Chair Talk

March 2007

On Monday, February 26, 2007 Alvin Whitfield, John Bantjes and I met with Scott Bowen (Director of the Office of the State Employer), Tom Hall, Jim Farrell and Jan Winters. The purpose of the meeting was basically a meet and greet  with the new Director. We discussed several topics of concern to retirees. We discussed the loss of the 13th check, pension enhancements for pre-1987 retirees and our concern that any decisions made not be detrimental to retirees. I believe that we will probably be meeting again in the near future. I have invited Mr. Bowen to speak to the Coordinating Council at the May 4, 2007 meeting.

At the above meeting, Jim Farrell indicated that the Offices of Retirement Services should be ready by April to utilize pension deduction capabilities so that retirees can avail themselves of the Voluntary Benefits program currently offered to active State Employees. Mr. Farrell said that they could be contacting us in the future to determine how best to get the information to retirees. I would imagine that we would have several informational meetings to explain the program.

Phil Stoddard has been named as Director of the Retirement Administration. Phil replaced Chris DeRose who had taken a similar post in Ohio. Phil has addressed the CC in the past. I look forward to working with him.

Governor Granholm has scheduled town hall meetings throughout the state to explain the current budget shortfalls and her plans to address the problems. If those meetings happen in your areas it might be worthwhile to attend.

I would urge all SERA members/retirees to contact their State Legislators and Senators and ask them to not make budget decisions that are detrimental to retirees.

Editor’s note: Bob Kopasz is Chair of the Michigan SERA Council. He may be reached at P.O. Box 692, Mt. Morris, MI 48458; phone 810/240-8380

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