Officials of the Jefferson City Firemen's Retirement Fund received their annual report this week. And it was a positive one, Capt. Kevin Bagby, president of the Firemen's Pension Board, said Friday.
The Fire Department's 70 active duty firefighters average just more than 40 years of age, with almost 14 years of service each and are paid an average of $51,647 per year. The Fire Department's annual payroll is $3,615,294.
The department's 46 retirees and nine survivor beneficiaries, who average more than 70 years of age, are supported by a pension plan with assets valued at $15,764,278 with an annual per person annuity of $25,261. Total annual pension benefits for the group amount to $1,414,641.
That was the sense of the dollars reported this week by Mita D. Drazilov, the actuary with Gabriel Roeder Smith & Company, the Southfield,
Michigan, firm retained by the City Council to analyze the performance of the Jefferson City Firemen's Retirement Fund and the city retirement program managed by the state's Local Government Employees Retirement System (LAGERS).
Drazilov's annual report was submitted to Robert Wilson, the assistant executive secretary of member services for the Missouri Local Government Employees Retirement System, at the city's Firemen's Pension Board during its meeting at the Multipurpose Room in the City Annex.
Bagby, a 20-year veteran of the department and the head of Engine Co. No. 4, has been on the board 14 years and has been its president since 2011. City Administrator Steve Crowell, Finance Director Margie Mueller and Fire Chief Matt Schofield are all members of the board.
Drazilov's calculations of the Old Plan were performed Oct. 31. His analysis of the active members' pension performance was as of Feb. 29, 2016.
Bagby noted the 55 individuals in what is called the City Old Plan may be transferred into the LAGERS plan later this year. That would be contingent on an affirmative vote from the nine-member Fire Board and, subsequently, another positive vote from the City Council. The Fire Board will consider the move at its March 2 meeting.
Bagby said he favors the shift to LAGERS, which offers a protected benefit based on actual earned wages and length of service.
Under the Jefferson City plan, firefighters can retire after 24 years of service.
The city's chief accountant, Sheila Pearre, and the Finance Department provide the information on which the actuary predicates his report.