RS 11:102 Employer contributions; determination; state systems
§102. Employer contributions; determination; state systems
A. The provisions of this Section are applicable with respect to the state public retirement systems, whose benefits are guaranteed by Article X, Section 29(A) and (B) of the Louisiana Constitution.
B.(1) Except as provided in R.S. 11:102.1 and 102.2 and in Paragraph (5) of this Subsection, for each fiscal year, commencing with Fiscal Year 1989-1990, for each of the public retirement systems referenced in Subsection A of this Section, the legislature shall set the required employer contribution rate equal to the actuarially required employer contribution, as determined under Paragraph (3) of this Subsection, divided by the total projected payroll of all active members of each particular system for the fiscal year. Each entity funding a portion of a member's salary shall also fund the employer's contribution on that portion of the member's salary at the employer contribution rate specified in this Subsection.
(2) At the end of each fiscal year, the difference between the actuarially required employer contribution for the fiscal year, as determined under Paragraph (3) of this Subsection, and the amount of employer contributions actually received for the fiscal year, excluding any amounts received for the extraordinary purchase of additional benefits or service, shall be determined.
(a) If the amount of employer contributions received for the fiscal year is less than the actuarially required employer contribution for the fiscal year, due to the failure of the legislature to appropriate funds at the required employer contribution rate, the difference shall be paid by the state treasurer from the state general fund upon warrant from the governing authority of the retirement system.
(b) At the end of each fiscal year, the difference between the minimum employer contribution, as required by the Constitution of Louisiana, and the actuarially required employer contribution for the fiscal year, as determined under Paragraph (3) of this Subsection, shall be determined and applied in accordance with the following provisions:
(i) The amount, if any, shall be accumulated in an employer credit account which shall be adjusted annually to reflect any gain or loss attributable to the balance in the account at the actuarial rate of return earned by the system.
(ii) Except as provided in Paragraph (5) of this Subsection, annual contributions required in accordance with this Subsection, or the constitutional minimum if greater, may be funded in whole or in part from the employer credit account, provided the employee contribution rate for the system as set forth in R.S. 11:62 has been reduced to an amount equal to or less than fifty percent of the annual normal cost, rounded to the nearest one-quarter percent.
(iii) For purposes of implementing Act No. 1331 of the 1999 Regular Session of the Legislature, the balance of the Employer Credit Account applicable to the Louisiana School Employees' Retirement System as of June 30, 1999, shall be fifty-six million seven hundred fifty-four thousand four hundred five dollars.
(c) Except as provided in R.S. 11:102.1 and 102.2, differences occurring for any other reason shall be added to or subtracted from the following fiscal year's actuarially required employer contribution in accordance with Subparagraph (3)(c) of this Subsection.
(3) With respect to each state public retirement system, the actuarially required employer contribution for each fiscal year, commencing with Fiscal Year 1989-1990, shall be that dollar amount equal to the sum of:
(a) The employer's normal cost for that fiscal year, computed as of the first of the fiscal year using the system's actuarial funding method as specified in R.S. 11:22 and taking into account the value of future accumulated employee contributions and interest thereon, such employer's normal cost rate multiplied by the total projected payroll for all active members to the middle of that fiscal year.
(b) That fiscal year's payment, computed as of the first of that fiscal year and projected to the middle of that fiscal year at the actuarially-assumed interest rate, taking into account consolidation with other amortization bases, if any, as provided in R.S. 11:42, 102.1, and 102.2, and using the system's amortization method specified in R.S. 11:42, necessary to amortize the unfunded accrued liability as of June 30, 1988, such unfunded accrued liability computed using the system's actuarial funding method as specified in R.S. 11:22.
(c) Except as provided in R.S. 11:102.1 and 102.2, that fiscal year's payment, computed as of the first of that fiscal year and projected to the middle of that fiscal year at the actuarially-assumed interest rate, necessary to amortize the prior year's over or underpayment as a level dollar amount over a period of five years.
(d) That fiscal year's payment, computed as of the first of that fiscal year and projected to the middle of that fiscal year at the actuarially assumed interest rate, necessary to amortize changes in actuarial liability due to:
(i) Except as provided in Items (v), (vi), (vii), and (viii) of this Subparagraph, actuarial gains and losses, if appropriate for the funding method used by the system as specified in R.S. 11:22, for each fiscal year beginning after June 30, 1988, such payments to be computed as an amount forming an annuity increasing at four and one-half percent annually over the later of a period of fifteen years from the year of occurrence or by the year 2029, such gains and losses to include any increases in actuarial liability due to governing authority granted cost-of-living increases.
(ii) Except as provided in Items (v), (vi), (vii), and (viii) of this Subparagraph, changes in the method of valuing of assets, such payments to be computed as an amount forming an annuity increasing at four and one-half percent annually over the later of a period of fifteen years from the year of occurrence of the change or by the year 2029.
(iii) Except as provided in Items (v), (vi), (vii), and (viii) of this Subparagraph, changes in actuarial assumptions or actuarial funding methods, excluding changes in methods of valuing of assets, such payments to be computed as an amount forming an annuity increasing at four and one-half percent annually over the later of a period of thirty years from the year of occurrence of the change or by the year 2029.
(iv) Except as provided in Items (v), (vi), (vii), and (viii) of this Subparagraph, changes in actuarial accrued liability, computed using the actuarial funding method as specified in R.S. 11:22, due to legislation changing plan provisions, such payments to be computed in the manner and over the time period specified in the legislation creating the change or, if not specified in such legislation, as an amount forming an annuity increasing at four and one-half percent annually over the later of a period of fifteen years from the year of occurrence of the change or by the year 2029.
(v) Effective July 1, 2004, and beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30, 1999, the amortization period for the changes, gains, or losses of the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System provided in Items (i) through (iv) of this Subparagraph shall be thirty years, or in accordance with standards promulgated by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, from the year in which the change, gain, or loss occurred. The outstanding balances of amortization bases established pursuant to Items (i) through (iv) of this Subparagraph before the fiscal year ending June 30, 1999, shall be amortized as a level dollar amount from July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2029. Beginning with the year ending June 30, 2004, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the outstanding balances of amortization bases established pursuant to Items (i) through (iv) of this Subparagraph shall be amortized as a level dollar amount.
(vi) Effective July 1, 2004, and beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001, the amortization period for the changes, gains, or losses of the Louisiana School Employees' Retirement System provided in Items (i) through (iv) of this Subparagraph shall be thirty years, or in accordance with standards promulgated by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, from the year in which the change, gain, or loss occurred. The outstanding balances of amortization bases established pursuant to Items (i) through (iv) of this Subparagraph before the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001, shall be amortized as a level dollar amount from July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2029. Beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2004, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the outstanding balances of amortization bases established pursuant to Items (i) through (iv) of this Subparagraph shall be amortized as a level dollar amount.
(vii) Effective July 1, 2004, and beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001, the amortization period for the changes, gains, or losses of the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana provided in Items (i) through (iv) of this Subparagraph shall be thirty years, or in accordance with standards promulgated by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, from the year in which the change, gain, or loss occurred. The outstanding balances of amortization bases established pursuant to Items (i) through (iv) of this Subparagraph before the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001, shall be amortized as a level dollar amount from July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2029. Beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2004 and for each fiscal year thereafter, the outstanding balances of amortization bases established pursuant to Items (i) through (iv) of this Subparagraph shall be amortized as a level dollar amount.
(viii) Effective July 1, 2009, and beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30, 1993, the amortization period for the changes, gains, or losses of the State Police Pension and Retirement System provided in Items (i) through (iv) of this Subparagraph shall be thirty years, or in accordance with standards promulgated by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, from the year in which the change, gain, or loss occurred. The outstanding balances of amortization bases established pursuant to Items (i) through (iv) of this Subparagraph before the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, shall be amortized as a level dollar amount from July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2029. Beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, and for each fiscal year thereafter, the outstanding balances of amortization bases established pursuant to Items (i) through (iv) of this Subparagraph shall be amortized as a level dollar amount.
(4) At the end of the fiscal year during which the assets, excluding the outstanding balance due to Subparagraph B(3)(c) of this Section, exceed the actuarial accrued liability, the amortization schedules contained in Subparagraphs B(3)(b) and (d) of this Section shall be fully liquidated and assets in excess of the actuarial accrued liability shall be amortized as a credit in accordance with the provisions of Subparagraph B(3)(d) of this Section.
(5)(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, the gross employer contribution rate for the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System and the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana shall not be less than fifteen and one-half percent per year until such time as the unfunded accrued liability that existed on June 30, 2004, is fully funded.
(b) At the end of each fiscal year, the difference, if any, by which the fixed minimum employer contribution rate established pursuant to this Paragraph exceeds the greater of the minimum employer contribution required by Article X, Section 29 of the Constitution of Louisiana or the statutory minimum employer contribution rate calculated according to the methodology provided for in Items (3)(d)(i) through (iv) of this Subsection shall be accumulated in an employer credit account for the respective system.
(c) The employer credit account shall be adjusted annually to reflect any gain or loss attributable to the balance in the account at the actuarial rate of return earned by the system.
(d)(i) Except as provided in R.S. 11:102.1 and 102.2, the employer credit account of a system shall be used exclusively to reduce any unfunded accrued liability of that system created before July 1, 2004, and shall not be debited for any other purpose.
(ii) Effective for the June 30, 2009, system valuation and beginning July 1, 2010, any funds in the system's employer credit account shall be applied to the remaining balance of the original amortization base or the experience account amortization base established in accordance with and as further provided by R.S. 11:102.1 or 102.2.
Acts 1988, No. 81, §2, eff. July 1, 1989; Acts 1989 1st Ex. Sess., No. 4, §1, eff. July 1, 1989; Acts 1990, No. 470, §1, eff. July 1, 1990; Acts 1992, No. 257, §1, eff. July 1, 1992; Acts 1993, No. 734, §1, eff. July 1, 1993; Acts 1999, No. 1331, §1, eff. July 12, 1999; Acts 2000, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 14, §1, eff. April 14, 2000; Acts 2004, No. 588, §1, eff. June 30, 2004; Acts 2008, No. 852, §1, eff. July 1, 2008; Acts 2009, No. 497, §1, eff. June 30, 2009.
NOTE: See Acts 2004, No. 588, §2, relative to balances in the Employee Experience Account of the La. State Employees' Retirement System and the Teachers' Retirement System of La. on June 30, 2004.
NOTE: See Acts 2009, No. 497, §2, eff. June 30, 2009, relative to conflicts with previous Acts and §4 relative to affect on contribution rates.