(a) The Retirement Board shall consist of seven members as follows: one member of the Board of Supervisors appointed by the President, three public members to be appointed by the Mayor pursuant to Section 3.100, and three members elected by the active members and retired persons of the Retirement System from among their number. The public members appointed by the Mayor shall be experienced in life insurance, actuarial science, employee pension planning or investment portfolio management, or hold a degree of doctor of medicine. There shall not be, at any one time, more than one retired person on the Board. The term of the members, other than the Board of Supervisors member, shall be five years, one term expiring on February 20 of each year. The three elected members need not be residents of the City and County. Vacancies on the Board shall be filled by the Mayor for the remainder of the unexpired term, except that in the case of elected employee members, a vacancy shall be filled by a special election within 120 days after the vacancy occurs unless the next regularly scheduled employee member election is to be held within six months after such vacancy occurred. Elections shall be conducted by the Director of Elections in a manner prescribed by ordinance.
(b) The Board shall appoint and may remove an executive director and an actuary. The executive director may be a joint Chief Executive Officer-Chief Investment Officer, or a Chief Executive Officer only. The Board may employ a consulting actuary.
Any executive director hired on or after January 1, 2023, shall be employed under an individual contract. Under the contract, the executive director’s compensation shall be comparable to the compensation of executive directors of public retirement systems in the United States who perform similar functions and that the Board, after an independent survey, determines most closely resemble the Retirement System in size, mission, and complexity. In addition, the Board may provide an incentive compensation bonus plan for the executive director based on performance goals established by the Board. For purposes of approving the executive director’s individual employment contracts, the Board may exercise all powers of the City and County, the Board of Supervisors, the Mayor, and the Director of Human Resources under Article XI of this Charter. The executive director’s individual employment contract shall not alter or interfere with the Retirement or Vacation provisions of this Charter or the Health Plans established by the City’s Health Service Board; provided however, that the Board may contribute toward defraying the cost of the executive director’s health premiums and retirement pick-up.
(c) In accordance with Article XVI, Section 17, of the California Constitution, the Retirement Board shall have plenary authority and fiduciary responsibility for investment of monies and administration of the Retirement System.
The Board shall be the sole authority and judge, consistent with this Charter and ordinances, as to the conditions under which members of the Retirement System may receive and may continue to receive benefits under the Retirement System, and shall have exclusive control of the administration and investment of such funds as may be established.
The Retirement Board shall discharge its duties with respect to the system with the care, skill, prudence and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent person acting in a like capacity and familiar with these matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims.
The Board shall determine City and County and District contributions on the basis of a normal contribution rate which shall be computed as a level percentage of compensation which, when applied to the future compensation of the average new member entering the System, together with the required member contribution, will be sufficient to provide for the payment of all prospective benefits of such member. The portion of liability not provided by the normal contribution rate shall be amortized over a period not to exceed twenty years.
(d) The Board may act by a majority of the members present at a meeting so long as a quorum is in attendance.
(Amended by Proposition A, Approved 11/8/2022)