Seriously? Public employees don’t have to pay into Social Security?
That was my reaction last week when I learned that our state doesn’t require public employees to pay into Social Security if they participate in the Public Employees’ Retirement System.
I wrote about this in Monday’s paper as it relates to the employees of Housing Kitsap, who voted in April to remove themselves from paying Social Security.
It’s a bit convoluted, but in 1955 Washington voluntarily entered into an agreement with the federal government to offer Social Security to public employees who weren’t covered by a state-authorized retirement plan. By 1991 it was mandatory that all public agencies offer either Social Security or a state-authorized retirement plan for employees.
This mandatory requirement meant that if agencies like housing authorities had a state-authorized retirement plan in place for employees and those employees were also paying into Social Security, the state needed documentation that said the agency had voluntarily agreed to pay into Social Security.
The state’s Employment Security Department managed these agreements from 1951 to 2009. When the state’s Department of Retirement Services took them over it realized some public agencies were paying into Social Security erroneously.
Housing Kitsap was one of those agencies. I filed a records request with the state retirement services department to see the files related to the housing agency and why it didn’t vote in 1989 to continue to pay into Social Security. (1989 is when the agency authorized its state-approved retirement plan for employees, called PERS).
Emails and files show the housing board was told in 1993 it needed to allow staff to vote on whether to continue to pay into Social Security, but the board never took action.
Rob, I think is in reference to Rob Joseph, the account supervisor named on the document. The document never says why the board halted the process, but for employees to vote the board had to approve it first. As a result the authority and its employees have paid into Social Security for 24 years when they potentially should not have.
“All of these years that the housing authority was participating in PERS they were at the same time erroneously taking Social Security out of the PERS people’s pay and they should not have been,” said Melanie Piccin, state Social Security coordinator with the Department of Retirement Systems.
Employees finally took the vote in April and voted 34 to 18 to withdraw from Social Security. Now they’re asking the housing board to reconsider its plan to pay down the agency’s debt with the money it would have paid into Social Security on their behalf. Instead they’d like to see the money go into a deferred compensation program.
So what other public employees have the option not to pay into Social Security? According to Piccin, all of the state’s agencies have the voluntary coverage in place, which means these employees pay Social Security. The only state agency that doesn’t pay is the Washington State Patrol, she said.
All school districts and the state’s higher education institutions, like public universities and colleges, pay into Social Security. But the retirement services department is learning many of the state’s smaller political subdivisions like cities and housing authorities are paying into the federal system without an agreement on hand.
Beyond Kitsap’s housing authority Piccin has also contacted the city of Sea-Tac and Port of Seattle (including its firefighters and police) to notify them of the discrepancy.
Commissioner Josh Brown will be at the Silverdale Library tomorrow from 3 to 5 p.m. to meet with constituents and talk with them about whatever they want to talk about.
Central Kitsap County Commissioner Josh Brown will be at the Silverdale Library every fourth Tuesday of the month for “Open Office Hours,” to meet with citizens to listen to their ideas and concerns. “Open Office Hours” are open to all residents and will run from 3:00-5:00pm in the Hess Room of the Silverdale Library located at 3450 NW Carlton St in Old Town Silverdale. No appointment is necessary. Visitors will be welcomed on a first-come basis and will have up to 10 minutes each to talk to Commissioner Brown about any topic related to county government.
Since he just returned from the Paris Airshow, if you go ask Josh how the City of Light was in the spring.
Don’t know why I didn’t do this before. For those of you following the Port of Poulsbo and some of the recent contention coming from the commission, here is the opinion issued at the end of last month by the Attorney General’s Office on whether sitting Commissioner Arnold Bockus could appoint himself to a vacancy on the board.
It includes a lot of legal speak, but if you’re looking for clarity here’s the original story I wrote when the opinion was issued. Assistant attorney general Tim Ford sums up in his first quote what the AG’s Office ruled in the informal opinion. Take note of the footnotes, this is where the AG’s Office differs in opinion from port Commissioner Tony DeCarlo and port attorney Gregory Norbut. Norbut and DeCarlo interpret the footnotes one way, while the AG’s Office interprets them another way.
Monday, Feb. 27, 10 a.m.: Legislative update with Tom McBride until 11 a.m. then board information sharing until the noon adjournment.
2 p.m.: Budget update until 2:30 p.m. including January month end, 2011 13th month end and DCD 2011 13th month end; followed by a Commissioners staff meeting until 3:30 p.m. and finally a demo re: In-direct cost plan in chambers with Amber D’Amato until 4:30 p.m. adjournment.
7 p.m.: The two public hearing items include an ordinance that would change the commissioner’s regular business meeting from its 7 p.m. Monday time to 10 a.m. — there will be no public comment because testimony was heard two weeks ago; testimony will be taken on the second public hearing item which is a resolution setting a newcomer’s assessments for sewer service for the Central Kitsap, Kingston, Suquamish and Manchester sewer systems.
Wednesday, Feb. 29, 8:30 a.m.: The meeting starts with an executive session regarding potential litigation until 9 a.m.; the meeting opens with a discussion on audit findings and subsequent responses until 9:45 a.m.; then an animal control discussion until 10:15 a.m.; next up is open space application review until 10:45 a.m.; then the board goes back into executive session to discuss a personnel matter with Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge until 11:30 a.m. and another executive session regarding real estate until a noon adjournment.
Wednesday, Feb. 29, 5 p.m.: This is a special meeting. There will be no public comment but here’s the discussion items: municipal budgeting 10; general council business and then adjournment.
Tuesday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m.: This week’s public hearing item is: The pros and cons of the proposed South Kitsap Fire & Rescue district levy ballot measure proposition No. 1.