Chair Talk

February 2011

Please note: Due to the weather conditions the February CC meeting has been rescheduled to Friday, March 4, 2011. Please hang on to the February agenda as we will utilize that for the rescheduled meeting. An e-mail/phone reminder will be made about 10 days before the meeting. Please call/e-mail Jackie Russell with the number of people attending from your Chapter by Sunday, February 27.

I have invited Jan Winters (Director of the Office of the State Employer) to speak at our meeting. By that time, the Governor’s proposed budget will have been presented to the Legislature and we may know more about what may be in store for retirees.

There have been many bills introduced (including the Dillon pooling plan) that may have an effect on retirees. We have been working with the coalition (Coalition for Accountability in Reform) on proposed legislation that may affect state and school employees/retirees.

In the past week there have been two conflicting reports released comparing compensation/pensions/benefits of State/School employees/retirees. We are still reviewing both studies. I am sure that Mary Pollock, SERA Legislative Chair, will be discussing this in her report. We will be discussing these conflicting reports in the future.

Editor’s note: Bob Kopasz is Chair of the Michigan SERA Council. He may be reached at P.O. Box 692, Mt. Morris, MI 48458; phone 810/240-8380.