Published: 09/28/2007 Town to voluntarily join state retirement system By Katie Farrell Staff writer
AMESBURY - Prompted by a new law, Amesbury's local retirement system will voluntarily transfer all ownership and control of its assets to the state retirement board. Under new state regulations, any local retirement system that has a funded ratio of less than 65 percent and an average rate of return during the previous 10 years that is at least 2 percentage points less than the state's system is "underperforming" and will be taken over by the state. Amesbury meets that criteria. But the town has some flexibility for how exactly the state will take over the system. Chief Financial Officer Michael Basque told the Municipal Council on Tuesday that the town has the option to voluntarily transfer all assets to the state. If it does that, after five years, it can review the funds and decide to bring them back under the control of the local board if it doesn't like how the state has handled them. If the state takes over the system without the town's consent, the town does not have the option of a five-year review and all assets will be permanently kept under state control, Basque said. "Basically, it keeps our options open," District 4 Councilor Bob Lavoie said. But District 5 Councilor Tom Iacobucci called state management "a good thing" and said it should oversee Amesbury's assets permanently without the option for the five-year review. The state system is run by experts, and the $47 billion system has a wider range of assets, he said. Amesbury's system is valued at about $37 million. "Let it go to the state and stay there," Iacobucci said. "They've got the best you can get; they do have experts." The state system has fewer restrictions on investments, which means it can take greater risks and come back with greater rewards, Basque said. There still is that greater risk, however. "Is this bad? I don't think it's bad," Basque said. The switch has the potential to be a good move although there is greater risk involved, he said. The transfer will take several months to complete, Basque said Wednesday. "It's a big overhaul; all of this is going to take time," he said. There are 104 separate local retirement systems in the state, Basque said. Basque said his own opinion is that the long-term goal of the state is to combine all those separate systems into one, similar to the teachers retirement system.
Amesbury's system has 630 members. The Municipal Council voted 6-3 to allow the retirement board to voluntarily transfer into the state system - a necessary requirement before the move could happen. Voting in favor were Councilors Mario Pinierio, Roger Benson, Ann Connolly-King, Bob Lavoie, Alison Lindstrom and Chris Lawrence. Voting against it were Councilors Tom Iacobucci, Michelle Thone and Donna McClure.
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