Retiring right, summer 2013, active member edition

              The Director’s Corner
Retirement Security
Tom Spencer, Executive Director
I promise this will not be a “Pensions vs. Retirement
Accounts” column. They both have their positive and
negative qualities. Instead, I want to share the facts with
you about retirement security, or the lack thereof, in the
United States.
The National Institute on Retirement Security recently
published a new report using data from the Federal
Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances and concluded
45%, or 38 million working-age households in the U.S.,
have no retirement account assets. As troubling, their
research indicates four out of five working families
have less than one times their annual income saved for
retirement.
I’ve written before about the need to be realistic about
our retirement dreams. As we enjoy longer lives, most
of us will have to defer our retirements to later ages
whether we have pensions, 401(k)s or IRAs. Yet, even
deferring our retirements doesn’t remove the need for
fashioning retirement plans to provide enough income
when we can no longer work.
Active Member Edition Summer 2013
retiring Right P E R S Oklahoma Public Employees Retirement System
2013 Legislative Summary
The following is a description of new
legislation affecting active and retired
members of the Oklahoma Public
Employees Retirement System (OPERS).
The implementation of the legislation may
initiate new policies, rules, and procedures
in the coming months.
HB 1325 (Rep. Randy McDaniel and Sen. Rick Brinkley)
Effective April 26, 2013
“Final Average Salary” expanded from three to five years for
new members
Changes the definition of “Final Average Salary” for members who
join on or after July 1, 2013. This is the salary number used in the final
retirement benefit calculation. New OPERS members will have their
salary averaged over the highest five of the last ten years instead of
three years in current law.
Administrative changes for data reporting, probate waivers and
death benefit payments
The bill requires participating employers to provide salary and other
information for retiring members no later than the fifteenth day
of the month of retirement. This will help OPERS speed up the
retirement process. The bill also increases the amount that OPERS
can pay a deceased member’s heirs without requiring that the estate
be probated. It also allows OPERS to pay the final benefit of a
deceased member to the named beneficiary before paying the estate
of the member.
HB 1477 (Rep. Kim David and Sen. Jason Murphy)
Effective November 1, 2013
OPERS Board makeup
Legislation last year inadvertently removed the Director of
Human Capital Management (HCM) of the Office of Management
and Enterprise Services from the OPERS Board. This bill puts
the Director of HCM back on the board, as well as allows the
Corporation Commission member of the board to send a designee in
his or her place.
Als o in This Is s ue:
2 / Retirement 101
Spending Your Way to Retirement Security
4 / Healthful Hints
Be a Superhero, Donate Blood
5 / Pension Advances Threaten Financial Security for Retirees
6 / Contact OPERS
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