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CITY OF ST. ANTHONY, MINNESOTA NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS December 31, 2018 BENEFITS PROVIDED PERA provides retirement, disability, and death benefits. Benefit provisions are established by state statute and can only be modified by the state legislature. Vested, terminated employees who are entitled to benefits but are not receiving them yet are bound by the provisions in effect at the time they last terminated their public service. 1. GERF Benefits Benefits are based on a member’s highest average salary for any five successive years of allowable service, age, and years of credit at termination of service. Two methods are used to compute benefits for PERA's Coordinated Plan members. Members hired prior to July 1, 1989, receive the higher of Method 1 or Method 2 formulas. Only Method 2 is used for members hired after June 30, 1989. Under Method 1, the accrual rate for Coordinated Plan members is 1.2% for each of the first ten years of service and 1.7% for each additional year. Under Method 2, the accrual rate for Coordinated Plan members is 1.7% for all years of service. The accrual rates for former Minneapolis Employee Retirement Fund (MERF) members is 2.0% for each of the first 10 years of service and 2.5% for each additional year. For members hired prior to July 1, 1989 a full annuity is available when age plus years of service equal 90 and normal retirement age is 65. For members hired on or after July 1, 1989 normal retirement age is the age for unreduced Social Security benefits capped at 66. Beginning January 1, 2019, benefit recipients will receive a future annual increase equal to 50% of the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment, not less than 1.0% and not more than 1.5%. For retirements on or after January 1, 2024, the first benefit increase is delayed until the retiree reaches Normal Retirement Age (not applicable to Rule of 90 retirees, disability benefit recipients, or survivors). A benefit recipient who has been receiving a benefit for at least 12 full months as of June 30 will receive a full increase. Members receiving benefits for at least one month but less than 12 full months as of June 30 will receive a pro rata increase. 2. PEPFF Benefits Benefits for the PEPFF members first hired after June 30, 2010, but before July 1, 2014, vest on a prorated basis from 50% after five years up to 100% after ten years of credited service. Benefits for PEPFF members first hired after June 30, 2014, vest on a prorated basis from 50% after ten years up to 100% after twenty years of credited service. The annuity accrual rate is 3% of average salary for each year of service. For PEPFF members who were first hired prior to July 1, 1989, a full annuity is available when age plus years of service equal at least 90. Beginning in 2019, the COLA will be fixed at 1%. Under funding measurements from 2017, the 2.5% COLA trigger was never expected to occur and was subsequently removed from law. Post retirement increases are given each year except for annuitants who have been receiving a benefit for only 31 to 41 months. These annuitants will receive a prorated amount of the increase on a sliding scale. CONTRIBUTIONS Minnesota Statutes Chapter 353 sets the rates for employer and employee contributions. Contribution rates can only be modified by the state legislature. 67