Upper St. Clair employee pension plan is in compliance with state regulations
A recent audit of the pension plans of Upper St. Clair’s non-uniformed management, police and general employees done by the office of Auditor General Eugene DePasquale found all three to be in compliance, according to a state report.
The objective of the audit was to determine for the selected audit period if the municipality complied with any prior audit recommendations and if the municipal pension plan is in compliance with applicable state laws, regulations, contracts, administrative procedures, local ordinances and policies, the state said. DePasquale’s office conducted its audit of Upper St. Clair’s pension plans for the period of Jan. 1, 2012, through Dec. 31, 2014.
“We are in compliance,” said Mark Romito, the township’s finance director.
In the case of the pension plan of the township’s non-uniformed management personnel, DePasquale said the plan was properly administered and adhered to all applicable laws. Upper St. Clair is required to contribute 10 percent of base salary for professional management employees, 7.5 percent for administrative management employees and 5 percent for all other management employees. The report said as of Dec. 31, 2014, this pension plan had 60 active members and 18 terminated members who are vested and eligible for future benefits. In addition, the report showed as of Dec. 31, 2014, the state put $224,893 into the plan.
The township’s general employees pension plan’s funded ratio was 66.7 percent as of Jan. 1, 2013, the report said. The township and other entities contributed $357,195 to the plan in 2014, according to the state.
“We encourage township officials to monitor the funding of the general employees pension plan to ensure its long-term financial stability,” DePasquale’s office said. Romito pointed out that the date in the report on the general employees pension plan “was a long time ago.”
Participants in the township’s police pension plan are required to contribute 5 percent of gross wages. As of Dec. 31, 2014, the plan had 24 active members eligible for vested benefits in the future. There are also 17 retirees also receiving benefits from the plan, the DePasquale report showed.
With this plan, the state said the normal retirement age of an employee in the police department is 54 with 25 years of service. An employee is eligible for early retirement with 20 years of service. A participant is 100 percent vested after 12 years of service, the report said.