One new trustee and four incumbents were elected to serve four-year terms on the governing board of the Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System (LASERS). The votes were cast by actively-employed and retired members of LASERS.
In the active-member election, Charles F. Castille was elected with 20.09 percent of the vote. Mr. Castille is employed as Undersecretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. He has been a member of LASERS since 1975. This is Mr. Castille’s first term on the LASERS Board of Trustees.
Sheryl M. Ranatza, Deputy Warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary, was re-elected as an active-member trustee with 24.79 percent of the vote; and Trudy M. White, a Baton Rouge City Court judge, won another term on the board with 23.59 percent of the vote.
In the retired-member election, Connie Carlton, a former Assistant Director of LASERS, was returned to the board with 33.36 percent of the vote; and Barbara McManus McCann, retired from the Office of Family Support, won another term with 25.57 percent of votes cast.
The LASERS Board of Trustees oversees the $9 billion LASERS trust fund, which is the source of the benefits that the system pays to its members and their beneficiaries. The board is composed of 12 members. Nine trustees are elected by active and retired members of LASERS. Three trustees serve as ex officio members: the Louisiana State Treasurer; the Chair of the Louisiana Senate Committee on Retirement; and the Chair of the Louisiana House of Representatives Committee on Retirement.
The LASERS Board of Trustees election takes place every odd-numbered year. LASERS trustees serve staggered four-year terms.
2 comments:
Congratulations to the members elected to the LASERS Board of Directors. I sincerely hope they will work toward making and keeping the retirement system finacially sound. I also hope they will work toward increasing benefits to retired employees (more than a cost of living increase). I also hope they will use their influence to decrease the cost of state group insurance premiums for retirees and to increase prescription benefits.
It is worth noting that the LASERS Board of Trustees exercises no influence over insurance premiums for active or retired members. State employee health benefits are managed by the Louisiana Office of Group Benefits.
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