP is a tax qualified plan under Section 401(a) of the <br />Internal Revenue Code and all contributions by or on behalf of employees are tax deferred until time of <br />withdrawal. <br />Plan benefits depend solely on amounts contributed to the plan plus investment earnings, less administrative <br />expenses. Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 353D.03, specifies plan provisions, including the employee and <br />employer contribution rates for those qualified personnel who elect to participate. An eligible elected official <br />who decides to participate contributes 5 percent of salary which is matched by the elected official's employer. <br />For salaried employees, employer contributions are determined by the employer and must be a fixed percentage <br />of salary, Employees who are paid for their services may elect to make member contributions in an amount not <br />to exceed the employer share. Employer and employee contributions are combined and used to purchase shares <br />in one or more of the seven accounts of the Minnesota Supplemental Investment Fund. For administering the <br />plan, PERA receives 2 percent of employer contributions and twenty -five hundredths of one percent of the <br />assets in each member's account annually, <br />58 <br />