Subject:
Title
Florida Retirement Service Senior Management Service Class retroactive payment to pension plan.
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Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Consideration of former employee, Paul Alexander’s, request regarding the Florida Retirement Service (FRS) Senior Management Service Class retroactive payment to his pension plan.
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Strategic Plan:
N/A
Summary:
Paul Alexander was hired as the Director of the Pinellas County Business Technology Services (BTS) department on October 6, 2003. In 2005, the Board of County Commissioners (Board) passed a resolution designating the positon held by Paul Alexander to Senior Management Service Class in the FRS and making that designation retroactive to Mr. Alexander’s hire date. Subsequent to passing the resolution, the FRS informed the County (and Mr. Alexander) that the retroactive designation approved by the Board was not available to Mr. Alexander because he was a member of the FRS Investment Plan and the retroactive designation was only available for members of the FRS Pension Plan. Mr. Alexander left Pinellas County employment on January 28, 2013, for a position in Manatee County and is still employed there.
In October 2015, Mr. Alexander approached Pinellas County’s Human Resources Director seeking to have Pinellas County make the retroactive payment to address the period from his hire date to his designation date since he recently elected to switch from FRS’ Investment Plan to the Pension Plan. FRS confirmed that such a retroactive designation was allowable and could be paid by any party.
Since Mr. Alexander was employed by the BTS Board, his request was presented to the BTS Board at their September 21, 2017 meeting. Working with the Finance Division of the Pinellas County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, who provides payroll services for BTS, various scenarios of payment were calculated:
1. Total current cost of the update, which includes contributions due plus interest at the statutorily imposed rate of 6.5% - $10,007.70;
2. A partial cost of the update, which includes contributions due plus 3% interest - $6430.84;
3. The estimated cost of the contributions with interest that the County would have paid had it been able to upgrade at the time of the Board’s approval - $5002.98; or
4. Pay nothing, which is what the BTS Board recommended in a 5-2 vote.
Background Information:
N/A
Fiscal Impact:
Unknown.
Staff Member Responsible:
Jewel White, County Attorney
Carole Sanzeri, Sr. Assistant County Attorney
Partners:
N/A
Attachments:
P. Alexander request regarding FRS Senior Management change
Resolution 05-123