Coronavirus, Interest Rates and Volatility
Source: Northern Trust Asset Management, NIRS

A presentation by Northern Trust Asset Management and the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) on the Coronavirus, Interest Rates and Volatility.

To download the presentation, please click here.

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Economic Implications of the COVID-19 Crisis (Webinar)
Source: Lazard Asset Management, NIRS

A webinar by Lazard Asset Management and the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) on the Economic Implication of the COVID-19 Crisis.

To download the presentation, please click here.

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A Meeting of the Illinois Police Officers’ Pension Investment Fund – May 1, 2020
Source: POPIF

NOTICE: A MEETING OF THE ILLINOIS POLICE OFFICERS’ PENSION INVESTMENT FUND

To be held on Wednesday, May 1, 2020 at 10:00am.

You can view the agenda by clicking here.

Zoom Digital Platform

ZOOM Invite: Public invited through telephone, see agenda for details.

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Recommendations for Trustee Elections, Trustee Training, Annual or Other Meetings of Trustees
Source: Illinois Department of Insurance

All Article 3 and Article 4 Pension Funds established under the Illinois Pension Code

On March 9, 2020, Governor JB Pritzker proclaimed a statewide disaster due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019
(COVID-19) outbreak within the State of Illinois, and again on April 1, 2020 declared a statewide disaster in
response to the exponential spread of COVID-19 (the “Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamations”). On March 20,
2020, the Governor issued Executive Order 2020-10 ordering Illinois residents to stay at home unless
otherwise permitted under the order and that all non-essential business and operations within the State
cease for the remainder of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamations. On April 1, 2020, the Governor issued
Executive Order 2020-18 continuing and extending Executive Order 2020-10 in its entirety for the duration
of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamations.

The State of Illinois, Department of Insurance, Public Pension Division (Division), has the following
information and suggestions for downstate police and fire, Articles 3 and 4 of the Illinois Pension Code (Code),
pension funds and pension funds boards of trustees for the duration of any proclaimed disaster or stay at
home Executive Order and for a reasonable time thereafter. Any and all good faith efforts by the pension
funds and the pension funds boards of trustees to comply with any statutory or fiduciary duties during the
above identified times shall not be considered by the Division as an examination finding. Most importantly,
each pension fund, as expeditiously as possible, should remotely conduct an annual, special or emergency
meeting to adopt its policies and procedures to be applied during the above identified times. All actions
taken by the pension boards should be by resolution and documented as per its regular practices. The
pensions boards should utilize all correspondence, internet and social media to keep its interested parties
informed.

OPEN MEETINGS AND FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
The above-mentioned Executive Orders should be reviewed for their applicability to the pension boards and
trustees. Additionally, the Attorney General has issued the following guide as to the Open Meetings Act and
the Freedom of Information Act. It is set forth in full in a separate Siren and can also accessed by this
following link: http://foia.ilattorneygeneral.net/pdf/OMA_FOIA_Guide.pdf

TRUSTEES’ TERMS AND ELECTIONS
Any currently serving board members may voluntarily continue their term for up to 6 (six) months. Any such
volunteers should execute a new oath of office or the prior oath should be extended. Insurance carriers or
bond issuers should be notified of the extensions.
Any currently serving board members may also serve until their term is expired and not voluntarily continue
their term.
If trustee elections are held as statutorily required on the third Monday in April (40 ILCS 5/3-128 and 4-121)
or the election will occur during the above identified times, the elections should be done in a remote manner,
such as through the mail, and in compliance with all local, state and federal health and safety mandates.
Alternatively, any statutorily required election can be suspended, delayed or stayed for a period of time until
a special election can be held, as allowed in the statutes. (40 ILCS 5/3-128 and 4-121.) The above guide from
the Attorney General on the Open Meetings Act should be considered as well in conducting any such
elections.

TRUSTEE TRAINING
Any statutorily required initial, annual, ethics or consolidation training should be done remotely. (40 ILCS
5/1-109.3 and 113.18.) Each pension fund board of trustees may, as provided by statute (40 ILCS 5/1-109.3),
extend the deadlines for completion of the training for up to 6 (six) months. Those training providers should
be contacted to determine the time, date and manner in which the respective training will be offered.
ANNUAL OR OTHER MEETINGS

All annual (40 ILCS 5/3-130 (July, October, January and April) and 4-121), special or emergency meetings of
pension boards of trustees, if scheduled for or occurring during the above identified times, should be done
remotely and in compliance with the guide on the Open Meetings Act and all local, state and federal health
and safety mandates. Alternatively, those meetings may be scheduled after the above identified times.
Certainly, non-essential meetings or agenda items should be avoided.
If you have any questions, please contact the Public Pension Division of the Department of Insurance at (800)
207-6958 or by emailing DOI.Pensions@illinois.gov

 

Full Siren: 4-10-2020

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A Meeting of the Illinois Firefighters’ Pension Investment Fund – April 20, 2020
Source: Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois – AFFI

NOTICE: A MEETING OF THE ILLINOIS FIREFIGHTERS’ PENSION INVESTMENT FUND

To Be Held on Wednesday April 20, 2020 9:00 A.M.

Due to the COVID-19 emergency and to comply with social distancing guidance, public participants are requested to participate by teleconference and/or Webex.

Agenda

Double Tree by Hilton Hotel
3003 Corporate West Drive
Lisle, IL 60532

 

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A Meeting of the Illinois Police Officers’ Pension Investment Fund – April 13, 2020
Source: POPIF

NOTICE: A MEETING OF THE ILLINOIS POLICE OFFICERS’ PENSION INVESTMENT FUND

To be held on Wednesday, April 13, 2020 at  10:00am.

You can view the agenda by clicking here.

Perigon Digital Platform
Registration must be done ahead of time to receive the invite prior to the meeting.

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Now Open – IPPFA Online 8 Hour Seminar (Recorded Spring 2020)
Source: IPPFA

NOW OPEN For Online Registration:

IPPFA Online 8-hour Seminar (Recorded Spring of 2020)

This course introduces students to various aspects of financial management related to Police and Fire pension funds, along with the administration of those pension funds. Each topic will be taught by a professional in their field.

The IPPFA 8-hour Online Seminar (Recorded Spring 2020) fee is currently $250.00 for IPPFA Members and $450.00 for Non-IPPFA Members

 

CLICK HERE FOR ONLINE REGISTRATION

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COVID-19 Impact on Pension Board Operations

COVID-19 Impact on Pension Board Operations

By IPPFA General Counsel Richard Reimer and IPPFA Deputy Counsel Brian LaBardi

“The COVID-19 pandemic will no doubt dramatically affect pension boards from an economic standpoint. Besides the obvious long-term economic impact, the current environment will have other short-term impact on pension board operations.

Conducting Quarterly or Special Board Meetings
On April 1, 2020, Governor Pritzker entered Executive Order 2020-18 continuing the suspension of certain portions of the Open Meetings Act until April 30, 2020. The prior Executive Order 2020-07 entered March 16th, initially impacting meeting requirements, had been set to expire April 7th.

As pertains to meetings of public bodies, it prohibits “public and private gatherings of any number of people occurring outside a single household” and further prohibits gatherings of 10 or more people unless exempted by the order. The Order also suspends portions of the Open Meetings Act (“OMA”) to make it easier for public bodies to meet remotely. The source of this authority as applied to non-State agencies is unclear.

While remote participation in a public meeting is provided under limited circumstances in the OMA, the Statute as written requires the physical attendance of a quorum (3 members in the case of a pension board). The Governor’s Order waives the physical attendance requirement of the OMA in addition to the qualifying events necessary for phone participation by a trustee. If a meeting is held pursuant to the terms of the Order, the public body may provide video, audio, and/or telephonic access to the meetings to allow for public participation. At the time of this writing, exemptions provided by the Executive Order expire on April 30, 2020.

The Attorney General’s Office has also issued a guide to which public bodies can refer. What the Executive Order did not do was suspend the requirement meetings be held in locations open and accessible to the public nor did it suspend the requirement the public be allowed to comment. This would seem to suggest that, while physical attendance by the trustees may be waived, there must still be a way for the public to participate even by phone in a location that is convenient and open to the public. At a minimum, the Attorney General suggests providing the conference call number and login information on the notice of the meeting thereby allowing for public participation via phone. In addition to providing the call-in information, the Public Access counselor also suggests allowing the public to comment in advance by email or voicemail. Any comments received in that manner would be read into the record at the meeting.

Another frequent question given the current climate involves “emergency” as opposed to “special” meetings under the OMA. There is no case law or statutory definition of what constitutes an “emergency” under the OMA. However, as noted in one of our past newsletters, in prior opinions, the PAC has adopted the dictionary definition of emergency as, “an unforeseen combination of circumstances or the resulting state that calls for immediate action.” Prior PAC decisions focused on “unanticipated circumstances” as the lynchpin for whether a meeting was an emergency. Depending on the action the Board is contemplating, a meeting may be able to meet this definition. However, the safer route would still be to call a “special” meeting with 48 hours’ notice. Please note, the posting requirements of the OMA were not modified by the Governor’s Executive Order. A special meeting must be posted at least 48 hours’ in advance at both the principal office and location of the meeting. Notice for an emergency meeting must be given as soon as practicable, but in any event prior to the holding of such meeting, and to any news medium which has filed an annual request for notice.

The situation remains very fluid and seems to change on a day to day basis. It is certainly possible additional executive orders will be issued impacting pension board meetings. For the time being, as noted above, the current order will expire April 30, 2020.

Impact on Disability and Annual Examinations
In addition to complications in conducting quarterly or special meetings, the COVID-19 pandemic will also have a dramatic impact on disability pension applications pending before pension boards. Many pension boards are facing a delay in obtaining treating physicians medical records. Custodians for medical records are either closed or operating on minimum staffing levels. The same is true for outside medical record storage companies. This has the effect of delaying the scheduling of independent medical examinations inasmuch as those are not set until all medical records from treating and examining physicians are obtained.

Most vendors providing independent medical examination services have suspended scheduling due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Physicians are either wary of any patient contact or have been tied up rendering medical care and treatment to patients. In some cases, these physicians will perform a “medical records review”, but the Board should do so sparingly, and only in cases where an actual medical examination is not necessary.

The same is true for required annual examinations of police officers and firefighters receiving disability benefits under the age of 50. Those exams can be rescheduled or postponed until such time as the physician feels safe to conduct annual exams.

Further updates will be provided as additional developments warrant.”

If you would like to download the article, please click here.

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How COVID-19 will impact retirement security from all angles
Source: Center for Retirement Research

During this unprecedented time, the CRR is on the case. Consistent with our mission, we are exploring how COVID-19 will impact retirement security from all angles. Our current resources are below.

Check back regularly for updates or sign up for our email list.

Full Article

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Illinois Governor Issues Executive Order Temporarily Relaxing Portions of the Open Meetings Act; Attorney General Offers Guidance
Source: Lexology

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has issued Executive Order 2020-07, which suspends the requirement of the Open Meetings Act that members of a public body be physically present at meetings of the public body, and the limitations of the Open Meetings Act as to when members of a public body may participate in meetings of the public body remotely.

The Executive Order, issued pursuant to the authority granted the Governor under Section 7 of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act, also encourages public bodies to postpone consideration of public business when possible, and encourages them to provide, video, audio and/or telephonic access to meetings to ensure members of the public may monitor the meeting, and to update the public bodies’ web sites and social media feeds to keep the public fully apprised of modifications to their meeting schedules or the format of meetings.

Full Article

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