CMERA Chronicles – February 2025
Social Security Fairness Act
As I reported in the CMERA chatroom, Congress repealed the WEP and the GPO. The President signed the legislation on January 6. Once signed, City retirees who also qualify for Social Security benefits will no longer have those benefits reduced because of their City retirement pension. The amount of Social Security you will now receive will be calculated like everyone else. That amount will vary with each individual. The increase is retroactive to January 2024. Unfortunately, no funds were allocated to calculate the new benefit amounts. As a result, Social Security has stated that it may take up to a year for the changes to become effective.
Michell Burns, Associate Director
At its meeting on January 23, the Executive Committee unanimously approved the appointment of Michelle Burns as an Associate Director of CMERA.
City Council
I have not seen any agenda items on recent City Council meeting sessions that directly impact retirees. It is, however, examining the reported failures of service delivery related to the January snowfall. What I have not read or heard from any Councilmembers are any compliments to the men and women who did their best under harsh conditions to address the snow to the best of their ability. I want to express my thanks for the work performed by the many City employees who worked under very difficult conditions.
Retirement Board
Here are a couple of interesting excerpts from the draft minutes of the Retirement Board’s meeting on January 9.
“Chair Moller motioned to enter Executive Session pursuant to the Ohio Revised Code 121.22 subsection G and Municipal Code section 121-7 to discuss the Board’s council matters that are subject to pending and imminent court action. The motion was seconded by Trustee Walsh. The motion was approved by unanimous roll call vote.”
My take: Not sure what this means but I don’t like secret meetings.
“Benefits Committee Trustee Gamel explained that there were no motions made at the Benefits Committee meeting. The Committee discussed the Dental RFP update, focusing on the tiered plans. It was noted that a little over 10% of retirees opted for the new tiered plan at an additional cost. The healthcare survey was also discussed. The survey is set to be prepared for 2025, with plans to adjust the draft in order to increase retiree participation.”
My take: New healthcare plan (or plans) may be coming later this year.
“Chair Moller also mentioned that the Board received OPERS news from the Director, which included comments on potential mergers with other retirement systems. The OPERS Board has stated that they will not assume another system’s unfunded liability, and this is provided as an informational item.”
My take: OPERS is not interested in the CRS unless there is no unfunded liability.
The Spring 2025 General Meeting
Be sure to join me at the CMERA Spring General Meeting. The guest speaker will be Jon Salstrom, Retirement Director for the City. The meeting will be on May 10, 2025, at the First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati, Reading Road and Linton Avenue. The social hour starts at 9:00 a.m.
Parking and Snow Removal
Why is it that some streets are cleared of ice and snow much better than others? I suspect a big part is on-street vehicle parking. If cars are not parked on a street, snow removal equipment can effectively plow. On streets with on-street parking, particularly narrow streets with parking on both sides, large trucks with plows cannot often navigate the street. And even if the truck driver can create a lane down the center of the street, the snow is then piled up along the parked vehicles making it difficult to enter the car and creating a mound of snow that the car must climb to get to the cleared path. So, if a heavy snow is predicted and you park on a residential street, consider an off-street parking site for a day or two as an option.
Until next month
Note: The statements and opinions expressed in the CMERA Chronicles are my own (Chuck Cullen) and may or may not reflect the views of the Governing Board of CMERA.