HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 04271993 - 2.4 THE BOARD OR SUPERVISORS OF
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Adopted this Order on April 27, 1993 by the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Powers, Smith, Bishop, McPeak, Torlakson
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
SUBJECT: Policy on Payment of Retirement Refunds
The Board received from Pat Wiegert, Retirement
Administrator, the Policy Statement of the Board of Directors,
Contra Costa County Employee's Retirement Association, on
withdrawal of funds contributed by an employee. A copy of the
statement is attached and included as a part of this document.
Jim Hicks, AFSCME, 1000 Court Street, Martinez,
requested the imposition of a procedure to shorten the processing
time for withdrawing employee retirement contributions should an
employee opt not to return to county employment following a
leave.
Therefore, IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that receipt of
the Policy Statement of the Retirement Board is ACKNOWLEDGED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the County Administrator is
REQUESTED to propose to the Retirement Board a mechanism that
would allow an employee to withdraw his/her funds upon submission
of a written statement that they do not intend to return to work.
1 hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of
an action taken and entered on the minutes of the
Board of Supervisors on the data shown.
is
ATTESTED: _� � 2 7.
PHIL BATCHELOR,Clerk of the Board
of Supervisors and County Administrator
cc: County Administrator By _ ,Deputy
Retirement Administrator
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY EMPLOYEES' RETIFL�N' ASSOCIATION
BOARD OF RETIREMENT
POLICY STATEMENT
PAYMENT OF REFUNDS
Gov. Code Section 31628
PURPOSE
The Contra Costa County Employees' Retirement System was designed to
provide some form of financial security to covered members when they
retire.
Under Government Code Section 31628, a member's accumulated contributions
will be refunded upon proper application and if the " . . . .service of the
member is discontinued."
When a member decides to withdraw his or her account through a refund,
benefits earned to date are forfeited and future financial security may be
compromised.
Without a careful application of the law, it's possible for a member to
become non-covered for just one day in order to withdraw his or her
retirement account. If this sequence of events is repeated often enough,
it's possible for an employee to work an entire career yet have no
retirement income.
The Retirement Board, as fiduciary of the system, is responsible for
assuring that the purpose for which the system was created is properly
carried out within federal and state laws.
The Retirement Board has determined that the situation described above is
contrary to the purpose for which the system was created, jeopardizes the
system's funding status, and may be in violation of Internal Revenue Code
which governs payment of plan distributions.
POLICY
Therefore, effective February 9, 1993, the service of a member will be
considered "discontinued" only if the member has actually terminated
employment and either the termination is due to lay-off, or the member is
not reemployed by that employer for a period of 45 days .
The service of a member will not be considered discontinued if the member
continues to work for the employer or for another participating employer,
even if the member's work schedule is below the minimum number of hours
required to qualify for coverage.
I certify that this is a true
reflection of an action taken and
entered on the minutes of the
Retirement Board on the date shown.
Dato A tion IqU
By
Retirement Admini rator
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION
RECEIVE®
DATE: April 2, 1993
TO: Phil Batchelor, County Administrator APR 161993
County Department Heads
Retirement System Participating Employers CLERK BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
CONTRA COSTA CO.
FROM: Pat 'Wiegert, Retirement AdministratorP4N
SUBJECT: Policy on Payment of Refunds �•I�
Attached is a Policy Statement from the Retirement Board which deals
with. payment of refunds from the pension system.
It's purpose is to-prevent the situation where an employee's position is
modified, sometimes for only a day, just to enable him or her to
withdraw pension monies.
Employees who are laid off and who request a refund of their pension
account will continue to be processed as expeditiously as possible.
Employees who terminate for any other reason and want to close their
accounts will need to remain terminated for 45 days.
Refunds will not be paid to employees who continue to work but are no
longer covered by the retirement system because of the nature of their
job (less than part time, project, temporary, etc. ) .
Adoption of this policy places our retirement system in line with many
of our sister counties which follow the same approach.
Attachment