Update: Public Employees and Teachers Retirement
25 June 2006During the last year I have written a number of blog entries regarding Senate Bill 141 and the destruction of the Public Employees Retirement System and the Teachers Retirement System in the state of Alaska. I would like to give you an update now about the status of Senate Bill 141. This update comes from the most recent issue of RPEA news and was written by Sam Trivette, President of RPEA. I would like to add here that RPEA and Sam Trivette have been in the forefront of the fight against SB 141 in the attempt to protect the retirement for thousands of future public employees and teachers in the state of Alaska, and their families.
The SB 141 defined contribution plan is still on track to begin July 1, 2006. A bill designed to postpone implementation for one year did not pass both houses. The state does not yet have IRS approval for the plan to be tax exempt for either employee or employer contributions. What started as a 1-1/2 page “fix it” bill, grew to 34 pages and did not pass either. There is the possibility of a lawsuit to get an order to halt the implementation.
Legislation to set up an account to pay for the unfunded liability of the retirement systems was introduced but did not pass. No money was appropriated to pay down the unfunded liability, in spite of our efforts to support these solutions.
But this is not the end of the story. Last Friday, June 23, 2006, an article appeared on page B-4 of the Anchorage Daily News. The article was entitled, “Unions sue over pension plan.” Several Alaska labor unions representing state employees sued in order to stop the new retirement system, developed in Senate Bill 141, from being implemented July 1, because the new plan may not meet the requirements for Internal Revenue Service tax exemptions for qualified pension plans.
Stay tuned. This is a huge issue and it will not go away anytime soon. Senate Bill 141 was rushed, ill-conceived, mean-spirited, and will have a tremendous adverse impact on many thousands of Alaska and families in the coming years. I think the struggle for retirement security in Alaska, that is, retirement security for all Alaskans, is just beginning and will continue for a long time. Stay informed, and don’t be a bench warmer. ldw