Benefits December 30, 2009

GA County Slashes 401(k) Match

December 30, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – Employees of a Georgia county near Atlanta have had their 401(k) employer match cut back as part of a broad cost-cutting effort.
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The unspecified 401(k) match reduction by the Forsyth County Commission was approved as part of series of budget cuts for the county government’s FY 2010 operating budget, according to the AccessNorthGa.com Web site.

The news story indicated the recently approved $79-million spending plan was down from the prior year’s total of $84.1 million.

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In addition to the match reduction, other cost-saving measures for the new budget year include:

  • no merit or cost-of-living increases for the 1,200 county employees;
  • seven of 10 holidays in 2010 being unpaid for employees not scheduled to work on those days;
  • a reduction of approximately $3 million in the Sheriff’s Office budget;
  • removal of a number of existing vacancies from the budget; and
  • a reduction to the county’s vehicle replacement fund.

The 2010 budget includes the use of $1 million of General Fund Reserves to bring the spending plan into balance, the news account indicated.

Deals and People December 30, 2009

OPERS Picks a New Director of Investments

December 30, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) has announced that John C. Lane has been selected as Director of Investments.
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As the retirement fund’s chief investment officer, Lane will lead the Investment Division in executing the annual investment plan and long-term investment strategy. Approximately 62% of OPERS’ investments are managed internally, according to an OPERS press release.       

Prior to joining OPERS, Lane served as Director, Pension Investments Worldwide for the Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, N.Y., Chief Investment Officer for the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System and President of Makefield Securities Corporation.    

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“John brings 25 years of collective investment experience gained in managing public and private sector pension investment plans,” said Chris DeRose, OPERS Chief Executive Officer. “John’s diverse background will be instrumental as we work to strengthen our asset base and implement investment policy.”       

Lane, a native of Pennsylvania, obtained Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees from LaSalle University in Philadelphia.      

With assets of $68.3 billion, OPERS is the largest public pension fund in Ohio and the 12th largest public pension fund in the U.S.

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