Pension Fund

The Washington County Commissioners on Tuesday voted against renewing the contract of the firm that manages the county's $31 million pension plan, choosing instead to invite other companies to bid on the contract. INVESCO Capital Management Inc., which manages the fund now, became embroiled in controversy last year when it invited three county officials to attend The Masters golf tournament. --cont from news -- Commissioner John S. Shank, who proposed asking for new bids, said in an interview that his motion had nothing to do with the golf trip.

tammyb@herald-mail.com ANNAPOLIS - Local legislators insist there will be issues on the table other than politics during the upcoming General Assembly session, which begins Wednesday. "I guarantee you close to 1,500 pieces of legislation will get passed and a lot of work will get done," said Del. Christopher B. Shank, R-Washington. "There's a great deal of important heavy lifting to be done. " Not that other issues can't turn political in an election year, or even a nonelection year - witness the medical malpractice wrangling last year, in which partisan squabbling during a December special session overshadowed the regular session that began two weeks later.

W.Va. author offers retirement advice By DAVE McMILLION / Staff Writer, Charles Town photo: JOE CROCETTA/ staff photographer SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Local financial writer Ellen Hoffman has released her second book to help people deal with the often intimidating task of managing their financial future. continued Hoffman, who gives advice on how to understand pension plans, 401(k) plans, the stock market, insurance and Social Security, has been crisscrossing the country promoting her latest book, "The Retirement Catch-Up Guide," since it arrived in bookstores two months ago. Hoffman has been featured in newspapers such as the Los Angeles Times and on television and radio shows from New York to Minnesota.

By JULIE E. GREENE and GUY FLETCHER Staff Writers Hagerstown Mayor Steven T. Sager will meet with Maryland House of Delegates Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. and other state officials next week to seek a solution to the city's $9.96 million debt to the state retirement system. "There may be some ray of hope here," Sager said Wednesday after participating in a conference call with Taylor, D-Allegany, and other state and local officials. The meeting was arranged after Del. John P. Donoghue, D-Washington, met with Taylor for about an hour on Wednesday to discuss the pension debt.

The Postal Service has been in the news a lot lately, and for good reason. The Postal Service has lost billions of dollars while losing market share to electronic forms of communication. But this is not entirely the fault of the Post Office or the Internet. In 2006, Congress passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (PAEA), a bill that was supposed to help the Post Office compete with private delivery services and be more responsive to public needs.  Unfortunately, many provisions in the bill have been the source of the problems the Postal Service is now facing.

Washington County Republican Del. Andrew A. Serafini on Tuesday described the newly minted state pension agreement "a good first step. " State lawmakers reached a deal Monday on changes to the pension plan, as well as health-care coverage for retired state employees and their families. Maryland's unfunded liabilities are estimated at $19 billion for pensions and $16 billion for retiree health coverage. As of June 2010, the state's pension system was funded at about 64 percent; 80 percent is considered a safe level.

"There happens to be nothing wrong with loud music in church. I've been employed for several years at a quiet church, and it's all I can do to sit and be quiet, because God didn't make me a quiet person. God made me a loud person. It says right in the Bible that we should shout and praise God with our hearts and our voices. Why must we continue to sit in a quiet church? I don't know, the churches need to get a life, really, and they need to realize it's OK to be loud sometimes. " — Hagerstown "In regards to this morning's paper, the article on the pension deal, and I quote where it says he said, — Only some of the money taken in through increased contributions will go to the pension fund.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. --A Martinsburg woman is accused of embezzling $31,766 from an employee pension plan of am Eastern Panhandle-area business, according to U.S. Attorney Betsy Jividen's office. An indictment filed last week in U.S. District Court in Martinsburg alleges Sherry Lynn Hill embezzled and stole the money from Stinger Sheet Metal Inc. of Kearneysville, W.Va. from Jan. 1, 2006, through Dec. 31, 2008. The grand jury indictment also includes a forfeiture count wherein the government intends to seek the forfeiture of any property constituting or derived from proceeds traceable to such offense and a money judgment in the amount of what was allegedly taken, according to a press release from Jividen's office.

ANNAPOLIS (AP) -- The value of Maryland's public pension fund has fallen by more than 20 percent over the past year. The stocks and other investments held by the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System hit a peak of $40.9 billion in 2007. But state officials say it had shrank to $28.5 billion as of June 30. The drop could force the state to dedicate additional money to cover employee retirement costs. Dean Kenderdine, executive director of the pension system, says the news could have been worse.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - A fight over pension funds has led 15 War Memorial Hospital employees to file a lawsuit against the hospital in Morgan County Circuit Court. The suit was filed Tuesday against the hospital and its board of directors, hospital president John H. Borg and Valley Health Systems Inc., the firm that manages War Memorial Hospital. The hospital is owned by Morgan County. The lawsuit is asking for "an amount in excess of $1 million in compensatory and punitive damages, plus interest, costs and attorney fees.