SFERS v. CCSF (pre-1996) Update:
On March 1, 2018 our amicus brief in support of SFERS was officially filed with the court of appeal. The following city unions and retiree organizations were signees to our brief: SEIU, Local 1021; Retired Employees, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local 21; San Francisco Veterans Police Officers Assoc., Inc. (VPOA); Retired Firefighters and Spouses Association of the San Francisco Fire Department; and San Francisco Firefighters, Local 798.As per the order of the court, any answer to our brief was to be filed no later than 21 days after our filing. Sure enough, the City and County of San Francisco filed a response to our brief on March 22, using the very same arguments and interpretations as before. Next up is for the court to set a hearing date where the court will listen to oral arguments. We will keep you updated.

Health Service System
On March 12, POB members Fred Sanchez, Sharon Johnson and Grady Allison met with the newly appointed Executive Director of San Francisco Health Service System Abby Yant. Ms. Yant has over 30 years of health care and leadership experience, including 17 years at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco. Several of our members have worked with Ms. Yant in the past, and all feel she is highly qualified and will be very receptive to the wellbeing of our retirees. POB looks forward to working with her in the future.HSS will be conducting an audit of all members to identify how many participants are in the plan.Some members are not listed, and some members may not qualify for benefits.I noticed that there is a lot of programs offered for your best physical and mental health through HSS. Look into them: Remember: You are your best advocate!

SFERS Retirement Board
Despite a recent economic decline, the fund is doing very well. For the first nine months of the FY/2018, SFERS investments have gained 8.87%. The plan assets total $23.7 billion. I think this confirms that our Retirement Board commissioners have invested wisely and competently. The Board is also dealing with the fossil fuel issue, and we expect a report soon on the dirtiest and lowest performing funds.

Final Thoughts
If you’ve read any recent newspaper or online pension fund articles, you may have noticed writers putting out a “spin” that retirees are the cause of all the ills in society, and are “bankrupting” our cities. Within the next few weeks, POB will be submitting informational articles that clearly refute this “fake news,” and circulate our true pension fund status to retirees, local politicians, the press, and all other interested parties. Remember: “United we stand; divided we fall.”