STAND. COM. REP. NO. 303
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2007
RE: H.B. No. 1291
Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twenty-Fourth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2007
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred H.B. No. 1291 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this bill is to clarify and conform existing statutes relating to the Employees' Retirement System (ERS) to current practices. Among other things, this measure:
(1) Allows payment of interest to noncontributory member who have deductions erroneously made from their compensation;
(2) Eliminates the eligibility of a foster child to receive death benefits of a member if the member dies in service;
(3) Allows the ERS Board of Trustees (Board) to set the salary of the Chief Investment Officer in the same manner used to set the salary of the Administrator;
(4) Requires contributions exceeding 75 percent of the statutory cap established for judges, legislative officers, and elected officials to be refunded when they leave service to comply with Federal Income Tax laws;
(5) Provides post retirement benefits to contributory and hybrid plan beneficiaries who select a monthly annuity instead of the lump sum balance;
(6) Requires post retirement allowances paid prior to the death of a contributory or hybrid plan member to be deducted from the death benefits payable under the maximum allowance or Option One balance of the insurance reserve;
(7) Prohibits a retirant's beneficiary from electing to receive a 100 percent survivor benefit in lieu of the option selected by the retirant under certain conditions;
(8) Requires the claims for survivor benefits to be filed no later than three years from the date of the retirant's death;
(9) Deletes the requirement that ordinary death benefits be computed in the same manner as ordinary disability benefits for deceased members with 10 years of service who are not eligible for retirement;
(10) Allows the Board to adopt actuarial tables, factors, or assumptions at a duly notice meeting;
(11) Provides criteria for the conversion of noncontributory service to hybrid service once conversion is allowed; and
(12) Allows hybrid plan members to retire at any time once their ordinary disability applications have been approved by the Board.
The Department of Budget and Finance, ERS Board of Trustees, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Hawaii State Teachers Association testified in support of this bill.
Your Committee finds that this bill streamlines the administration of the ERS' and conforms existing statute to current operating practices of the ERS.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor & Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1291 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Finance.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor & Public Employment,
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____________________________ ALEX M. SONSON, Chair |
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