NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KTRE) – The Nacogdoches County Hospital District voted to take no action to terminate a closed retirement plan Tuesday night.
Nearly a hundred people filled the conference room at the Fredonia Hotel Tuesday evening as the district board held its meeting to discuss the termination of a closed retirement plan. The defined benefit plan started in the ‘80s. It was closed in 2017 when the hospital switched over to a 401k plan. A defined benefit plan is a retirement plan that promises a specific monthly benefit, a dollar amount, to an employee when they retire. Six people spoke during the public forum.
Almarie Henderson believed there was a lack of communication and oversight from leaders.
“This issue has been developing for some time now and we as recipients, we should have been informed when it was first discovered there was a short fall so, we can accordingly,” said Henderson.
Melissa Johnston expressed the uncertainty of financial situations people may face.
“A lot of these people are depending on this money month by month by month. Not everyone has an IRA. Not everyone has extra money laying to wait when they need it,” said Johnston.
The board’s attorney Scott Skelton explained how distributions would be handled if the termination of the pension plan was to go through. He also said the termination would be expected to take a year. It would require setting a distribution date, determining the method of asset distribution, and prioritizing payments to participants based on contribution types.
“Participants are given notice and distributions are valued and made as soon as administratively feasible. This process would take at least a year,” said Skelton.
The board was in executive session for over 30 minutes. Board member Wesley McKnight withdrew his motion to disband the retirement plan. He said with two board members missing Tuesday night, it was only fair to include their votes at a later meeting. However, he still believes disbanding the plan would be the best option.
“The fairest way to give the most people the most amount of money and to have it not run out and get money where they still have time to invest,” said McKnight.
The board may revisit the decision at a special or regular meeting at a later time.
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