Sheriff sets record straight on pension - ABC 12 – WJRT – Flint, MI

(03/12/13) - A mistake made more than a decade ago might finally be close to resolution. It concerns the type of retirement saving plan Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell's was enrolled in when he first took office in 1999.

Under IRS rules, the Sheriff should not have been enrolled in two different plans. The IRS says you can't draw from two pensions coming from the same employer. The Sheriff says he never knew that.
    
With his attorney by his side, Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell sets the record straight.

"They've made mistakes in the way they handle his pension, the way they've handled his healthcare benefits. He does what he's suppose to do as an employee, and contributes all the way along, and a decade later somebody has a question about it," explained Attorney Tom Waun.

Pickell and his lawyer Tom Waun met with Genesee County officials Tuesday afternoon in an effort to resolve his pension problem. "We're talking about the best way to take care of this so everyone is treated fairly."

County Commission Chair Jamie Curtis admits the county made the original error. When Pickell took office in 1999, county management enrolled him in a defined contribution plan. It turns out he was ineligible for that plan because he was already receiving a pension from the county based on his previous employment with the Sheriff's Department. "He's not eligible for a defined contribution and defined benefit plan so we stopped contributions from going in there as we would any other employee. He's not a double dipper, he had no control of it."

Meanwhile, the Sheriff hopes to have the matter resolved soon. "It's unfair to portray him as doing anything improper. Bottom line is the Sheriff has always been above board, when their questions about this he's the one who started getting things moving, he's proactive," added Waun.

Ultimately the County Board of Commissioners will have to sign off on whatever agreement is made between the county and the Sheriff. Pickell's defined benefits plan remains unchanged.