The responsibility for the operation of the Maine Public Employees Retirement System is held by the System's Board of Trustees, which is composed of eight members. State law specifies the Board's composition. The law requires that each individual appointed to service as a trustee is subject to the legislative confirmation process. All appointed trustees are required to have "a working knowledge of retirement policy and legal issues and a general knowledge and understanding of banking, finance and investment practices." Three trustees are Retirement System members, one of whom is proposed and elected by the Maine Education Association, one of whom is proposed and elected by the Maine State Employees Association, and one of whom is a PLD member proposed by the governing body of the Maine Municipal Association. Four trustees are appointed by the Governor. Of these, one must be selected by the Governor from a list of nominees submitted by the Maine Retired Teachers Association and one must be an MSRS retiree selected from a list of nominees submitted by State and/or PLD retirees. The remaining two appointees are direct gubernatorial appointments, both of whom must be qualified through training or experience in the field of investments, accounting, banking or insurance or as actuaries. The eighth trustee is the State Treasurer, who serves ex-officio. All trustee terms are three years, except for the two-year term of the State Treasurer. The Board annually elects its chair and vice chair from its members.
The current MainePERS Board members:
Peter M. Leslie, Chair
Public Member,Governor's direct appointee
Catherine R. Sullivan, Vice ChairRetired Teacher, Governor's appointment from Maine
Retired Teachers Association
Carol Mitchell Public Member, Governor's direct appointee
Richard MetivierMaine Municipal Association appointee
George Burgoyne Retired State Employee, Governor's appointee from
retiree groups' nominees
Benedetto ViolaMaine State Employees Association appointee by election
Kenneth L. WilliamsMaine Education Association appointee by election
David G. Lemoine,State Treasurer Ex-officio Member
The Board contracts for the services of an actuary, currently the firm of Cheiron , to prepare annual valuations of the assets and liabilities of each of the retirement programs administered by the System. The actuary also provides information and recommendations as to sound and appropriate actuarial assumptions, which are utilized, together with valuation information, to determine the programs' funding requirements.
The Board's management of MainePERS investments is governed by its investment policy. The policy states the Board's underlying investment objectives, sets out the investment strategies intended to realize the objectives and establishes guidelines and criteria for implementation of the strategies. The Board currently contracts with the firm of Ennis Knupp and Associates to advise in the development of the investment policy and the carrying out of the investment program.
The Board is the final administrative decision maker in matters involving the rights, credits, and benefits of members. It has established an administrative appeals process for the making of such decisions, through which the relevant factual information and legal requirements are identified and analyzed by Hearing Officers who serve under contract. In decisions on disability retirement appeals, statutorily established medical boards and individual medical advisors provide recommendations as to the medical aspects of disability. The Board's final administrative decisions are appealable to Superior Court.
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