HomeMy WebLinkAbout06.a.3) Update on financial matters (Fieldman, Rolapp; UAAL; and CCCERA64.3
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District
August 15, 2013
TO: HONORABLE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
FROM: THEA VASSALLO, FINANCE MANAGEq_6
VIA: CURT SWANSON, PROVISIONAL GENERAL MANAGER
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF THE FOLLOWING FINANCIAL MATTERS:
• FIELDMAN, ROLAPP & ASSOCIATES CONSULTING CONTRACT,
• $5 MILLION UAAL PAYMENT, AND
CCCERA 12 -31 -12 ACTUARIAL VALUATION
The following is a summary of the requested information for the benefit of the newly
appointed General Manager, Management, and the full Board.
Fieldman, Rolapp & Associates — Pension Obligation Bonds (POBs) Analysis
The idea of issuing POBs to offset some or all of the District's Unfunded Actuarial
Accrued Liability (UAAL) was analyzed for approximately a one -year period (April 2012 —
March 2013) by the last two General Managers, staff, and the Budget and Finance
Committee. It was determined that issuance of POBs was not in the best interest of the
District at this time due to various uncontrollable factors. Fieldman, Rolapp & Associates
presented a final summary of its findings at the March 7, 2013 Board meeting. No further
action was taken by the Board due to the various risk factors associated with POBs, the
additional sewer service charge (SSC) rate increase required to cover the additional debt,
and a desire to reserve the District's bonding capacity for funding of capital projects. On
June 10, 2013, the District received Fieldman Rolapp's final report, "Update to
Memorandum on Management of Pension Liabilities and Impact on District Cash
Balances and Financing Capacity," which included corrections to its November 5, 2012
memorandum and the analysis model. The contract with Fieldman Rolapp has been
completed and subsequently has been closed.
Status of $5 Million Additional UAAL Payment
An additional $5 million payment toward the UAAL is included in the Fiscal Year (FY)
2013 -14 Operations and Maintenance (O &M) Budget and is scheduled for payment in
December 2013. In terms of the timing and impact on the UAAL balance, the only
difference between making the $5 million prepayment in July as opposed to December is
the amount of market gains or losses that may occur during this time. Payment in either
month would show up in the 2013 valuation, and both would result in a UAAL retirement
rate decrease for FY 2014 -15. If payment were delayed until June 2014, the District
would miss any intervening market gains and losses, and the payment would not appear
until the 2014 valuation. The District, however, would still have the same UAAL rate
reduction starting in FY 2014 -15 since the District will receive immediate credit toward the
UAAL balance.
One of the primary reasons for making the additional UAAL payment in December this
year is the amount of cash on hand in July. Current cash flow projections indicate the
District will barely have enough funds available to cover its bills until receipt of the first
installment of the SSC revenue from the County. The first installment is due by the third
week of December 2013. It is prudent to make the additional $5 million pay -down after
receiving the first installment in the event cash flow from July- December is higher than
forecasted for the Funds Available.
One reason for this year's cash flow shortfall is the size of the pension prepayment made
each July. In the seven years prior to depooling and its associated assumption changes,
the pension prepayment represented approximately 15 percent of total O &M
expenses. This year, the prepayment check was nearly 21 percent of the entire year's
O &M expenses. Meanwhile, the District's forecasting models have kept the Funds
Required percentage at 32 percent of the next year's O &M expenses. To pay an
additional $5 million in July would have represented over 27 percent of this year's O &M
expenses. The District would have needed to borrow money or drastically change its
spending and payment procedures in order to handle the additional payment any earlier.
Another option would be to opt out of the retirement prepayment plan; however, this
would not be fiscally prudent as the plan had a net savings to the District of almost
$600,000 in FY 2012 -13. In order to make future UAAL payments in July, the Board
would need to account for that payment with higher SSC rates the fiscal year prior to the
payment, assuming the District continues with the "pay as you go" route and not short-
term debt finance. That way, the cash is on hand at the beginning of the fiscal year in
which the payment is to be made. On a positive note, the District is anticipating a further
UAAL rate reduction starting in FY 2014 -15 due to the realization of positive investment
gains in the past few years and removal of the large 2008 investment loss from the
Contra Costa County Employees' Retirement Association's (CCCERA's) five -year
investment smoothing return, assuming no investment losses or other unfavorable market
performance during July- December 2013.
CCCERA Actuarial Valuation Dated December 31, 2012 (Issued by Segal July 15,
2013)
CCCERA's actuarial valuation and review as of December 31, 2012 values the District's
assets at $184.2 million. The District's UAAL is valued at $142.5 million, which is an
increase of $33.4 million over the prior year. The District's funded ratio is 56.4 percent. It
is important to point out, however, that there are $157.0 million in total valuation net
deferred gains due to five -year smoothing. The recognition of the $157.0 million in
market gains is expected to have a positive impact on the future funded ratio and
contribution rate requirements in the near future, assuming no future investment losses or
other unfavorable experience. The net deferred gains of $157.0 million represent
approximately 3 percent of the total market value of assets. The District's average
employer contribution rate was 73.9 percent for 2012 and 58.4 percent for 2011, an
increase of 15.5 percent. The average member contribution rate was 11.3 percent for
2012 and 10.0 percent for 2011, an increase of 1.3 percent.
There are two new entries in the 2012 valuation that increased the District's UAAL —
Actuarial Loss and Assumption Change:
Actuarial Loss: The Actuarial Loss was $12.6 million. The majority of this amount,
70 percent, was due to the large market losses in 2008 that are still being recognized
under CCCERA's five -year smoothing. The remaining 30 percent was due to District and
employee contributions being $3.7 million below the estimated annual amount. The
majority of employees did not receive their retroactive contract increases until calendar
year 2013, which resulted in suppressed 2012 contributions. The retroactive pay and
contributions will be reflected in the 2013 valuation.
Assumption Change: The loss due to Assumption Change was $22.5 million and resulted
from the triennial economic and experience studies. Segal estimates that over 70 percent
of this amount is due to the assumed investment return rate being lowered from 7.75
percent to 7.25 percent. Since the value of assets is expected to grow more slowly and
the benefit payouts will remain the same, the difference needs to be made up through
increased contributions. This increase in the UAAL is for all the past contributions that
were lower than they would have been under an assumed earnings rate of 7.25
percent. The remaining 30 percent of this figure is made up of other economic
assumption changes, such as the lower inflation assumption, and demographic changes
that are specific to District employees and retirees. See Exhibit 1 for additional summary
and information of December 31, 2012 valuation.
The Budget and Finance Committee will be discussing this information when it meets on
August 12, 2013. Staff will be available at the Board meeting to respond to questions
from Board Members.
Attached Supporting Document.,
1. Exhibit 1— Summary and information from CCCERA December 31, 2012 Actuarial Valuation
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District
CCCERA Summary of District's UAAL
Date
Initial
UAAL Balance
Years
Pay Down
UAAL Balance
Years
Pay Down
Established Source
Amount
12/31/2011
Remaining fm Inception
12/31/2012
Remaining
Amount
12/31/2007 Beginning Balance
36,185,000
33,338,142
11
(2,846,858)
32,090,896
10
(1,247,246)
12/31/2008 Actuarial Loss
3,709,835
3,664,806
15
(45,029)
3,620,465
14
(44,341)
12/31/2009 Actuarial Loss
10,118,261
10,071,912
16
(46,349)
9,993,574
15
(78,338)
12/31/2009 Assumption Change
2,003,000
1,993,825
16
(9,175)
1,978,317
15
(15,508)
12/31/2009 Depooling
20,037,235
19,945,450
16
(91,785)
19,790,317
15
(155,133)
12/31/2010 Actuarial Loss
18,178,489
18,167,454
17
(11,035)
18,095,219
16
(72,235)
12/31/2010 Assumption Change
11,479,648
11,472,679
17
(6,969)
11,427,063
16
(45,616)
12/31/2011 Actuarial Loss
10,514,535
10,514,535
18
-
10,508,152
17
(6,383)
112, 226,003
109,168,803
107, 504,003
12/31/2012 Actuarial Loss
12,564,241
-
-
-
12,564,241
18
-
12/31/2012 Assumption Change
22,455,342
-
-
-
22,455,342
18
-
35,019,583
35,019,583
109,168,803
(3,057,200)
142,523,586
(1,664,800)
147,245,586
+ $33.4M
CCCERA Summary of District's (Employer) Contribution Rates
Normal % of Payroll
Tier Costs + UAAL = Total Change
Hired before 1 -1 -11
Hired after 1 -1 -11 & before 1 -1 -13
Hired on or after 1 -1 -13 (PEPRA)
21.53%
53.83%
75.36%
-
19.22%
53.83%
73.05%
-2.31%
10.92%
53.02%
63.94%
-9.11%
General 2012 CCCERA Plan and Member Data
Valuation Value of Assets UAAL Funded Ratio
2012 X5.482.257.062 $2,279.058.473 70.64%
5 -Year Avg
10 -Year Avg
Exhibit 1
Returns
Members
Market
Actuarial
Valuation
Active Vested Pensioners* Total
13.31%
2.25%
2.24%
8,640 2,288 8,517 19,445
2.60%
2.36%
2.34%
* Includes Pensioners, Disableds, and Beneficiaries.
6.74%
4.24%
4.59%