MNCORA letter of support for retirement legislation

The following was sent to every Minnesota State Senator and Representative. MNCORA encourages you to contact them expressing your support!

Dear Minnesota State Legislators,

The Minnesota Correctional Officer Retirement Association (MNCORA) supports the following Bills before you that we believe will make life better for retired Minnesota Correctional Officers:

SF 2838 & HF 2788-If enacted would exempt Social Security from Minnesota State income Tax

SF 3538 & HF 3902 – if passed would provide relief from Minnesota State Income Tax for the following pensions; Police and Fire, Local Government Correctional Plan, State Patrol and State Correctional Officers.

SF 4294 & HF 4306- If passed would increase the COLA’s and reduce employee contributions for most Minnesota State Retirement System plans, Public Employees
Retirement Association plans, Teachers Retirement Association, Minnesota state
higher education individual retirement account plan, and St. Paul Teachers
Retirement Fund Association; increasing postretirement adjustment rates;
temporarily reducing employee contribution rates; reducing the investment rate
of return actuarial assumption; increasing and extending direct state aid to the
public employees police and fire retirement plan, the St. Paul Teachers Retirement
Fund Association, and the judges retirement plan; appropriating money; amending
Minnesota Statutes.

The Minnesota Correctional Officer Retirement Association (MNCORA)believes that Correctional Officer retirees worked hard serving their State and Local Governments and deserve relief from high taxes after years of service and now on fixed incomes, especially in light of the State’s budget surplus.

MNCORA supports these Bills and urges your support.

Sincerely,

The MNCORA Board

Session summary, wins and lossses

Governor Walz signed into law the Pension Omnibus Bill yesterday, May 15. It was a busy year for MNCORA and PERA Correctional Plan Legislation. MNCORA with your help was able to stave off yet another attempt to add dispatchers to our pension. Your petitions, calls and thousands of cards mailed to legislators was a success. Sadly we are not out of the woods. Rep. Wolgamott and Rep. Her both told MNCORA that the bill to add dispatch to our pension wouldn't be added to this year's Pension Omnibus Bill, but did not say the issue was dead for next session. MNCORA had a Bill to add a Correctional Officer to the PERA Board authored by Representatives Niska , Scott and Novotny on the House side, and a companion Bill in the Senate by Senators Bahr , Abeler and eventually Frentz . Sadly Pension Commission Chair Kaohly Her did not even allow our Bill a hearing. We will be back with this next year! Another bright note was the passage of a Bill raising the high 5 multipl...

Correctional Officers Federally Recognized as Public Safety Employees

As of January 1, 2025, Correctional Officers are Federally Recognized as Public Safety Employees the same as Police and Fire. This has implications for disability, taxes and retirement. As we face new challenges to our pension in 2025 this will further the distinction between PERA General Plan members like 911 Dispatch and Probation and CO's in the PERA Correctional Plan. It's part of the Secure Act 2.0. 26 USC § 72(t)()(10) definition of Public Safety Employee - qualified public safety employee (10) Distributions to qualified public safety employees and private sector firefighters (A) In general In the case of a distribution to a qualified public safety employee from a governmental plan (within the meaning of section 414(d) ) or a distribution from a plan described in clause (iii), (iv), or (vi) of section 402(c)(8)(B) to an employee who provides firefighting services, paragraph (2)(A)(v) shall be applied by substituting “age 50 or 25 years of service u...

New Bill for Corrections seat on the PERA Board

MNCORA thanks Representatives Peggy Scott and House Leader Harry Niska for Authoring HF708 in the House and senators Cal Bahr and Jim Abeler for authoring the bill in the Senate SF1556 . Next step is for the LCPR to hear this Bill. Here's a link to the Pension Committee (LCPR). It's very important to contact them and ask them to give it a hearing for it to move on. https://www.lcpr.mn.gov/members.htm

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