The Official Publication of the Michigan Association of Retired School Personnel JULY-AUGUST 2011 VANGUARD Volume 64, Issue #5 March/April 2015 Member Spotlight MARSP opposes Travels with bill that would close out Gordon MPSERS The MARSP Legislative Committee recently took action on the following legislation: Draper MARSP opposes SB 102, which would close out the MPSERS defined benefit plan to new hires, with the following rationale: The bill would amend the MPSERS Act to require that public school employees hired after July 1, 2015 no longer have a choice between a Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution plan, but must enroll in the Defined Contribution plan. MARSP opposes the bill because it would remove members from paying into the MPSERS system, and it would force school personnel to become Draper poses with a scaly friend above and financial managers of their own retirement his dog Ebony (right). accounts. Most school employees are not trained financial managers and will not be able to equitably fund their retirement in a Member Gordon Draper celebrated defined contribution plan alone, due to ex- his 80th birthday recently and shared an cessive administrative costs and loss of value update that includes a recent travelogue. from the pooling of assets in a defined Over the past year, he served as president benefit plan. If passed, it would also be a of his church choir and his stock club and disincentive to those interested in a career chaired the MARSP Bylaws Committee. in the education field. (continued on page 3) He is a Livonia traffic commissioner, vice president of Outpost 13 of the Third Infantry Society and vice president of a Inside This Issue local civic association. “On the health side, my cancer and List of legislators ..................4, 5 diabetes have been quiet this year,” he says. Ebony has helped me be active by taking 2015 Area me on daily 2km walks.” peak is often covered with clouds, it was Conference Schedule ................8 Draper, who retired from Livonia Public the first time he had ever seen it. Schools in 1986, is on a quest to visit as “We landed in one of the few places that Health Care in Focus .................9 many countries as he can. On his way to is flat enough for an airport,” he explains, MARSP Office Bhutan, now the 127th country he has since the country is located in the Himalayan 1-888-960-4022 www.marsp.org visited, he gained his closest view of Mount Mountains between India and China. Everest, taken from the plane. Since the (continued on page 2) TO PRESERVE, PROTECT AND ENHANCE BENEFITS AND PROVIDE SOCIETAL SUPPORT THAT MISSION STATEMENT: CREATES A DIGNIFIED RETIREMENT FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE PUBLIC SCHOOL RETIREES. President’s Message New technology connects us across state By MARSP President Bob Wiles [email protected] Our board of directors authorized the purchase of Thank you to members and board members for our Polycom system in October 2014. By using cameras, approving and accepting the recent increase in dues. microphones and televisions, MARSP members are now The modest increase will assure continued efforts to able to conduct meetings from every corner of Michigan preserve our retirement pensions and benefits. Please and anywhere proper equipment can be found. In Janu- plan now to attend your chapter’s annual meeting to ary 2015, three such meetings (Legislative, Membership hear more about progress and plans for action activities and Executive Committees) were conducted via Polycom. for our organization. Vicki Barnes, membership committee co-chair with Pam Trask, conducted the first Polycom meeting from the Kent Roads... schools... municipal services. We Michigan ISD in Grand Rapids. So far, pilot and operating sites in residents and voters have the opportunity to help our Iron Mountain, Saginaw, Grand Rapids, Sault Ste. Marie, own cause. The May ballot issue to increase the state’s Big Rapids, Roscommon, Clare and the MARSP office investment in its roads and bridges will raise our sales tax have been connected for meetings. Reduction in mile- from 6 to 7 percent. Several other minor changes will age, meals, overnight stays and time will allow eventual occur in fuel tax structure, etc. budget changes for all our benefit. Yes, it will cost us all more money, but if we don’t help ourselves, who will? We can help. I will. Will you? Member JULY-AUGUST 2011 VANGUARD on quest to visit VANGUARD is the official Circulation publication of the 46,500 MICHIGAN ASSOCIATION Publisher more OF RETIRED SCHOOL S. Mark Guastella PERSONNEL (MARSP) Editor 3645 E. Jolly Road Mark Nixon countries PO Box 23214 Assistant Editor Lansing MI 48909-3214 (continued from page 1) Mandy Hitsman Phone Numbers Publication Management 1.888.960.4022 Lezotte Miller “It is one of the world’s 517.337.1757 Public Relations Inc. most difficult,” he said of the Fax Number MARSP Officers 517.337.8560 Robert W. Wiles airport, which allows only a Email President handful of trained pilots to [email protected] Catherine “Kit” Spring “It was fun seeing the area again and Homepage President-Elect use the field. “It is between two mountains visiting the new Infantry Museum on the http://www.marsp.org Mary Bell with tricky winds, is short and has several base,” he recalls. “It is well worth the visit. Office Hours Secretary Monday – Friday Paul B. Lerg buildings along the runway. We landed There were many demonstrations done for 7:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Treasurer smoothly, however.” 12:00 noon-4:00 p.m. Les Nixon us, and it gives you confidence that our Past President While in Bhutan, Draper attended a festi- Send all material for country is well-protected.” publication to the S. Mark Guastella val in Thimphu, the capital of the country. In December, Draper was looking forward MARSP Office Executive Director “It was one of the best I have seen, and I to a dinner at a local steak house to have been to several,” he says. Due to production time, each issue of the VANGUARD celebrate his birthday. is written about six weeks before publication. Last June he attended another reunion (Editor’s note: We hope to hear more Therefore, some of the information may be updated of the Society of the Third Army Infantry of Gordon’s travels in coming issues of by the time you receive each issue. Division, held near Fort Benning, Ga., where VANGUARD.) he took basic training 58 years ago. 2 l VANGUARD l www.marsp.org March/April 2015 Executive Director’s Message Closing out retirement system would erode state’s financial stability By S. Mark Guastella [email protected] The recently published Michigan House out do so because they believe school fiscal policy. Our ability to win this battle Republicans’ “2015 –2016 Action Plan” employees should have benefits consistent will be as much a function of communicat- states, “Unfunded liabilities are an ominous with the private employment sector. If the ing with legislators as it is in expanding our threat to our state, and more importantly, recent pay-scale adjustments within the membership. We currently have more than to younger generations. ... Continued Department of Treasury are an indication, 42,000 members who make MARSP’s voice efforts to curtail long-term public school employees strong, but that is less than 25 percent of debt in Michigan’s largest are anywhere from 40 the more than 200,000 retirees who should unfunded liability warrant Eliminating the defined percent to 80 percent be actively engaged, along with their spous- deliberation. Moving new benefit plan... would be underpaid compared es, in the effort to retain their benefits. teachers into a manda- a disaster for the with the private sector. We can grow from a strong voice to an tory (rather than optional) State of Michigan The average salary of overwhelming voice to secure your retire- 401(k) retirement system an active public school ment benefits if you can help us achieve will be accomplished.” employee is only $39,400 our goal of 100,000 members. Help us, (Author’s note – the system is for all public per year. To retire with a comparable but mostly help yourselves, by asking every school employees, not just teachers.) retirement benefit, an employee would public school retiree, their spouses and even We do agree that unfunded liabilities can need to have saved between $250,000 and active employees to join MARSP. We intend be a serious threat to our state’s financial $300,000 in his or her 401(k) plan at retire- to win this battle, and with your help, we stability. Closing out the existing retire- ment. Such an amount would require a will put an end to the continuous attacks ment system, however, which requires $300-per-month contribution every month on public school retirees. pre-funding, and replacing it with a 100 for 30 years and a 6 percent annual interest percent 401(k)-style plan would further and rate of return. dramatically erode the financial stability of The pension plan has more than $40 our state. billion earning interest every day. You, as Support for The Legislature debated the concept in a 401(k) participant, have only your own 2012 and funded a private study on the contribution working for you without the Prop 1 urged potential impact of closing out the retire- benefit of reduced investment expenses or (continued from page 1) ment system. The study clearly showed the lower risk that the pension plan’s huge MARSP supports the May ballot pro- that close-out costs would be excessive and pool of dollars makes possible.