Michigan will combine four pension plans into one system

Michigan’s Office of Retirement Services has accepted delivery of the first stage of a $25.2 million public retirement system for its Office of Retirement Services, the agency said. Under the Vision ORS project, the agency will integrate four public pension plans into one system.Covansys Corp. of Farmington Hills, Mich., is carrying out the three-stage upgrade using its Clarety software. ORS and Covansys expect to complete the project next year, they said.The system provides online pension account management and benefit payment functions and will be integrated with customer service management software and digital document imaging, as well as workflow and office automation systems. The goal of the project is to increase the speed and accuracy of benefits payments, officials said.The ORS reported more than $45 billion in assets as of September 2001 and provides services to nearly 534,000 current and former state employees, Covansys said.