OPEB commission holds first meeting

The Special Commission to Investigate and Study Retiree Healthcare and Other Non-Pension Benefits, established through the 2011 pension reform law, held its first meeting on April 5.

The 11-member commission is charged with considering the full range of benefits that are or should be provided to current and future retirees and creating recommendations on the structure of benefits and how to pay for them.

At the commission’s first meeting, the MMA gave a presentation on the “other post-employment benefits” (OPEB) challenge facing municipalities. The unfunded liability for cities and towns is estimated at between $25 billion and $30 billion – or twice the pension liability and an unsustainable obligation for municipalities.

Catherine Hornby of the Group Insurance Commission and Tom Vicente, an actuary with Aon Hewitt, gave presentations on the state’s liability.

The commission plans to hold five more meetings between May and October to gather and review options, and will hold public hearings in the fall if needed. The next meeting is scheduled for the end of May.

The commission’s deadline for making recommendations to the Legislature is Nov. 30.

The MMA’s designee on the commission is Shrewsbury Town Manager Dan Morgado.