January 13, 2017 - Executive Director Update: ATRS Legislative Package and Week 1 of the General Assembly

On Monday, January 9, 2017, the 91st General Assembly of Arkansas began the General Session for 2017.  In a general session, laws affecting any and all issues can be introduced as compared to the fiscal session in even numbered years that is essentially limited to fiscal issues and appropriations. This update has two attachments, an update and a bill summary.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is Representative Jeremy Gilliam of Judsonia. The President Pro Tempore of the Arkansas Senate is Senator Jonathan Dismang of Beebe.  ATRS looks forward to the leadership and direction provided by these two hard-working and respected leaders of the 91st General Assembly. 

ATRS is working closely with Governor Hutchinson and his staff on legislative issues already during this session.  Governor Hutchinson always provides leadership and important input on retirement proposals and other issues that affect all Arkansans.  ATRS appreciates Governor Hutchinson's input and advice on legislation.

The Joint Retirement Committee and its leadership are now known. Representative Douglas House was named the House Co-Chair.  Representative Gary Deffenbaugh was named as House Co-Vice Chair of Joint Retirement. Senator Bart Hester is Senate Co-Chair.  Senator Blake Johnson is Senate Co-Vice Chair. Of the 20 committee members, 11 have prior service on the committee.

2017 Senate Members of Retirement Committee

Senator Bart Hester, Chair	Cave Springs
Senator Blake Johnson, Vice Chair	Corning
Senator Larry Teague	Nashville
Senator Joyce Elliott	Little Rock
Senator Jason Rapert	Conway
Senator Bill Sample	Hot Springs
Senator Jeremy Hutchinson	Little Rock
Senator Eddie Cheatham	Crossett
Senator Linda Chesterfield	Little Rock
Senator Jane English	North Little Rock

 

2017 House Members of Retirement Committee

Representative Douglas House, Chair	North Little Rock
Representative Gary Deffenbaugh, Vice Chair	Van Buren
Representative David Meeks, Chair	Conway
Representative Fred Allen	Little Rock
Representative Ron McNair	Alpena
Representative Bob Johnson	Jacksonville
Representative Bruce Coleman	Mountainburg
Representative Clint Penzo	Springdale
Representative Johnny Rye	Trumann
Representative Les Warren	Hot Springs

 

HOUSE ALTERNATES

Representative Lane Jean	Magnolia
Representative Les Eaves	Searcy
Representative Monte Hodges	Blytheville
Representative Greg Leding	Fayetteville
Representative Richard Womack	Arkadelphia
Representative Charlie Collins	Fayetteville
Representative Bruce Cozart	Hot Springs
Representative Charlene Fite	Van Buren
Representative Michael John Gray	Augusta
Representative Rebecca Petty	Rogers

 

The ATRS Board of Trustees has unanimously voted to support a nineteen (19) bill package for the 2017 legislative session. With the approval of the ATRS Board Chair, Jeff Stubblefield, one additional bill has been added for a total of 20 ATRS package bills. ATRS will also closely follow all bills that could impact ATRS during session. Every week, the new executive director update will detail new bills, amendments, and the status of all ATRS package bills and other bills affecting ATRS.

This update has an attachment that is session update and an attachment that summarizes the 20 ATRS legislative package bills plus a summary of one additional bill that impacts ATRS.  Little activity on the retirement front happened this week other than the Joint Retirement Committee membership being set for the session. Next week should have much more activity.

Remember that ATRS has a new website that allows members to have direct access to specific member account information. Now approximately 9,200 members have direct account access to individualized account information. Here is the link to the instructions to sign up: https://www.artrs.gov/general/director-updates/716-08-15-2014-executive-director-update-the-new-atrs-website.

You can also sign up to obtain these executive director updates through your private email address. Updates are made throughout the year such as at retirement season and other times when information needs to be shared. Now, over 9,500 people have signed up to receive this executive director by listserve email. You can find the link to sign up for listserve delivery to these updates here: https://www.artrs.gov/login.

In addition, over 13,000 people have access to the ATRS executive director updates via direct email delivery. It is always a great pleasure for ATRS staff to learn of more ways to provide information to ATRS members, employers, beneficiaries, government officials, and the public. The ATRS Board is committed to providing a system that is member friendly and transparent.

You can also get helpful ATRS information on the ATRS Facebook page under the name of Arkansas Teacher Retirement System. Over 3,100 Facebook users get updates via the ATRS Facebook page. Go to the Facebook page and "like" ATRS to get daily updates. I try to go to the Facebook page every day to post information and answer member questions about ATRS. In addition, if you use Twitter, you can join over 800 others by following events at ATRS and issues of interest on the ATRS Twitter page. Remember that ATRS is here to serve you! If you have questions, email me or call.

Respectfully,

George Hopkins

(501) 682-1820 Office
(501) 318-5998 Cell
georgeh@artrs.gov

 

Click on the following document for more information:

1. Legislative Update

2. Legislative Package

January 6, 2017 - Executive Director Update: Actuarial Status and ATRS Legislative Package

The 91st General Assembly convenes on Monday. On this snowy and cold Friday, I decided to provide an update on the ATRS actuarial status and to give a preview of the ATRS legislative package for the 91st General Assembly. It will be a busy few months in state government. ATRS will work hard to keep everyone informed about the ATRS legislative package of 19 proposals and other legislation that may impact ATRS. From now until the end of the session, ATRS will try to provide a weekly update on the legislative session and the progress of legislation affecting ATRS. This email has 1 attachment that is 17 pages long. It includes the summary on the actuarial status of ATRS and a summary of all 19 of the ATRS legislative proposals.

The actuaries recently gave the ATRS Board the actuarial report on ATRS for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2016. The report was positive. ATRS now has an amortization period to pay off its unfunded liabilities of 29 years. This is the shortest the amortization period has been in eight (8) years. The ATRS funded percentage is 81%, another strong number. The ATRS unfunded liabilities dropped by about $129 million dollars from the previous fiscal year. At the same time, the actuarial report provided details about the increasing detrimental impact of outsourcing of classified positions from school employees to employees of contractors that have embedded employees within a school district.

The ATRS Board also learned that the ATRS investment returns for the three (3) year and ten (10) year periods from September 30, 2016, were in the top one-percent (1%) of all large pension plans within the country. The ATRS Board has a proven track record in obtaining quality returns and staying the course to obtain the best managers and investment returns possible.

Remember that ATRS has a new website that allows members to have direct access to specific member account information. Now approximately 9,000 members have direct account access to individualized account information. Here is the link to the instructions to sign up: https://www.artrs.gov/general/director-updates/716-08-15-2014-executive-director-update-the-new-atrs-website.

You can also sign up to obtain these executive director updates through your private email address. Updates are made throughout the year such as at retirement season and other times when information needs to be shared. Now, over 8,000 people have signed up to receive this executive director by listserve email. You can find the link to sign up for listserve delivery to these updates here: https://www.artrs.gov/login.

In addition, over 13,000 people have access to the ATRS executive director updates via direct email delivery. It is always a great pleasure for ATRS staff to learn of more ways to provide information to ATRS members, employers, beneficiaries, government officials, and the public. The ATRS Board is committed to providing a system that is member friendly and transparent.

You can also get helpful ATRS information on the ATRS Facebook page under the name of Arkansas Teacher Retirement System. Over 3,000 Facebook users get updates via the ATRS Facebook page. Go to the Facebook page and "like" ATRS to get daily updates. I try to go to the Facebook page every day to post information and answer member questions about ATRS. In addition, if you use Twitter, you can join over 750 others by following events at ATRS and issues of interest on the ATRS Twitter page. Remember that ATRS is here to serve you! If you have questions, email me or call.

Respectfully,

George Hopkins

(501) 682-1820 Office
(501) 318-5998 Cell
georgeh@artrs.gov

 

Click on the following document for more information:

1. Actuarial Status Update and 2017 ATRS Bill Package