Welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Pensions! As we do most weeks, we have gathered the best stories about pensions and retirement security from the previous week. This is the news you need to know in the fight for a secure retirement.
Here are this week’s top stories:
Carney: Bevin’s pension plan still short of votes by the Associated Press. This week, Governor Bevin made some changes to his pension bill, but House leaders are signingling that they still do not have the votes to pass his legislation. House Majority Floor Leader John Carney said that even with the governor’s changes “the vote count probably didn’t move.” At the end of the legislature’s session, a bill passed that would have violated the inviolable contract with public employees. Governor Bevin then vetoed the legislation vowing to call a special session. On July 1st, without a pension bill freezing contribution costs to the Kentucky Retirement Systems, state quasi-agencies will see their contributions increase to 83%, causing financial strain to much-needed agencies, including rape crisis centers.
Oregon pension reform bill taps workers to help reduce unfunded liabilities by Arleen Jacobius. Last week, the Oregon legislature passed a bill that would increase the contributions of some public employees to the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS). Under the new plan, which the governor is expected to sign, employees whose monthly salary exceeds $2,500 will pay 2.5 percent of their salaries to a “pension stability account,” which will be used to pay down the unfunded liability of the system. As a one of a kind system, legal challenges are expected. Additionally, at 80 percent funded, PERS is one of the best funded systems in the nation.
Be sure to check back next week for the latest news in the fight for a secure retirement!
