For almost three months, the Fayette County Commission has wrestled with the idea of converting the county’s pension plan to a defined benefits package.

Currently, county employees can contribute to a 401K retirement plan, but the county’s leaders are trying to decide if a county-funded plan that could provide workers with a substantial part of their salary at retirement is feasible.

County Commission Executive Assistant Carol Chandler said today’s presentation will outline the steps the County Commission would have to take if it wants to make the change.

During September’s County Commission workshop meeting, the commissioners heard a report from attorney John Kimball. Kimball is part of a study committee, including former Commissioner Scott Burrell, that is examining whether it would make sense to switch from the county’s current retirement benefit to a defined benefits package, where each employee would receive a “defined” monthly amount.

“The question was asked if this plan is feasible, and the answer is yes,” Kimball said.

Currently, the county has a 401k system that employees and employers contribute to every pay period. Kimball said a defined benefits package would end up costing the county the same amount of money or even less than it currently contributes to the existing retirement accounts.

One of the issues that would have to be addressed is the credit for past years of service. Kimball suggested county employees could be credited with their years of service by buying into the plan with their current 401k money.

One of the big motivators in the discussion of changing benefit plans is the amount of turnover in the public safety departments.

“In five years, there have been 190 employees leave the Sheriff’s Department,” Kimball said.

Many of the employees are leaving for other counties that have defined benefits, he added. He also said the county is not aiming to replace 100 percent of the employee’s salary, but rather 50 or 60 percent that combined with Social Security would come close to replacing the total salary.

“This would require no additional funding from the county, and there’s $20 million in the 401k money to fully fund the plan,” said Commissioner Eric Maxwell.

At the time, the County Commission agreed to defer any decisions on the matter until more study could be done on the plan by the commissioners and the public.

In the private sector, many large companies are fleeing from defined benefit pension plans, most of which require substantial and long-term company contributions.

Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines abandoned its defined benefit plan as part of its struggle to regain profitability and get out of bankruptcy court.

In other business to be discussed today, the board will:

• Consider a request from the department of Fire and Emergency Service to apply for grant funding for the purchase of two ENMT golf carts.

• Apply for a grant for improvements to the second phase of Kenwood park’s walking path project.

The board meets at 3:30 p.m. at the Stonewall administrative Complex.

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