Washington State Department of Retirement Case
WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF RETIREMENT CASE PROPOSED SETTLEMENTProbst v. Department of Retirement Systems, Thurston County Superior Court Case No. 05-2-00131-1. This lawsuit was brought in January 2005 when Jeffrey Probst, a member of the Public Employees' Retirement System ("PERS"), claimed that he and a class of similarly situated members were entitled to additional interest on their Accumulated Contributions upon transfer between or withdrawal from the State retirement plans. The lawsuit claimed that the Department failed to correctly calculate the amount payable to class members when they transferred from Plan 2 to Plan 3, or when they withdrew from Plan 2. In particular, the lawsuit claimed that the Department should have used a different method for calculating interest on the transferred or withdrawn amounts and that the proper calculation would have resulted in increased interest for members. The Department believes that its method for calculating interest was proper and within its discretionary authority. The Court will not decide which party was right and, by entering into this Settlement, neither side is making any concession or admission. Rather than continuing the lengthy litigation which had an uncertain outcome, both sides accepted a mediator's proposal for settling the case to ensure a resolution and to provide benefits to Settlement Class Members. The Washington State Department of Retirement Systems (the "Department") has agreed, subject to approval by the Court, to settle claims relating to the calculation of interest on individual account balances that were:
Class Member definition: All (a) persons who transferred Accumulated Contributions from PERS Plan 2 to PERS Plan 3 with a transfer date through the date on which the Court enters the Preliminary Approval Order, (b) persons who transferred Accumulated Contributions from TRS Plan 2 to TRS Plan 3 with a transfer date from January 20, 2002 through the date on which the Court enters the Preliminary Approval Order; (c) persons who withdrew Accumulated Contributions from PERS Plan 2 from January 20, 2002, through the date of the Preliminary Approval Order, and (d) persons who withdrew Accumulated Contributions from TRS Plan 2 from January 20, 2002, through the date of the Preliminary Approval Order; provided, however, that any person who withdrew Accumulated Contributions as described in items (c) or (d) above and subsequently restored the withdrawn contributions to the account from which they were withdrawn on or before the date of the Preliminary Approval Order, is not a Settlement Class Member by virtue of that withdrawal.
Details regarding the settlement are found in these documents:
The Notice of Settlement summarizes the proposed Settlement. Please print it out and read it carefully. You can also obtain a copy of the Settlement Agreement by calling 1-866-904-2636 (toll free) or (360) 664-7960 (Olympia area). If you have any questions, please email the lawfirm. Please do not call the office.
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