Minnesota State Colleges and Universities locating an eligible person's missing IRAP account or pay the eligible person $25,000 requirement provision
Summary
SF1213 requires Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (Minnesota State) to address a specific missing retirement account issue involving the higher education individual retirement account plan (IRAP). The bill applies to one identified eligible person: a former Winona State University employee who worked there from July 1, 1991, through June 30, 1996, and who has pay stubs showing payroll deductions for IRAP contributions in the early 1990s. Those pay stubs are deemed adequate proof that contributions were withheld and should have been deposited into the person’s IRAP account.
Within 60 days after the law takes effect, Minnesota State must either locate the person’s IRAP account and provide account-holder information, contribution and earnings records, and access instructions, or pay the person $25,000. The bill takes effect the day after final enactment and is framed as overriding any conflicting state law for this narrow circumstance.
Impact
The bill would create a targeted statutory obligation for Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and the board of trustees overseeing IRAP under Minnesota Statutes chapter 354B. It does not broadly amend retirement law for all employees; instead, it establishes a one-time, individualized remedy tied to a specific former employee and a specific set of payroll deduction records. If enacted, it would require either account recovery efforts or a direct payment from the institution/system, potentially setting a precedent for legislative intervention in unresolved public retirement account disputes.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee testimony or votes in the provided materials, the measure appears to be a narrow corrective bill rather than a controversial policy overhaul. Its tone is remedial and claimant-focused, suggesting support for resolving a long-standing administrative or recordkeeping problem. Because no vote history or discussion transcript is available, there is no documented opposition or support to gauge beyond the bill’s straightforward structure.
Contention
The main point of contention is likely the bill’s highly specific, person-targeted mandate: it compels Minnesota State either to locate an account from decades ago or to pay a fixed $25,000 amount. That raises questions about proof standards, administrative responsibility for old payroll records, and whether the legislature should direct relief for a single individual through statute. Another possible issue is the bill’s use of a “notwithstanding any state law to the contrary” clause, which could be seen as overriding ordinary retirement-account procedures and creating a special remedy outside normal claims processes.
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