Leonard Muzyn's TVARS Blog

The following rates were approved at the December 3, 2018 quarterly TVARS Board meeting per our elected Board members Jim Hovious, Sam DeLay and Mike Belcher.  They are effective January 2019: Retiree COLAs:  2.21% for original, cash balance, and supplemental pension benefits based on 2.46% CPI increase less 0.25%. Current Employee Interest Rates: 6.0% on Cash Balance accounts for those hired before January 1, 1996 based on 6.0% minimum. 4.75% on Cash Balance accounts for those hired on or after January 1, 1996 based on minimum of assumed investment return of 6.75% less 2.0%. 4.75% on fixed annuity accounts based on minimum of assumed investment return of 6.75% less 2.0%.

I served five consecutive three-year terms as an employee-elected director of the TVA Retirement System (TVARS) from November 1, 2003 through October 31, 2018. This blog contains my personal opinions and not official opinions of the full seven member TVARS board or TVA management. I worked very hard during my terms to keep TVA employees and retirees informed of matters that could affect their system and their benefits. I voted and campaigned against the two TVA last minute “take it or leave it” proposals for benefit reductions in 2009 and 2016. These were both approved by 4 to 3 votes without TVARS board deliberations, negotiations, or attempts to form a consensus. I repeatedly proposed proper funding per industry best practices and GAO recommendations, public board meetings, open elections among all retirees for the retiree 7th director position, and rules to keep board members free of conflicts of interest arising from contractual TVA relationships and TVA executive retirement be

Mike Belcher won the TVARS Board runoff election with more than 55% of the vote. Thank you Mike for running, and thank you everyone who voted! I am sure Mike will represent all of us well.

The TVARS Board has the power to reduce your TVA 401(k) match.  The TVARS Board has twice voted 4-3 to reduce pension benefits.  Reducing your 401(k) match is the obvious next lever to pull. An average of less than one of every three employees voted in the initial election this year for one of the three elected director spots on the TVARS Board.  The runoff election ends October 10th.  See election details here . Please encourage other employees to vote, especially those who have not been with TVA very long and may not realize that the TVARS Board controls the amount of their 401(k) match. It is important to elect someone who will work with Jim Hovious and Sam DeLay to protect your 401(k) benefits.  The term of the current seventh director ends October 31st.  The seventh director has been the fourth and deciding vote in reducing pension benefits.  Per TVARS rules, selecting a new seventh director requires four votes from the other six directors.  A current sitting seventh directo

Because no candidate received a majority of the votes cast in the initial election that ended September 5, a runoff election will be held between the two candidates who received the greatest number of votes, Michael Belcher and Julia Koella. Belcher received 840, and Koella received 1,227. Other candidates in the initial election and their vote totals were as follows: Robert E. (Eddie) DeBusk II, 431, and Daniel T. Kirk, 469. Click on the names below to view detailed information on the runoff candidates. Michael L. Belcher  – Reactor Unit Operator, TVA Nuclear, Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant Julia E. Koella  – Accounting Policy & Research Specialist, Corporate Accounting, Financial Services, Knoxville Election-America, Inc., an independent election firm, will mail election ballots to employees’ home addresses and will also email voting information to employees at work. Employees will be able to vote online or by phone during the runoff election that runs from September 24

At the September 12, 2018 TVARS Board meeting, Jim Hovious, Sam DeLay and I continued to push for much needed reforms.  The Board blocked all of our efforts with 4-3 votes.  In every case, the four person majority consisted of the retiree and the three TVA-appointed directors.  The retiree director phoned in for the official meeting, but as has often been the case, did not participate in any Board discussions prior to the official meeting.  The following reforms were either voted down or tabled by the retiree and the three TVA-appointed directors:  Election of the retiree director by all retirees Assure TVARS reaches full funded status per GAO recommendation Public TVARS Board meetings Prohibit the retiree director from TVA business relationships Disqualify any director who participates in TVA’s fully funded Executive Retirement Plan

The TVARS Board has the legal authority to initiate changes in the employee 401(k) match and pension benefits. Per decades old labor agreements, the TVARS Board is structured to give equal representation to labor and management. Of the seven member board of directors, three are employee-elected, three are management-appointed, and the seventh is selected by those six. Per these labor agreements, labor and management do not directly bargain for retirement benefits as long as this structure holds. If the structure is violated, labor has the right to directly negotiate for retirement benefits. TVA is implementing a plan which violates the structure of the TVARS Board with the support of the TVA Retiree Association (TVAR A ), current seventh TVARS Board Director Allen Stokes, and the three management-appointed TVARS Board directors. The TVAR A  is an influential retiree organization supported by management which has no legal authority over the 401(k) match or pension benefits. This plan

Allen Stokes, the retiree TVARS director, will have an opportunity to vote with the three TVARS elected directors on Tuesday to overturn the "term limit" rule . Allen Stokes, with support from someone in TVARA leadership (as evidenced by the May 9, 2018 letter from TVARA President DeWitt Burleson to CEO William Johnson and TVARS Chairman Brian Child ), voted for the term limit rule on June 15, 2018. Why would someone in TVARA leadership ask Allen Stokes to vote for a rule which eliminates the most knowledgeable and well-known champion of TVA retirees from the TVARS Board? Why would Allen Stokes vote for it even if asked? I can at least understand why Tammy Wilson, VP, Treasurer and CRO, Christopher Hinton, VP Compensation & Benefits, and Brian Child, Director of Forecasting & Financial Planning, voted for the "term limit" rule. They are ambitious, want to advance their careers, and do not want to jeopardize that by voting against CEO William Johnson's

To:  board@tva.gov July 24, 2018 Mary Margaret Painter TVA Senior Board Services Specialist Ms. Painter, This is a follow-up to my letter of July 20, 2018 . Please inform the TVA Board that I have reluctantly filed a whistleblower complaint against TVA for targeting me for removal from the TVARS Board of directors through passage of the following amendment to Section 3(2) of the TVARS rules: "An individual is eligible to serve as a director of the board (either elected, appointed, or selected) no more than three full 3-year terms. Any partial term less than 3 years for which an individual has been elected, appointed, or selected under the provisions of this section 3(2) for the unexpired portion of a predecessor’s term does not count toward this term limit of three full 3-year terms. Notwithstanding the above, any individual who has already served as a director for three full 3-year terms as of the effective date of this provision will be eligible to continue as a membe

I asked the TVA Board today to veto the amendment to Section 3(2) of the TVARS rules which disqualifies me from running in this year’s election. Please support my request by emailing the TVA Board at board@tva.gov . Please copy and paste one of the following or write your own: Please veto the amendment to Section 3(2) of the TVARS rules passed by the TVARS Board which unfairly targets Leonard and limits my choices. I would like the opportunity to vote for Leonard. Please veto the amendment to Section 3(2) of the TVARS rules passed by the TVARS Board with a 4-3 vote. TVARS hasn’t had term limits throughout its 79 year history. It shouldn’t adopt them now just to target Leonard! Thank You See my email to the TVA Board here . I tried to give a good overview of what is going on so the TVA Board members might better understand. This could also help you explain to others who are not very familiar with what is happening. Again, thank you all very much.

An agency of the U.S. government, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), was accused today of meddling in its employee election for an employee representative on its pension board. The TVA Retirement System (TVARS) Election Committee formally requested TVA's Inspector General to intervene on behalf of TVA employees to stop the attempt to disqualify an employee candidate "after the employee election was underway, throwing the employee election in chaos." TVA and the TVA Retiree Association, "neither of which represent employees, are seeking to change employee elections to deny employees their right to re-elect a long time TVARS board member who most employees know has served TVARS members well." The election committee also asked for funding of independent counsel to review the rule change "passed Ex Post Facto" to "deny both the candidate and the nominating employee’s due process in the TVARS election and should be illegal based on the United St

Please share with others and consider voting for me The voting period is August 20 - September 5  The TVARS board recently approved a term limit amendment to the rules by a 4-3 vote which attempts to disqualify me. Please do not let the confusion surrounding this amendment undermine the power of your vote. Please vote for me if you would like me to continue working for you. I am qualified to serve. My nominating petitions, signed by many of you, were accepted before this amendment was approved. The timing and effect of the approval of this amendment clearly demonstrate that: It is an ex post facto attempt to nullify my candidacy and remove me from the board with four votes instead of the legally required five. It is in retaliation for my providing information to the GAO team auditing TVA’s finances which clearly demonstrated the need for additional TVARS funding. TVA made an additional $500 million contribution in 2017 following the release of the GAO report to Congress in

The TVARS Board approved a July through August 2018 window during which Cash Balance employees who had less than 10 years of service as of 10/1/16 may elect to transfer their Cash Balance accounts to the 401(k). Cash Balance employees who had 10 or more years of service as of 10/1/16 may elect to receive 401(k) only benefits going forward. If they elect to receive 401(k) only benefits going forward, they may also elect to transfer their Cash Balance account to the 401(k). Please be careful and understand all that you are giving up if you make any of these elections. They are completely voluntary. No changes will be made if you do nothing. Look for a letter from Fidelity soon to explain this in more detail. Please study it carefully. Two different letters will be sent. One to those who had less than 10 years, and another to those who had 10 or more years. If you choose to make any changes, they will become effective October 1, 2018. I have put together below a list of frequen

The TVARS Board today approved a July through August window during which Cash Balance employees who had less than 10 years of service as of 10/1/16 may choose to transfer their Cash Balance accounts to the 401(k). Cash Balance employees who had 10+ years of service as of 10/1/16 may switch to receiving the 401(k) only benefit going forward. They also may choose to transfer their Cash Balance account to the 401(k) if they switch to receiving the 401(k) only benefit going forward. Please be careful and understand all that you are giving up if you make any of these elections. They are completely voluntary. No changes will be made if you do nothing. Look for a letter from Fidelity soon to explain in more detail. Two different letters will be sent. One to those who had < 10 years, and another to those who had 10+ years. If you choose to make any changes, they will become effective October 1, 2018. I am working with the TVARS staff on a list of frequently asked questions and answers t

The TVA Retirement System (TVARS or System) Board of Directors is now accepting resumes from TVA retirees interested in serving as the 7th member of the TVARS Board.  According to the TVARS Rules and Regulations, the 7th director must be a TVA retiree and is selected by a majority of the other 6 directors (3 of whom are elected by TVA employees and 3 of whom are appointed by TVA). The term of the current 7th director ends on October 31, 2018, and the position of the new 7th director will have a 3-year term from November 1, 2018, to October 31, 2021. However, the TVARS Rules provide a limited carryover period of up to one year for the current 7th director to continue in the event the TVARS Board is unable to select a new 7th director by the end of the sitting 7th director’s term. TVARS is a federal agency established by TVA in 1939 to provide retirement benefits for TVA employees, retirees and beneficiaries, and administers a defined benefit pension plan and a 401(k) plan. The TVARS B

The TVARA's May 9, 2018 proposal fails to address any of the concerns raised in the November 28, 2017 letter from the elected TVARS Board Directors . The TVARA proposal: Does not recommend giving retirees the right to vote for the next 7th Director Allows three TVA-appointed Directors to keep the current 7th Director an additional year (through October 31, 2019) simply by blocking the selection of other candidates Does not address any of the conflict of interest issues Does not address any of the funding issues Ignores the GAO recommendations on TVARS funding Allows TVARS meetings to continue behind closed doors Encourages the TVA-appointed Directors and current 7th Director to use their majority to mandate an end to my service on the board

I share Dennis’ concerns below. If anyone can think of another reason why TVA would want to extend the term of the 7th TVARS director with the particular rule change described below, please let me know. From: Dennis To [mailto:dpto19533@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, April 16, 2018 2:12 AM To: Dennis To Subject: Why the need for interim 7th director? At the tvars Board mtng on Oct 30, 2017, Wilson Taylor (TVA-appointed director) made a motion which was then approved by 4-to-2 majority vote.  This motion allowed Allen Stokes to stay on (for one year) as interim director until the 7 th director is selected by the tvars board.  Did Wilson make such a motion in the best interest of retirees?  Of course, not. That motion was clearly intended to serve some purpose of TVA.  The big question is, what is it for? There is a very serious implication behind this move.  For the entire history of tvars existence, I believe this is the first time ever that somehow there is a sudden ne

A motion was made in the March 29, 2018 TVARS Board meeting to fill the upcoming 7th director term through a retiree election.  The motion was defeated 3-3.  Sam, Jim and I voted YES.  Directors Stokes, Wilson and Taylor voted NO. A second motion was then made to begin the process of seeking candidates for the 7th director.  This motion passed 4-2.  Director Taylor joined the three of us in voting YES.  Directors Stokes and Wilson voted NO. The Board is working on a letter to be mailed soon to all retirees seeking nominations for the November 1, 2018 through October 31, 2021 term.  Interviews will then be conducted and the three elected and three appointed directors will make the selection. I strongly encourage all interested retirees to apply.

Mr. Burleson, Thank you for your response to our proposal. Please reconsider supporting retiree voting for the 7th director before the window on this opportunity closes. Four months have passed since we first informed you of our proposal and asked for your support. Time is now running short. If we let this opportunity pass, retirees will never again get another opportunity like it. The retiree 7th director’s next term begins November 1, 2018. Ideally, the board should begin planning for the election at this Thursday’s TVARS Board meeting in order for a retiree elected 7th director to be in place at that time. Since we informed you of our proposed accountability improvement plan in November, we have received positive feedback from several TVARA officers and many TVA retirees. We recently attended a TVARA event where support was strongly expressed for our plan, especially retiree voting for the 7th director. It is very clear to us that retirees want the opportunity to elect the ret

DeWitt Burleson, TVARA Valley Wide President TVARA Board Directors TVARA Chapter Officers Dear Mr. Burleson, Directors, and Chapter Officers, I am very grateful for the support many of you have expressed for Sam’s, Jim’s and my proposed TVARS 2018 Accountability Improvement Plan (AIP). The cornerstone of this plan is to have the 7 th director elected by the entire retiree population later this year. Now there are zero directors elected by the retirees. If we act quickly, we can get one this year. I believe we can all agree this has wide support among retirees. Some have suggested additional improvements, but I ask that we focus now on getting this one huge improvement accomplished. This is something very easy to implement in a timely fashion. All we need is one more vote on the TVARS Board. I am sure the current 7 th director, retiree Allen Stokes, would vote for this if the TVARA leadership united together and clearly communicated to him the wide support for it among r

The Sixth Circuit has issued their opinion against TVA employees and retirees by a 2-1 vote. See the opinion here .

To access the Court audio of the January 31, 2018 oral arguments in the TVARS case, click here and enter Case Number 17-5389. Then Submit Query. The lawyer for TVARS argued alongside TVA against employees and retirees. Unfortunately, the three elected TVARS Board members constitute a minority of the TVARS Board. This is yet another example of why we need to improve the accountability of TVARS to its members. We recently proposed an Accountability Improvement Plan (AIP) which includes election of the retiree board member by retirees, reducing conflicts of interest of the retiree board member, and open TVARS meetings. See our proposal here .