Idaho § 59-1311

§ 59-1311.

Public employee retirement fund created - Administration - Payment of benefits - Perpetual appropriation. (1) There is hereby established in the state treasury a special fund, the "Public Employee Retirement Fund," which shall be separate and apart from all public moneys or funds of this state and shall be administered under the direction of the board exclusively for the purposes of this chapter. The state treasurer shall maintain within the fund a clearing account, a portfolio investment expense account and an administration account.

(2) All contributions received from employers by the board on their account and on account of members shall be deposited with a funding agent designated by the board. All such funds are hereby perpetually appropriated to the board and shall not be included in the department’s administration account budget and shall be invested or used to pay for investment-related expenses.

(3) As needed to pay current obligations, the board shall transfer funds from the funding agent to the state treasurer’s office for deposit into the administration account. All funds deposited in the administration account shall be available to the board for the payment of administrative expenses only to the extent so appropriated by the legislature.

(4) As required by the board, the funding agent shall transfer funds to the state treasurer’s office for deposit into the portfolio investment expense account for payment of investment expenses. The funds deposited in the portfolio investment expense account shall be used for payment of investments and investment-related and actuarial-related expenses. Such expenses shall include but not be limited to:

(a) Reporting services;

(b) Investment and actuarial advisory services;

(c) Funding agent fees and money management fees; and

(d) Investment and actuarial staff expenses including hiring of investment and actuarial management personnel. Investment and actuarial management personnel are defined as staff positions that are classified at pay grades N through V by the division of human resources.

Investment and actuarial management personnel shall be exempt from the provisions of chapter 53, title 67 , Idaho Code, and section 67-3519 , Idaho Code, and shall be hired by and serve at the pleasure of the board. All expenses of the portfolio investment expense account shall be reported on a quarterly basis to the legislature and to the division of financial management in the office of the governor.

(5) As required by the board, the funding agent shall transfer funds to the state treasurer’s office for deposit into the clearing account. All benefits for members shall be payable directly from the clearing account or by the funding agent as they come due. If the amount of such benefits payable at any time exceeds the amount in the clearing account, the payment of all or part of such benefits may be postponed until the clearing account becomes adequate to meet all such payments, or the board may require a refund from the funding agent sufficient to meet all such payments.

(6) Moneys representing member entitlements that remain unclaimed after reasonable attempts to effect payment shall remain in the retirement fund available for payment to the member or other established rightful payee.