The Butler County retirement board on Tuesday deferred changing the method to calculate contributions to the pension fund.

County Commissioner Leslie Osche, board chairman, said she was not opposed to making the switch, but needed more information before proceeding.

“I would be interested in seeing what that would look like in numbers,” Osche said.

She stressed a change could not be made without the money to do it.

County Controller Ben Holland, who also is a board member, proposed ending the practice of following a state law that allows counties and municipalities to make lower pension fund contributions.

Act 44 of 2009 permits lower contributions than normally required to provide short-term fiscal relief following the 2008 economic downturn. The county started making the adjusted contributions in 2010.

Holland calculated the county contributed roughly $4 million less than it should have between 2010 and 2015.

Under the Act 44 method, the county would contribute $6.3 million into the fund this year. Switching back to the standard method would increase the contribution to $7 million.

Holland said Beaver is the only other fourth-class county using the Act 44 method.

Consultant Jennifer Brozstek of AndCo Consulting, formerly the Bogdahn Group, said the county could transition out of the Act 44 method.

“Instead of making a hard cut, you do it in steps,” Brozstek said.

County Commissioner Kim Geyer said more financial information is needed before the Act 44 method is dropped.

“We need to come up with that money in our budget,” Geyer said.

The board agreed to stick with the Act 44 method until more information is obtained through an actuary search process.

Although the board awarded a one-year contract to the Korn Ferry Hay Group, it also voted to seek requests for proposals from actuaries for 2018.

Holland said the actuary had not been addressing losses incurred in the plan.

County Treasurer Diane Marburger pointed out the former Hay Group also was using 2000 mortality tables for calculations.

Geyer agreed it was time for a change.

“We need to get an RFP for a new actuary,” Geyer said.

While board members agreed to make an actuary change, they concluded it could not be done until 2018.

County solicitor Mike English explained there can be no gaps for having an actuary. Korn Ferry offered a one-year agreement.

The board also decided to defer a cost of living adjustment for retirees until a new actuary is picked.

The pension fund, which is mainly in the form of investments, rose from $187 million in October to $190 million as of Friday.

Holland said in an interview the stock market was strong at the end of 2016.

“It’s just a continuation of the bull market,” he said.

As of Dec. 31, there were 568 employees in the pension plan and 588 retirees or beneficiaries receiving monthly payments.

The monthly total of those payments averaged $884,809 for 2016.