Let us be the latest, but certainly not last, to say that much of this past year has been remarkably unpleasant. But, 2020 also brought out many examples of the very best in us and our communities. And in the end, this optimism is what we choose to take with us into a new, and hopefully better, 2021.
2020 has been challenging, for sure, but there’s still much to celebrate. Here are some of the positives that we’ll carry forward to next year:
Our members stepped up big
This spring, when things were seemingly at their worst, public safety officers in Colorado (and elsewhere) responded in unprecedented fashion. You stepped up so big that we had to create a full-blown first responder appreciation post because we couldn’t share all the highlights individually.
From there, you continued to step up for your communities, completed some of the most enjoyable animal rescues of recent memory, and even saved Santa. This is, of course, all while simultaneously facing down the worst wildfire season in state history and the worst pandemic in our lifetimes.
Throughout 2020, FPPA had your back
Thanks to foresight by FPPA’s board and staff, our team was well equipped to maintain business continuity while working remote, from day one of the pandemic. After sending staff to work from home, we not only maintained our ability to work at full capacity, we found ways to enhance and expand outreach and connection with our members and employers.
Retiree benefit payments: reliable and on time
- FPPA completed 126,006 benefit payments to 10,377 retirees and beneficiaries
- Benefits paid in 2020 totaled $284,098,799
Retirement, disability and service credit approvals kept pace
- FPPA staff approved 238 retirement applications
- 177 Service Credit Purchases were completed
- Our Death & Disability team approved 57 disability and survivor benefits
Our staff pursued legislation to shore up and improve member benefits
- At the direction of FPPA’s Board of Directors, our staff presented a bill to the state legislature to make significant changes to FPPA plans
- Provisions of the bill included:
- Increased contributions to the Statewide Defined Benefit Plan (SWDB)
- An adjustment to the Board’s ability to modify contribution rates for the Statewide Death & Disability Plan
- Creation of the Rule of 80 in the SWDB Plan, allowing for a Normal Retirement as early as age 50 under certain conditions
- Conversion of member Separate Retirement Accounts to individual, self-directed investment accounts
- A change to the calculation of contributions to Old Hire Plans
- The legislation, HB20-1044, was signed into law on April 1, 2020
Member, employer outreach remained steady, with slightly different methods
- FPPA’s Field Education and Employer Outreach team completed 172 benefit meetings with 112 different departments across Colorado, despite working remote since mid-march
- The team also completed 32 educational meetings to review recent legislative changes and 40 reentry, affiliation, academy, employer and special request meetings
- FPPA completed and distributed two member and employer newsletters in 2020, including a special edition release in April
Educational webinars brought together members, employers, and staff
- FPPA held 12 educational webinars, with topics including:
- Managing anxiety in a pandemic
- Estate planning
- Preventing fraud and scams
- Retirement healthcare options
- Understanding Social Security
- FPPA’s 2020 Legislation
- Total webinar participants: 1,529
- Time watched: 74,440 minutes, or 1,241 hours, or 52 days of webinar content consumed
Staff, members and other stakeholders adopted new ways to stay in touch
- FPPA staff completed 7,517 Zoom meetings with 27,504 combined participants
- Time spent in Zoom meetings amounted to 969,211 minutes, or 16,153.5 hours, or 673 days, for our staff of 59 and other meeting participants
FPPA staff found a way to come together, even while apart
- FPPA staff continue to make wellness and connecting with each other a priority
- Despite working from home, we connected with zoom classes including: strength and conditioning, yoga, cooking classes and nutrition education
- Though the city of Thornton, our staff gave a family in need a holiday to remember by providing gifts and other resources
- 60% of staff participated in this year’s Virtual 9/11 Memorial Stair climb
- 89% of staff participated in our wellness program overall:
- We walked 71,812,271 total steps, for an average of 6,546 steps per day
- Total staff active minutes in 2020: 346,073, for an average of 31 per day, 216 per week
- We walked 33,138 miles averaging 3.03 per day per person
Whether it was through a benefit approval, an educational webinar or blog post, or even just a reassuring message that your retirement benefits are well protected during this challenging time, we hope that FPPA has been able to provide some sort of positivity throughout the year. And here’s to better days to come as we move forward into 2021.
Ryan Woodhouse is the Content and Publications Manager for the Fire & Police Pension Association of Colorado. When not creating content for FPPA, Ryan can be found fly fishing in the Colorado high country or shouting at the TV during University of Wisconsin football and basketball games.