PERA meeting and Planning meeting update

MNCORA attended the October 10 regular meeting and the Planning Meeting for the upcoming year.

Relating to the PERA Correctional plan at the Board meeting- PERA is recommending legislation to clarify disability for Corrections Officers to reflect the change from the 1.9% - 2.2% high five modifier. In other words disability needs to be paid out at the higher rate going forward. MNCORA supports this.

Planning Meeting

They discussed adding a PERA Correctional Plan member to the PERA Board. This is a result of our legislation last year (which we will push again) to do so.

This was only a planning meeting. No votes were taken, that will happen at the next PERA meeting. The board did not seem in favor of this.

The legitimate point was made that there hasn't been a change to PERA's board since 1995 and the Correctional Plan didn't exist until 1999.

It was downhill from there. Some conversations about opposing the seat were-

*Adding a seat would make it a 12 member board-an even number.

*Correctional Plan members can already run for the General Plan seat.

*Yes there have been attempts to add other groups to our plan, but they have not supported those.

*They are happy with the current board make up.

The next meeting is December 12th and that is when they will vote to support or not. See our last Post for MNCORA's position.

MNCORA is pushing ahead with our legislators to get the bill passed either way this session.

Watch this Blog for updates.

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

MAPE and Teamsters gearing up for pension raid?

Currently there's an MSRS Correctional Plan Eligibility Work Group looking at who and should and should not be in the MSRS (State) Correctional Plan. The recommendations are due to the LCPR by January 10, 2025. As always there's a letter citing MAPE and Teamsters desire to add Probation Officers to both the MSRS and PERA Correctional Plans . Because why wouldn't they try this again out of our sight? Last year of course there was the Bill to add Dispatch to our Correctional Plan, and Rep. Wolgamott (the author) stated the issue was not dead. We fully expect another attempt this year. The last line of MAPE's letter says it all: This upcoming session will be challenging with possibly probation and dispatch both making a run at our pension. MNCORA will be watching. We plan to again submit a Bill to add a CO to the PERA Board (Something State CO's have). Last year Representative Niska authored it, but the LCPR declined to give it a hearing. This session Rep. Niska w...

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