Daily Briefs . . .

 General Retirement System to host informational meetings for retirees after Detroit bankruptcy

The General Retirement System will hold two town-hall meetings on the same day — Wednesday, Dec. 17 — to provide information to employees and  retirees on the impact of the Plan of Adjustment on retirement benefits from the General Retirement System. These meetings will address the loss of COLA, benefit reductions, ASF Recoupment, and the Benefit Restoration and Income Stabilization Programs. 

The first session will be held from 2-4 p.m. at Fellowship Chapel, 7707 W. Outer Dr., in Detroit. A second meeting will be held 6-8 p.m. at Renaissance Unity Church, 11200 East 11 Mile in Warren.
It is estimated that about 20,000 retirees from the General Retirement System of the City of Detroit and the Detroit Police and Fire Retirement System will be affected by pension deductions brought on in Detroit’s bankruptcy plan. 
 
These changes will go into effect on the effective date of the Plan of Adjustment and are expected to be implemented in the March, 2015 benefit payments.

“We are very concerned that our retirees receive all the information they need to help prepare for the economic impact they may experience when the POA goes in to effect.  We will be prepared to answer  their questions and have people on hand to help with the Income Stabilization Fund program applications for those retirees who may qualify,” General Retirement System Spokeswoman Tina Bassett said. 

Information regarding the timeline for pension reductions and the annuity recoupment process will be discussed during the information meetings.

For more information, visit the General Retirement System of the City of Detroit website at www.rscd.org.
 

After power outage, closing arguments scheduled for next week in Bashara trial 

DETROIT (AP) — Closing arguments are scheduled for next week in the trial of a Detroit-area man charged with arranging his wife's murder in 2012.
 
Bob Bashara, a former Rotary Club president, is accused of getting a handyman to kill his wife, Jane Bashara of Grosse Pointe Park. Prosecutors called their final witness on Monday. They say Bob Bashara wanted to clear the way for relationships with other women.

Bashara is in prison for trying to have handyman Joe Gentz killed. Gentz is in prison after pleading guilty to strangling Jane Bashara.

The case returned Tuesday to Wayne County Circuit Court in Detroit, but a power outage forced the courthouse to be shut down. Closing arguments are planned for next Monday, with each side getting two hours.

The trial started in October.
 

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