Don't forget: House committee accepting reports on the impacts COVID-19 had on Texas pension funds

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By JOE GIMENEZ/Guest Writer

UPDATED Aug. 26, 2020 - There are just a couple of days left to let the Texas House of Representatives' Pension, Investment and Financial Services Committee know how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted public pension systems.

Public pension systems have until 5 p.m. CT on Friday, Aug. 28, to provide written responses. Plan administrators who choose to file reports for their pension systems, email them to jason.briggs@house.texas.gov.

A previous email TEXPERS sent to its membership had a subject line indicating reports should be sent to the Pension Review Board. The email's subject line was incorrect. Reports should be sent to the House committee contact listed above. The information provided in the blog post linked to in the email was correct - reports should be filed with the House committee.

The Texas Legislative committee that writes law for public pension funds in the state on Aug. 4 requested regulated entities within its jurisdiction to submit written reports about the effects of COVID-19 on their operations and industry. The committee also asked whether pension funds experienced any statutory and regulatory barriers to responding to COVID-19. 

> NOTICE: Access the formal committee request.

TEXPERS is encouraging its pension system members to submit reports for this House committee inquiry. The Legislature will consider the accounts as it drafts new laws in 2021. TEXPERS doesn’t know what those laws and responses will be, but the association does know that other quasi-governmental agencies will be submitting reports. In government, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and it’s important for the Legislature to have a complete picture of the adjustments that our pension system members have made in 2020. 

Plan administrators who choose to file reports for their pension systems, please email them to jason.briggs@house.texas.gov. Again, the due date is 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28. TEXPERS would appreciate a courtesy copy as well. 

TEXPERS recommends that its member systems also create and file their reports or submit fund experiences to TEXPERS for the association to include in a report it plans to file. Those plans wishing to add their system reports in the association’s response should email them to media@texpers.org no later than Wednesday, Aug. 26.

The reports do not need to be extremely lengthy. TEXPERS offers the following chart as a guide to developing system responses. It is not exhaustive, so administrators who feel there are other ways that COVID-19 impacted their system or members should not hesitate to include them in their reports. Also, these subjects are just suggestions, and system administrators are under no obligation to respond to anyone of them. 

	Questions	Responses
Basic information	Name of your system Number of active and retired members Assets under management Any other system information, like amortization period, funded ratio, etc
Board and Committee Meetings	How has your Board conducted meetings since March? In-person or via teleconference or video conference? Has there been any challenges/costs with video teleconference meetings? How have committee meetings been conducted? Governor Abbott continues to allow video/conference meetings through relaxation of the Texas Open Meetings Act. Should he continue doing this? Are there any metrics about virtual meetings that you can include? Number of meetings. Number of Board meetings present/absent/quorum. Where there any additional costs incurred to conduct Board and committee meetings?
Compliance with State Regulations	State laws Senate Bill 2224 and House Bill  322 went into effect in 2020. The Funding policy for SB 2224 was due Jan. 1 and the independent assessment for HB 322 was due on May 1. How did COVID-19 affect your ability to comply with these new laws? Did you seek waivers for deadlines from the Pension Review Board? If your system was subject to Intensive Reviews or Funding Soundness Restoration Plans by the Pension Review Board, did COVID-19 impact your compliance with deadlines or production of reports?
Member Services	Many pension systems closed their offices to member visits and asked members to work with benefits staff by telephone, email or video conference meetings. Please address these questions for active and retired members: How did your system handle member meetings? How did your members respond to virtual meetings regarding their benefits? Where there additional costs to the pension fund for facilitating member services during this time?
Office Operations	Did you shut your office? Reopen? Did your staff operate remotely? Were there any disruptions to any office operations?
Technology	How did existing information technology infrastructure help your pension system operate? Did you have to purchase any additional IT software or hardware to continue or enhance operations?
Investments	Was your pension system able to work with your managers and investment consultants as needed, especially during the market downturn? How have your investments weathered the storm? How does your board believe COVID-19 will affect the economy and how is it positioning investments accordingly?

After the House committee's submission deadline, received written responses are to be shared with each member of the committee. The committee also will make available to the public a copy of all submitted comments.

Part of the House Committee on Pensions, Investments, and Financial Services’ commission is to preside over matters about benefits or participation in benefits on a public retirement system and the financial obligations of a public retirement system. The 11-member committee is chaired by Rep. Jim Murphy, R-Houston. 

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