NDPERS board OK's steps to allow former public employees to serve on elected boards
May 13—GRAND FORKS — The board of directors that oversees the state's retirement system on Tuesday voted to establish two new policies that will allow former public employees to continue to hold their elected positions and still collect their pension.
The decision was announced late Tuesday morning in a release distributed by the North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System, generally known as NDPERS.
The decision comes after it was announced last month that some former public employees who have since retired and taken paid positions on elected county boards must forfeit their pension. An IRS audit uncovered the issue and prompted the NDPERS decision.
Among those affected was Bob Rost, a former Grand Forks County sheriff who is in his second term as a paid Grand Forks County Commission member. Rost initially said he would resign from the commission but later rescinded his resignation, pending a decision from NDPERS.
Rost said he feels relieved. He said the Legislature "will have to deal with this in the future, because there's a sunset clause of August 1, 2027, with the action they took today." In the meantime, he's happy to remain on the commission.
"I'm just glad I can finish out my term as a Grand Forks County commissioner, just to be able to deal with the issues that are coming up with budgeting and all this other stuff," he said.
According to the NDPERS release, two policies were approved Tuesday. The first "allows elected county officials who are eligible for normal retirement to return to employment with their previous employer after retirement while continuing to collect their NDPERS pension." It's retroactive to Jan. 1, 2007, to resolve any previous conflicts of law and to ensure NDPERS plan compliance with federal law, according to the release.
The second policy is intended to resolve the conflict between federal and state law related to cash or deferred arrangements (CODA) and their administration.
"Specifically, it requires NDPERS to require participation in the NDPERS retirement plan if a newly elected county official meets mandatory participation requirements. If not, then the elected official will be considered an optional participant and would be given participation options as such," the statement said.
Rost said he had been hoping for this path, which allows him and others like him to continue to collect their pension and still hold their roles on elected boards in their home counties.
"It came down to common sense. It came down to the fact that it affects so many people in county government," he said, saying that pushing knowledgeable county officials away from public service could be devastating to county governments. "I'm glad common sense prevailed."
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