Members approve retirements; discuss return-of-contribution notices sent in 2025

At an April 22 meeting, members approved three retirements and one return of contributions and discussed a recent uptick in return requests after an administrator sent letters to nonvested participants, staff said.

Judy, speaking for staff, outlined four items for board approval: Deborah D'Angelus, whose benefit commencement date was listed as Feb. 1, 2026, elected a five‑year certain life annuity; Vellis Hexagonus, with a May 1 benefit commencement, selected a 100% joint survivor annuity; Manuel Roa commenced benefits on April 1 and elected a five‑year certain life annuity; and Caitlyn Tyler, who terminated employment in 2021 and was not vested, was listed for a return of contributions. Transcript amounts for the individual payments were garbled in places and are noted below as reported in the record.

The board discussed the return-of-contribution item at length. A board member asked whether returns are automatic or require board approval; staff said the administrator sent letters in May 2025 to participants who were not vested advising them of the option to request a return of contributions, and that staff normally presents these returns for the board to confirm. Judy told members that participants must complete a form to receive a distribution and may choose to roll over funds; the transcript records that federal tax withholding of 20% generally applies and that a 10% penalty can apply for distributions taken before age 59½, as noted in the meeting.

Members also questioned how many participants and how much money are outstanding and whether interest continues to accrue on amounts the board is returning. Staff said the letters were sent in May 2025 when the new administrator took over and that this has increased the number of return requests; staff agreed to provide counts, total dollars, and clear interest‑accrual figures at the next meeting. The transcript includes an unclear statement that interest "does still acrue" and records a numeric string of "350%" that appears to be a transcription or formatting error; the exact interest rate and calculation method were not confirmed at the meeting.

A motion "to approve all presented retirements as presented" was made and seconded; the board approved the retirements by voice vote. The meeting record shows the chair saying, "I think we passed unanimously." No formal vote tally with member names was recorded in the transcript for that motion.

There was no other old or new business. Members read their names for the minutes and the meeting was adjourned.