Brandon Twp.- Township employees have moved closer to securing their retirement.
The township board approved at their Aug. 15 meeting a motion for the Charter Township of Brandon to offer the Municipal Employees Retirement System (MERS) Defined Benefit program to full-time employees and elected officials.
Following the first motion’s approval, six consecutive motions were approved regarding plan design, division, establishment of a retiree health care fund, option for employees wishing to remain with the former retirement program, Manulife; expenditure for MERS Initial Actuarial Evaluations; and correspondence with Manulife and John Hancock requesting funds be transferred to MERS, as well as whether they will keep employees in their program who choose not to enroll in MERS.
‘We felt this was fiscally sound for the township and provides a good retirement for the employees and it provides the same amount of money as in the past,? said Brandon Fire Chief Bob McArthur, who is part of a a committee that was established to study the current retirement program and offer recommendations to township officials regarding possible changes. ‘The cost of retirement did not go up for the township and it will not in the future.?
The retirement plan the township currently had was defined contribution and stock market-driven. McArthur says the township has been paying in and has lost large sums from each individual retirement plan, prompting them to look for a program more secure. He believes they have found that security in MERS.
Some highlights of the new plan include an eight-year vesting period, 2-percent employee contribution (in addition to the township’s 12-percent contribution) and a requirement that employees must be 55-years-old with 20 years of service in order to retire and start drawing benefits.
One other key point of the plan is that a retiree health care fund will also be created. Previously, funds were taken from the township budget for retirees? health care.
There are currently 36 township employees, including trustees who will get a separate division in MERS. Employees interested in joining the program will sign documentation and at the board meeting Sept. 19, there will be a resolution to adopt the program, with a goal of October for the official start-up of MERS.
‘An employee can now actually plan their future and what their income will be instead of a flip of the coin on the stock market,? says McArthur. ‘This will get firefighters out before they’re 60. Good for them and the community. The last thing you want is 65-year-old men front line on fire trucks.?