A warm welcome to APSA’s newly appointed Trustee; Jovica Miodragovic. Miodragovic takes over from Pam Stroud, APSA’s former Trustee, who has left the University.
So, what does our Trustee do?
The Administrative/Union Staff Pension Plan is owned by the members through a Trust agreement. The Trustees' role is to administer the operations and funds of the Pension Plan according to this Trust Agreement and the Plan Text. While Trustees act for the Plan, they can’t be partisan although they can certainly watch out for issues affecting Plan Members.
Who sits on the Board of Trustees?
The Board of Trustees is made up of a representative from each of the employee groups; APSA, CUPE and Poly Party and three people nominated by the University. This combination maintains a balance in discussions and decisions.
What is the role of the Board of Trustees?
The Board of Trustees manages the pension plan. They met once a month to deal with administrative issues, monitor investments and approve and review an investment mix. Within this investment mix, they hire fund managers who have specific expertise.
Since a full valuation is performed every three years, the Board of Trustees must also select and approve "assumptions" for demographics and earnings, which are used to set the contribution rate. The role of the Board and of Trustees is strictly administrative as negotiating over the plan takes place elsewhere.