LASERS Board Elects New Chair and Vice Chair

The LASERS Board of Trustees unanimously elected Thomas Bickham and Janice Lansing as new Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, at its January meeting. The 13-member policy-making Board of Trustees has fiduciary oversight over LASERS.

Thomas Bickham, Undersecretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, will lead the LASERS Board as Chair. Bickham has served as an active member Trustee since 2012. He most recently chaired the Management Committee of the LASERS Board.

Janice Lansing, Chief Financial Officer of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, will serve as the new Vice Chair. Lansing has served as an active member Trustee since 2010. She most recently chaired the Investment Committee of the LASERS Board.

LASERS Executive Director Cindy Rougeou said, “Under the leadership of Thomas Bickham and Janice Lansing, we will continue to serve our members well in 2015 and ensure that LASERS Benefits Louisiana.”

La. retirees board looks at legislation

By Marsha Shuler
The Advocate
Capitol News Bureau


The Louisiana State Employees Retirement System board voted Friday to endorse legislation that would delay implementation of a 401(k)-type pension plan for new hires, with a Jindal administration representative going along.

The board also, with its administration member objecting, voted to oppose legislation billed as a measure to fix problems with implementation of the new so-called “cash balance” plan.

LASERS Executive Director Cindy Rougeou said the legislation fails to address pension system administrative concerns and still does not include provisions that would provide “retirement security” in a state where state employees are not in the Social Security system.

Steven Procopio, chief of staff for the Division of Administration, said LASERS should support the legislation, billing it as purely “cleanup.” He said he did not understand the opposition.

The legislation has been prefiled for consideration in the legislative session that opens April 8.

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s signature retirement bill of the 2012 session is scheduled to go in effect July 1. The administration has resisted a delay in the plan which operates similar to a 401(k) pension plan but differs because the employee accounts cannot be reduced if there are investment losses.

But on Friday, Procopio conditionally supported a resolution to suspend the law until July 1, 2014.

The resolutions cite an unresolved constitutional challenge as well as federal tax and Social Security equivalency determinations that have not been made.

Procopio said he could go along if the resolution only mentioned the need for a determination on the Social Security equivalency of the plan prior to implementation. If it does not provide equivalent benefits, employees and the state would have to also make Social Security payments.

Procopio said the tax ruling was an entirely different matter and the Internal Revenue Services allows time for states to fix problems before penalties are levied.

The board agreed.

A state district judge ruled the statute did not get the constitutionally required two-thirds vote to pass a retirement measure that adds to costs. The Legislature actuary said the cash-balance plan would increase expenses. A Jindal hired actuary said it did not.

The Louisiana Supreme Court heard arguments earlier this week on the issue. The administration had sought an expedited review because of the July 1 effective date and the legislative session starting April 8, where any problems that might arise could be rectified.

In addition, the tax ramifications and Social Security equivalency status of the plan have not been ruled on by federal officials.

Adverse decisions from the IRS could subject employees’ vested contributions and retirement system trust earnings to taxes.

Some employees also would have to be enrolled in Social Security if the state benefit is not equivalent to Social Security’s — adding to state employee and taxpayer costs. The costs would be levied retroactively from the plan’s start, according to Maris LeBlanc, LASERS deputy director.

LASERS board voted to endorse resolutions to be considered in the legislative session which opens April 8 that would suspend the law until June 30, 2014. The Legislature can approve those resolutions by a simple majority vote. They cannot be vetoed by the governor.

Nominations Open for 2013 LASERS Board of Trustees Election

Every two years, LASERS members are asked to cast their ballots for candidates for the 13-member Board of Trustees. 2013 is an election year, with five seats on the Board up for a vote. Nominations opened March 1 and will close July 9. Votes will be cast in September and October and the results certified by the Board and published in November. 

Four open seats must be filled by active members. One of the four seats up for election will be to fill the remaining two years of a vacancy, with that term expiring in 2014. Retirees will cast their vote for one position. If you are interested in running for the board, you can download a nominating petition on this page. You can also obtain the document from your agency’s Human Resources Office, or by calling LASERS.

Trustees serve four year terms unless they are filling an un-expired portion of a term. No Trustee may serve more than three consecutive terms.

Complete information about the LASERS Board of Trustees election can be found on our website at www.lasersonline.org/board_elections. 

LASERS Board selects 2008 officers

The governing body of the Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System (LASERS) elected new officers as the 2008 LASERS Board of Trustees took their seats.

The trustees chose Sheryl M. Ranatza as 2008 Board Chair. Ms. Ranatza is an active-member trustee who was elected in October, 2007, to her second term on the board. She is employed as Deputy Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, and is a former deputy warden of the Louisiana State Penitentiary.

Trudy M. White, a Baton Rouge City Court judge, was elected 2008 Vice Chair. Judge White is serving her second term on the Board of Trustees.

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. Senator Butch Gautreaux continues to serve as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Retirement. Representative Joel Robideaux is the newly appointed Chair of the House Retirement Committee and attended his first meeting of the Board of Trustees. As state treasurer, John Kennedy continues in his capacity as an ex officio trustee.

The LASERS Board of Trustees election takes place every odd-numbered year. LASERS trustees serve staggered four-year terms. The board selects new officers each January.