HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2864        FILED ON: 1/14/2009

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 4097

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act  AUTHORIZING THE TOWN OF DEDHAM TO ESTABLISH A GROUP INSURANCE LIABILITY FUND. ..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. As used in this act, the following words shall have the following meanings:-

"Normal cost of post retirement benefits", that portion of the actuarial present value of future premium costs and claim costs payable by the town on behalf of, or direct payments to, retired employees, including school teachers, of the town and the eligible surviving spouses or dependents of deceased employees, including school teachers, of the town, pursuant to this act, which is allocable to a particular fiscal year, as determined by an actuary pursuant to section 2.

"Post retirement benefit liability", the present value of the town's obligation for future premium costs and claim costs payable by the town on behalf of, or direct payments to, retired and prospective retired employees of the town and the eligible surviving spouses or dependents of deceased and prospectively deceased employees of the town, attributed by the terms of the plan to the employee's service rendered to the date of the measurement, pursuant to this act as determined by an actuary, pursuant to section 2.

"Premium costs and claim costs", the amounts payable by the town for the provision of retiree health and life insurance.

"Unfunded post retirement benefit liability", the difference between the post retirement benefit liability on the measurement date and the actuarial value of the assets of the group insurance liability fund on the same date, as determined by an actuary, pursuant to section 2.

"Unfunded post retirement benefit liability amortization payments", the amount which, when paid into the group insurance liability fund annually over a period of years, together with the normal cost of post retirement benefits for each year of said period of years, will reduce to zero at the end of said period, the unfunded post retirement benefit liability in existence as of the beginning of said period, as determined by an actuary.

SECTION 2. (a) There shall be in the town of Dedham a group insurance liability fund, which shall be under the supervision and management of the town's contributory retirement board established under paragraph (b) of subdivision (4) of section 20 of chapter 32 of the General Laws.  The town treasurer shall be the custodian of the fund and may employ an outside custodial service.

(b) The fund shall be credited with all amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by the town for the purposes of meeting the current and future premium costs and claim costs payable by the town on behalf of, or direct payments to, retired employees of the town and the eligible surviving spouses or dependents of deceased employees of the town pursuant to this act. Amounts in the fund including any earnings or interest accruing from the investment of such amounts shall be expended only for the payment of such premium costs and claim costs payable by the town on behalf of, or direct payments to, retired employees of the town and the eligible surviving spouses or dependents of deceased employees of the town, except as otherwise provided in this act, and only in accordance with a schedule of such payments developed by an actuary in consultation with the town's contributory retirement board. Subject in each instance to the approval of the town's contributory retirement board, the town treasurer shall invest and reinvest the amounts in the fund not needed for current disbursement consistent with the prudent person rule, but no funds may be invested directly in mortgages or in collateral loans. The fund shall be subject to the public employee retirement administration commission's triennial audit.

(c) The board may employ any qualified bank, trust company, corporation, firm or person to advise it on the investment of the fund and may pay from the fund for such advice and such other services as determined by the town's contributory retirement board.

SECTION 3. (a) An actuary shall determine, as of January 1, 2008, and no less frequently than every second year thereafter, the normal cost of post retirement benefits, the post retirement benefit liability, and the unfunded post retirement benefit liability.  All such determinations shall be made in accordance with generally accepted actuarial standards, and the actuary shall make a report of such determinations.  The report shall, without limitation, detail the demographic and economic actuarial assumptions used in making such determinations, and each such report subsequent to the first such report shall also include an explanation of the changes, if any, in the demographic and economic actuarial assumptions employed and the reasons for any such changes, and shall also include a comparison of the actual expenses by the town for premium costs and claim costs constituting the post retirement benefit liability during the period since the last such determination, and the amount of such expenditures which were predicted pursuant to the previous such report for the period.

(b) An actuary, in consultation with the town's contributory retirement board, shall establish a schedule of annual payments to be made to the group insurance liability fund designed to reduce to zero the unfunded post retirement benefit liability. The schedule shall reduce the initial unfunded post retirement benefit liability over a period of years not to exceed 30. Any additional unfunded liability created subsequent to the last such determination by the provision of any new benefit or by any increase in the premium share payable by the town shall be separately so amortized over the 15 years following the date of the determination in which such additional liability is first recognized.  Each such annual payment shall be equal to the sum of the unfunded post retirement benefit liability amortization payment required for such year and the payments required to meet the normal cost of post retirement benefits for such fiscal year.

(c) All payments for the purposes of meeting the town's share of premium costs and claim costs or direct payments to retired employees of the town and the surviving spouses or dependents of deceased employees of the town pursuant to this act shall be made from the group insurance liability fund in accordance with a schedule of disbursements established by the actuary.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon its passage.