DRAFT
STATE OF CONNECTICUT
STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION

A regular meeting of the State Employees Retirement Commission (the "Commission") was held on August 17, 2017, in 7th Floor Conference Room at 55 Elm Street, Hartford Connecticut. The meeting convened at 9:00 a.m. and the following members of the Commission were present:

• Peter Adomeit, Chairman
• Michael Carey, Trustee
• Charles Casella, Trustee
• Robert D. Coffey, Trustee
• Lisa Grasso Egan, Trustee
• Steven Greatorex, Trustee
• Sal Luciano, Trustee
• Laila Mandour, Trustee
• Claude Poulin, Trustee
• Angel Quiros, Trustee
• Martha Carlson, Deputy Comptroller & Interim Director of Retirement Services, Ex Officio Member
• Laurie Martin, Ex Officio Member

The following members of the Commission were absent:

• Sandra Fae Brown Brewton, Trustee
• Richard M. Cosgrove, Trustee
• Paul Fortier, Trustee
• Ronald McLellan, Trustee
  
  

Also present were:

• Amanda Alfonso, Retirement Services Division
• Natalie Braswell, Office of the State Comptroller
• Cindy Cieslak, General Counsel to the Commission Ford Harrison
• Colin Newman, Retirement Services Division
• Karen Nolen, Office of Policy and Management
• Michael Rose, General Counsel to the Commission Ford Harrison

Call to Order

Chairman Adomeit called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m.

 

Chairman's Report:

We are working on getting all the plan documents to the IRS for approval. We will also be starting the process to appoint a new Municipal Liaison. We will use the same process as we did before. The Chairman turned it over to Mr. Greatorex who announced that this will be his last Commission meeting. He will be retiring after 41 years. Chairman Adomeit thanked Mr. Greatorex for his service. Chairman Adomeit also stated that the agenda needed to be amended to reflect the June 5, 2017 Cavanaugh Macdonald report. At 9:14a.m., Mr. Luciano motioned to add the report to the agenda, seconded by Mr. Coffey. It passed unanimously to add the report to the agenda.

 

Division Director's Report

 

The Division processed 159 retirements for the month of August. There are 137 regular retirements, 16 Hybrid retirements, 4 Voluntary Pending cases and 2 new disability retirements. The Disability Unit was able finalize 12 disability cases for August. The finalizations processed on the August payroll total 455 with another 621 finalizations that are pending for future processing by the payroll unit. There are also 267 finalizations that are pending with Accenture for its automated process therefore we are unable to provide up to date metrics for the finalizations for regular retirements at this time.

 

For the ARP to Hybrid transfers there are a total of 1968 with 474 retirees and 1480 transfers, 5 prospective and 9 waivers. We continue to work through the backlog of transfers with 530 remaining to be completed.

Pending Disability Applications as of July 31, 2017

FOR THE MONTH OF JULY

The next available meetings for scheduling are in October and November 2017.

24 month review cases:

• Currently there are a total of 317 members to be reviewed. A 24 month review MEB meeting was held on August 5th.
• Out of the 317 - 42 are currently collecting Social Security Disability. Out of the 42 cases, 3 are part of the backlog. There are 264 cases that have been identified as not receiving Social Security Disability, 195 are part of the backlog. Of the 195, 26 have been scheduled for a MEB meeting. The remainder is awaiting medical documentation.

Deputy Comptroller Carlson gave a brief overview of the pension module. There have been some quirks with the system on the accounting side. Accenture will be helping us to correct it.

New Matters

1. Request Commission Approval of the July 20, 2017 minutes.

i. At 9:35a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve July 20, 2017 minutes.
ii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion.
iii. There was discussion and the July 20, 2017 minutes were amended to reflect the changes made in the meeting.
iv. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to approve the July 20, 2017 minutes as amended.

 

2. Request Commission Approval of the State Employees Retirement Commission Chairman?s Per Diem Expenses.

i. At 9:36a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the State Employees Retirement Commission Chairman?s Per Diem Expenses.
ii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote.
iii. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to approve the State Employees Retirement Commission Chairman?s Per Diem Expenses.

 

3. Request Commission Approval of the State Employees Retirement Commission Union Trustee?s Per Diem and Travel Expenses.

i. At 9:37a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the State Employees Retirement Commission Union Trustee?s Per Diem and Travel Expense.
ii. Mr. Poulin abstained.
iii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote.
iv. The Commission voted unanimously in favor, with Mr. Poulin abstaining, to approve the State Employees Retirement Commission Union Trustee?s Per Diem and Travel Expenses.

 

4. Request Commission Acceptance of the July 2017 Billing from Robinson and Cole for CMERS.

i. At 9:36a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the billing from Robinson and Cole for CMERS.
ii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote.
iii. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to accept the State Employees Retirement Commission July 2017 billing from Robinson and Cole for CMERS.

 

5. Request Commission Acceptance of the July 2017 Billing from Robinson and Cole for federal tax matters.

i. At 9:36a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the billing from Robinson and Cole for federal tax matters.
ii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote.
iii. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to accept the State Employees Retirement Commission July 2017 billing from Robinson and Cole for federal tax matters.

 

6. Request Commission Acceptance of the July 2017 Invoices from Ford Harrison.

i. At 9:36a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the billing from Ford Harrison.
ii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote.
iii. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to accept the State Employees Retirement Commission July 2017 billing from Ford Harrison.

 

7. Request Commission Approval of the Connecticut State Employees Retirement System Service Retirements for the Month of July 2017.

i. At 9:37a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Connecticut State Employees Retirement System Service Retirements for the Month of July 2017.
ii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote.
iii. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to approve the Connecticut State Employees Retirement System Service Retirements for the Month of July 2017.

 

8. Request Commission Approval of the Connecticut State Employees Retirement System Voluntary Pending Retirements for the Month of July 2017.

i. At 9:37a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Connecticut State Employees Retirement System Voluntary Pending Retirements for the Month of July 2017.
ii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote.
iii. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to approve the Connecticut State Employees Retirement System Voluntary Pending Retirements for the Month of July 2017.

 

9. Request Commission Approval of the Connecticut State Employees System Disability Retirements for the Month of July 2017.

i. At 9:37a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Connecticut State Employees System Disability Retirements for the Month of July 2017.
ii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote.
iii. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to approve the Connecticut State Employees System Disability Retirements for the Month of July 2017.

 

10. Request Commission Approval of the Connecticut State Employees System Preretirement Death Benefit for the Month of July 2017.

i. At 9:37a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Connecticut State Employees System Preretirement Death Benefit for the Month of July 2017.
ii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote.
iii. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to approve the Connecticut State Employees System Preretirement Death Benefit for the Month of July 2017.

 

11. Request Commission Approval of the Municipal Retirement System Retirements for the Month of July 2017.

i. At 9:37a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Municipal Retirement System Retirements for the Month of July 2017.
ii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote.
iii. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to approve the Municipal Retirement System Retirements for the month of July 2017.

 

12. Request Commission Approval of the Municipal Retirement System Preretirement Death Benefit for the Month of July 2017.

i. At 9:37a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Municipal Retirement System Preretirement Death Benefit for the Month of July 2017.
ii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote.
iii. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to approve the Municipal Retirement System Preretirement Death Benefit for the month of July 2017.

 

13. Request Commission Approval of the Retirement Services Division Request To Discontinue The Disability Applications Due To The One Year Deadline Associated With The Right To Ask For A Reconsideration Of The Medical Examining Board Denial.

i. At 9:37a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex approve of the Retirement Services Division Request to Discontinue the Disability Applications Due to the One Year Deadline Associated with the Right to ask for a Reconsideration of the Medical Examining Board Denial.
ii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote.
iii. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to approve of the Retirement Services Division Request to Discontinue the Disability Applications Due to the One Year Deadline Associated with the Right to ask for a Reconsideration of the Medical Examining Board Denial.

 

14. Request Commission Approval of the Municipal Retirement System Disability Retirements Approved by the Medical Examining Board

i. At 9:37a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Poulin to approve the Municipal Retirement System Disability Retirements Approved by the Medical Examining Board.
ii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote.
iii. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to approve the Municipal Retirement System Disability Retirements Approved by the Medical Examining Board.

 

15. Request Commission Approval of the Probate Judges and Employees Retirement System Retirements for August 2017.

i. At 9:38a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Probate Judges and Employees Retirement System Retirements for August 2017.
ii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote.
iii. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to approve the Probate Judges and Employees Retirement System Retirements for August 2017.

 

16. Request Commission Approval of the Public Defenders Retirement System Retirements for August 2017

i. At 9:38a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Public Defenders Retirement System Retirements for August 2017.
ii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote.
iii. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to approve the Public Defenders Retirement System Retirements for August 2017.

 

17. Request Commission Approval of the Probate Judges and Employees Retirement Fund Personnel Expenses for the Pay Period June 9, 2017 Through July 6, 2017.

i. At 9:38a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to approve the Probate Judges and Employees Retirement Fund Personnel Expenses for the Pay Period June 9, 2017 Through July 6, 2017.
ii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote.
iii. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to approve the Probate Judges and Employees Retirement Fund Personnel Expenses for the Pay Period June 9, 2017 Through July 6, 2017.

 

18. Request Commission Acceptance of the Connecticut State Employees' Retirement System Report of the Actuary on the Valuation Prepared as of June 5, 2017.

i. At 9:38a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to accept the Connecticut State Employees' Retirement System Report of the Actuary on the Valuation Prepared as of June5, 2017.
ii. Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote.
iii. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to accept the Connecticut State Employees' Retirement System Report of the Actuary on the Valuation Prepared as of June 5, 2017.

Executive Session

1. Bouchard - pending litigation - discussion.
2. Thompson - pending litigation - discussion.
3. Carter - pending litigation - discussion.
4. Walenski - pending litigation - discussion.

At 9:38a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to go into executive session to discuss the Item 1, Bouchard ? pending litigation. Mr. Newman, Attorney Braswell, Attorney Rose and Attorney Cieslak were invited by the Commission to stay for executive session. The Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to enter executive session for Item 1.

At 9:40a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to exit executive session. The Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote. The Commission voted unanimously to exit executive session.

At 9:40a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to go into executive session to discuss the Item 2, Thompson ? pending litigation. Mr. Newman, Attorney Braswell, Attorney Rose and Attorney Cieslak were invited by the Commission to stay for executive session. The Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to enter executive session for Item 2.

At 9:46a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to exit executive session. The Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote. The Commission voted unanimously to exit executive session.

At 9:46a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to go into executive session to discuss the Item 3, Carter ? pending litigation. Mr. Newman, Attorney Braswell, Attorney Rose and Attorney Cieslak were invited by the Commission to stay for executive session. The Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to enter executive session for Item 3.

At 9:48a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to exit executive session. The Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote. The Commission voted unanimously to exit executive session.

At 9:48a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to go into executive session to discuss the Item 4, Walenski ? pending litigation. Mr. Newman, Attorney Braswell, Attorney Rose and Attorney Cieslak were invited by the Commission to stay for executive session. The Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote. The Commission voted unanimously in favor to enter executive session for Item 4.

At 9:51a.m., Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Greatorex to exit executive session. The Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote. The Commission voted unanimously to exit executive session.

Public Session

At 9:53a.m., a motion was made regarding Mrs. Walenski. Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Carey to allow the Commission attorney?s to intervene if Arlene Walenski?s attorney does not get a stay in the civil court action. The Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote. The Commission voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

Adjournment

With no further business before the Commission, Mr. Luciano moved, seconded by Mr. Coffey to adjourn at 9:54 a.m. The Chairman asked if there was any discussion. There being no discussion he called for a vote. The Commission voted unanimously to adjourn.

Respectfully Submitted by:

__________________________________
Peter Adomeit, Chairman

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Prepared by Martha Carlson
Deputy Comptroller & Interim Director Retirement Service Division

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