First Responders Spared from Proposed State Retirement Changes
March 31st, 2021 by Mike Vasilinda
Legislation revamping the state retirement system is scheduled to be heard both Wednesday and Thursday, setting it up for a Senate floor vote.
The bill is undergoing significant changes.
It will no longer require all new hires to go into a 401(k)-style investment plan.
Amendments offered Wednesday strip out law enforcement and other first responders who are in what is known as the ‘special risk’ class.
Senate Sponsor Ray Rodrigues said keeping them in the plan is good for the first responders and the plan.
“Their careers are physically and mentally more demanding than regular class employees, which leads to shorter careers, which gives them less time to build up the savings in a defined contribution plan. And the second part of that, according to the actuary, they have shorter lives post retirement. So what we want to do is have a plan that is fair to our special risk employees,” said Rodrigues.
With the change, new hires that are not special risk will only be allowed to join the state investment plan, which is also known as a defined contribution plan.
Posted in State News | 
No Comments »