Iowa Code 97B.8B – Benefits advisory committee
A benefits advisory committee shall be established whose duty is to consider and make recommendations to the system and the general assembly concerning the provision of benefits and services to members of the retirement system.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 97B.8B
- Board: means the investment board created by section 97B. See Iowa Code 97B.1
- Chief executive officer: means the chief executive officer of the Iowa public employees' retirement system. See Iowa Code 97B.1
- Committee: means the benefits advisory committee created by section 97B. See Iowa Code 97B.1
- Member: means an employee or a former employee who maintains the employee's or former employee's accumulated contributions in the retirement system. See Iowa Code 97B.1A
- Retirement: means that period of time beginning when a member who has filed an approved application for a retirement allowance has survived into at least the first day of the member's first month of entitlement and ending when the member dies. See Iowa Code 97B.1A
- Retirement system: means the retirement plan as contained in this chapter or as duly amended. See Iowa Code 97B.1A
- Service: means service under this chapter by an employee, except an elected official, for which the employee is paid covered wages. See Iowa Code 97B.1A
- System: means the Iowa public employees' retirement system. See Iowa Code 97B.1
- year: means twelve consecutive months. See Iowa Code 4.1
The benefits advisory committee shall be comprised of representatives of constituent groups concerned with the retirement system, and shall include representatives of employers, active members, and retired members. In addition, the director of the department of administrative services and a member of the public selected by the voting members of the committee shall serve as members of the committee. The system shall adopt rules under chapter 17A to provide for the selection of members to the committee and the election of the voting members of the committee.
Of the members who comprise the committee, nine members shall be voting members. Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, the voting members shall be elected by the members of the committee from the membership of the committee. Of the nine voting members of the committee, four shall represent covered employers, and four shall represent the members of the retirement system. Of the four voting members representing employers, one shall be the director of the department of administrative services, one shall be a member of a constituent group that represents cities, one shall be a member of a constituent group that represents counties, and one shall be a member of a constituent group that represents local school districts. Of the four voting members who represent members of the retirement system, one shall be a member of a constituent group that represents teachers. The ninth voting member of the committee shall be a citizen who is not a member of the retirement system and who is elected by the other voting members of the committee.
Except for the director of the department of administrative services and as otherwise provided in the rules for the initial selection of voting members of the committee, each member selected to be a voting member shall serve as a voting member for three years. Terms for voting members begin on May 1 in the year of selection and expire on April 30 in the year of expiration. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original selections. A vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term.
The members who are not active members of the retirement system shall be paid their actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties and shall receive a per diem as specified in section 7E.6 for each day of service not exceeding forty days per year. The members who are active members of the retirement system and the director of the department of administrative services shall be paid their actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the committee and the performance of their duties as members of the committee shall not affect their salaries, vacations, or leaves of absence for sickness or injury. However, the benefits advisory committee shall not incur any additional expenses in fulfilling its duties as provided by this section without the express written authority of the chief executive officer.