Elizabeth Althoff
A first big step for LAGERS took place this week as the system officially took over administration of the City of Jefferson’s Fire Pension Plan – the first legacy pension plan as allowed under the Local Plans Legislation which was signed into law last June.
“This has been a culmination of effort by our local government leaders, state legislators, and LAGERS staff, and we are excited to see our first plan transfer administration into our system,” says outgoing director Keith Hughes. “The heart of this legislation was truly to provide an alternative solution to local governments who wanted to get out of the pension administration business.”
And that’s just what the City of Jefferson will be doing on July 1st. “As far as both city retirees and LAGERS members are concerned, they shouldn’t notice anything different as we expect the transition to be seamless, but we hope that it will be a burden lifted on the city,” notes LAGERS new director Bob Wilson.
“We have been overwhelmed by the positive response from employers across the state,” Wilson adds, “and we have several more employers already waiting in line to transfer their plans into LAGERS.”
The City of Jefferson originally joined LAGERS in 1970, but only offered LAGERS benefits to its general and police employers, while fire employees participated in a separate pension fund. The city has since closed their Fire Pension Fund and all new hires in the Fire Department now participate in LAGERS. Retirees in the closed Fire Pension Fund will, effective July 1st, begin receiving their pension check from LAGERS instead of the city, but will otherwise not notice anything different. The city, however, will no longer bear any of the administrative, actuarial, auditing, legal, investment, or compliance burden of managing a pension fund.
“This truly is a win-win for everyone. Retirees are assured their benefits remain secure and the city can focus on providing great services for its taxpayers. LAGERS is truly honored to be a part of this,” notes Wilson.
