State of Montana Legislative Audit Division recommended that the Montana Public Employee Retirement Administration and the Teachers' Retirement System of Montana, both in Helena, seek legislation for funding changes to ensure the retirement plans it oversees "are funded on an actuarially sound basis." The audit concurred with the finding of actuaries for the funds.
Michael O'Connor, executive director of PERA, which oversees eight retirement plans with a combined $3.9 billion in assets, said actuary Milliman USA recommended increasing the contribution rate by 1.2 percentage points to eliminate the plans' unfunded liabilities, currently at $66 million, in 30 years. The current contribution rate is a combined 13.8% for employer and employees, Mr. O'Connor said.
Mellon's Human Resources & Investor Solutions, actuary for the $2.4 billion Montana Teachers' fund, determined that the system should increase its contribution rate by 2.87 percentage points to eliminate the plan's unfunded liabilities, currently at $758 million, in 30 years, said David Senn, executive director. The system's current combined employer and employee contribution rate is 14.62%.
The increases are included in proposed legislation that will be presented to the state Legislature in January.
