Retirement Board Update - Meeting of August 19, 2005 - By Joe Flynn

To the Retirees:

    The Aug. 19 Ret. Bd. meeting was a double-header. The Aug. 12 agenda was continued for lack of a quorum so that agenda was heard in the morning and the regular Aug. 19 hearing was conducted in the afternoon.
    The Board plans to meet twice a month; the second Friday of the month will consider all financial matters and the third Friday will consider all other Board agenda items. It worked fine this time and should make better use of Board time as well as staff and consultant time and make it easier for interested members to follow Board items.   

   Aug. 12 Agenda
   The SDCERS June 30, 2004 Audit is nearing completion. The "subsequent events analysis," which must review claims made by recent lawsuits, is well underway. The Audit is expected at the October Board meeting.
    Staff and consultants made reports to the Board on, asset allocation, real estate performance and an overall report on investment performance. SDCERS investment portfolio continues to remain in the top 25% or better of all pension funds. These reports are presented to the Board for their understanding and recommendations on courses of action, and approval of suggested policies or programs. The investments are doing well and are a continuing source of optimism.

    Aug. 19 Agenda
    Service retirements and Deferred Retirement Options require Board approval; this is the easy part and it is usually on the "consent agenda." Disability retirements are another matter since members seeking disability can appeal an Adjudicator's decision to the Ret. Board. Adjudicator's are usually retired Judges who conduct full Court hearings, with court reporters, expert witnesses, and attorney's representing both SDCERS and the member seeking the disability retirement. The fact that the Ret. Bd. is four members short makes it difficult for the appellant since they need seven (7) votes to sustain an appeal, and it is difficult for the Board to act for the same. reason.
    At this hearing the Board did agree, however, to make a change in the way disability hearings are handled. Heretofore, the SDCERS Medical Review Office and review committees had only two options: they could recommend approval, and all other cases were set for an Adjudicator Hearing. These Hearings are costly ($10,000 to $15,000 each), time consuming for both staff and applicant, and generate backlogs up to two years. The change approved by the Board provides a third option whereby the Medical Review Officer and staff review committees can recommend denial which will be heard by the Retirement Board. If the member wishes to appeal the Board's decision, it may be appealed in Superior Court. This change should reduce the backlogs in disability retirement requests and save time and money all the way around. No existing avenues of appeals will be closed.   
    One major item consisted of a briefing by Richard Vortmann, former Board member, and vice chairman of the Pension Reform Committee on the Minority Report which he had prepared. If interested you can access the report on the City website at: http://www.sandiego.gov/pensionreform/pdf/minority040915.pdf
    On a separate matter, a staff report and recommended amendments to the agreement between the Unified Port District and SDCERS for the administration of the Port's retirement system was presented to the Board. The changes provide additional clarity for handling of Port retirement funds and guidelines for accounting for those funds.
    There was no "closed session" at this hearing. The next scheduled Board hearings are: Sept. 9 for Financial matters, and Sept. 16 for all other Board agenda items. Joe Flynn, Ret. Rep. to the Retirement Board

Joe Flynn, Retiree Rep. to the Retirement Board