HomeMy WebLinkAbout08. Review draft Position Paper to establish and fund the Section 115 Pension Trust using Public Agency Retirement Services (PARS) 8m
Central San
BOARD O F DIRECTORS
POSITION PAPER D
Board Meeting Date: July 6, 2017
Subject: ESTABLISHING AND FUNDING THE NEW INTERNAL REVENUE
SECTION 115 PENSION TRUST
Submitted By: Initiating Dept./Div.:
Phil Leiber— Director of Finance and Administration/Finance
Administration
REVIEWED AND RECOMMENDED FOR BOARD ACTION:
Thea Vassallo - Finance Manager
Roger S. Bailey
General Manager
ISSUE: The Board in Fiscal Year (FY) 2016-17 directed staff to establish a Section 115
pension trust as an alternative funding vehicle for Central San pension obligations.
Specifically, the Board directed that the Trust be initially funded with the $3.359 million
favorable fund balance at the end of FY 2015-16.
BACKGROUND: In April 2017, Central San released a Request for Proposal (RFP) for
services in connection with the establishment and maintenance of a IRS Section 115
Trust that would permit Central San to contribute funds towardspension obligations.
Central San would continue to prefund pension contributions directly to Contra Costa
County Employees' Retirement Association (CCCERA) for ongoing normal and
Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liability (UAAL) requirements, but could use the Section
115 Trust for additional contributions towards the UAAL. From a balance sheet
perspective, the payments to the Section 115 Trust would count towards the funding
ratio of Central San's pension obligations, but would offer certain advantages that
contributing the funds directly to CCCERA would not provide. These include the
following-.
Local control of the reserve funds
• Potential for greater return than with CCCERA
Address future pension liabilities
• Help offset pension rate increases or underperformance by retirement system
• Can use these funds for pension obligations at anytime
Can choose less or more aggressive investment strategy than retirement system
• Additional means to prefund pension
• Avoiding the "superfunding" issue that having funds at CCCERA could present
when reaching a fully funded status.
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POSITION PAPER
Board Meeting Date: July 6, 2017
subject: ESTABLISHING AND FUNDING THE NEW INTERNAL REVENUE
SECTION 115 PENSION TRUST
RFP and Selection Process
In researching the marketplace for firms that are qualified to provide these niche-
services, Central San learned that three firms have obtained IRS approval to offer
Section 115 Trust products. Central San had contact with all three firms and described
our objectives and indicated that an RFP would be issued to further detail our needs.
Two firms responded to the RFP Central San issued in April 2017; Public Agency
Retirement Services (PARS) and PFM Asset Management LLC (PFM). Both proposals
were responsive and both firms demonstrated they were well qualified to perform the
services requested by Central San. These services included:
• Start-up/implementation of the trust
• Investment and asset management
• Investment advisory services
• Custodian and bank services
• Transaction and other services, if any
Selection
The selection criteria was based on the following-
1- Firm Qualifications, Experience and References 35%
2. Proposal Approach and Personnel 35%
3. Cost 30%
Both firms scored very similarly with respect to items 1 and 2. However, PARS costs
were significantly lower, and as a result, achieved a higher overall score. Staff looked
at cost purely from the standpoint of fees charged for the services and awarded the
score on that basis. However, staff also looked at investment performance net of fees
for both firms for comparable portfolios over the past five years. On this basis as well,
PARS retained an advantage. While Central San continues to consider the merits of
an active versus passive investment management approach (as was discussed with the
Finance Committee earlier this year), a movement towards passive investments for
many asset classes makes sense, and with this there is no opportunity for the Section
115 Investment manager to "add value" by looking for mutual funds that will outperform
benchmarks. Accordingly, a focus on costs is increasingly the right focus.
Term and Costs
The proposals provide that the investment management services can be terminated by
Central San at any time, but the proposal contemplated a five-year period for purposes
of comparing costs between the respondents. Fees for PARS based on the
anticipated Central San deposits to the Trust are below the $100,000 threshold
requiring board approval. Total fees if the Trust remained in place beyond the five
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POSITION PAPER
Board Meeting Date: July 6, 2017
subject- ESTABLISHING AND FUNDING THE NEW INTERNAL REVENUE
SECTION 115 PENSION TRUST
years could begin to exceed $100,000. Staff would report on total fees incurred for the
Trust over time routinely to the Board.
Next Steps
Central San will proceed with the establishment of the Trust with PARs by completing
necessary forms, and when established, will contribute an initial deposit of $3.359
million. Future year's contributions will be included as a budgeted contribution, or as
was the case for FY 2015-16, made with available budget savings. The investment of
the initial $3.359 is projected to be invested with PARS in a Trust similar to the OPEB
Trust which is a moderate portfolio of approximately 50% equity and 50% fixed income.
Staff plans to move forward with the selection process of PARS andprovide any
additional documentation or forms that may be required to establish the Section 115
Pension Trust.
We are bringing the issue for Board approval not because of cost limits, but because of
the overall sensitivity of this issue to Board.
ALTERNATIVES/CONSIDERATIONS: The Board could elect not to establish a
Section 115 Trust and instead make any desired optionalpension contributions directly
to CCCERA. With a decision to establish a Section 115 Trust, a provider to administer
the Trust and investments is required. Selection of a qualified firm to perform these
services is required. The Board could also provide guidance on the investment
portfolio, whether conservative (primarily debt), moderate (50% debt, 50% equity), or
more aggressive (for example 70% equity, 30% debt.)
FINANCIAL IMPACTS: The estimated fees for the Section 115 Trust with PARS for
the FY 2017-18 through FY 2020-21 is $60,000.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION: The Finance Committee reviewed this matter at
its meeting held June 20, 2017 and recommended that the Board approve establishing
and funding the Section 115 Pension Trust.
RECOMMENDED BOARD ACTION: Approve establishing and funding the Section
115 Pension Trust using PARS.
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