Subscribe to our email list
Share this:

SEPTEMBER 2016
Carlos Sam named interim trustee; other TRSL Board election news
Carlos Sam to serve as interim trustee for superintendents
In June, the TRSL Board of Trustees issued a call for candidates to fill the vacant seat on the board that represents members employed as a city or parish superintendent. 
After the qualifying process, the board appointed Carlos Sam as the interim trustee during the August board meeting. Mr. Sam is the superintendent of the East Feliciana Parish School Board.
He will serve in an interim capacity on the board until a special election can be held to fill the seat next year. Mr. Sam previously served on the TRSL Board, from 2011-2014, as the District 3 representative.
Former St. James Parish School Board Superintendent Alonzo “Lonnie” Luce, Ph.D. previously held the superintendent position on the TRSL Board.
DEADLINE TO VOTE APPROACHING: District 3 (special election) and District 5:
By now, eligible TRSL members actively working in Districts 3 and 5 should have received their ballots with instructions on how to vote via telephone, internet, or paper ballot. The deadline to cast your vote is 4:30 p.m., Mon., Sept. 12.
  • District 3 includes active members employed in Assumption, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Lafourche, and Terrebonne parishes.
  • District 5 includes active members employed in Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Franklin, Jackson, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland, St. Helena, Tangipahoa, Tensas, Union, West Carroll, and West Feliciana parishes.
If you need a replacement ballot or assistance casting your vote, please contact Everyone Counts, Inc. at helpdesk@everyonecounts.com or call toll-free 1-888-492-4763, Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. (CST).
CALL FOR CANDIDATES: District 1 interim appointment
The seat on the TRSL Board of Trustees representing active members in District 1 has become vacant. As a result, the TRSL Board will appoint an interim trustee to fill the District 1 position. The deadline to qualify as a District 1 candidate is 4:30 p.m., Fri., Sept. 30.
  • District 1 includes active members employed in Ascension, Jefferson, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, and St. John parishes.
If you are interested in serving as the interim representative for District 1, click to view candidate eligibility requirements and qualifying information.
Keep your email address updated
If you’re using your work email address to log into Member Access, you may not have access to that address (or Member Access) once you retire. Now’s a great time to update your Member Access account with your personal email address.
Log in or register for Member Access today. Need help? Contact the TRSL Help Desk.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: Upcoming workshops, webinars, & phone counseling
Two-hour workshops for members currently participating in or working after the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP).
Wed., Sept. 14 - Calcasieu
Mon., Oct. 3 - Lincoln
Mon., Oct. 10 - Jefferson
Mon., Nov. 14 - Acadia
Wed., Dec. 14 - Rapides
Thursdays at 4 p.m. 30-minute webinars focused on a specific retirement topic:
Sept. 22 - Your TRSL benefits
Sept. 29 - Social Security offsets
Oct. 13 - Understanding DROP
Nov. 3 - Your retirement options
Nov. 10 - "I've completed DROP..."
Dec. 8 - Retirement eligibility
Friday phone counseling for those within two years of retiring or entering DROP. We'll send you a benefit estimate in advance of your 30-minute session:
Jan. 13, Feb. 3, Mar. 3, Apr. 7, May 5
Appointments filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Call to reserve your time slot:
Baton Rouge: (225) 925-6446, ext. 2822
Toll free: (877) 275-8775, ext. 2822
2016 legislative session recap
This year’s legislative season lasted four months with the regular legislative session sandwiched between two special sessions. TRSL monitored over 40 bills affecting the retirement system and its members. Ten of those bills passed and were signed by the governor. 
  • Act 93 authorized payment of a 1.5% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to eligible TRSL retirees and beneficiaries. (Reaffirmed by Act 512)
  • Act 94 requires non-investment related administrative expenses to be funded directly through the employer contribution rate.
  • Act 95 clarifies provisions created in Act 399 of 2014 regarding excess investment earnings, employer contributions, and COLAs; also addresses the System’s amortization period for changes, gains, losses and allocations to the experience account, and authorizes reamortization at certain times.
  • Act 159 provides for the frequency of meetings of the TRSL Board of Trustees.
  • Act 176 requires actuarial notes for any retirement bill pre-filed at least 45 days prior to the regular session to be completed at least five days prior to the beginning of the regular session.
  • Act 621 allows the House speaker to appoint any member of the House retirement committee to serve on the TRSL Board as an ex officio trustee (previously the chair of the House retirement committee automatically served in this capacity).
  • Act 460 requires reports of the legislative auditor to include actuarial assumptions and funded ratios of each of the four state public retirement systems, and the auditor’s findings on the appropriateness of the assumptions at least every five years.
  • Act 679 and Act 639 propose that a constitutional amendment be placed before voters on the November ballot to establish the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund and to provide for the allocation of mineral revenues, a portion of which would be dedicated to the unfunded accrued liability (UAL). The legislation will become effective only if voters approve the constitutional amendment set forth in Act 679 in the November election.
Other legislation:
  • House Concurrent Resolution 12 would ask Congress to consider eliminating the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) Social Security reductions.
  • House Study Request 6 requests a study of practices used in adopting actuarial assumptions and reporting standards for the state and statewide retirement systems, and an investigation of potential legislative improvements for the increased sustainability of the systems
For a complete list of bills that did not pass, please visit the legislation page of www.TRSL.org.
Twitter Facebook
PO Box 94123 | Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9123 US
powered by emma