State employee, retiree groups laud pension fix
State employee and retiree groups praised the Texas Houses plan for shoring up a debt-ridden pension fund at a public hearing Monday.
House Bill 9, filed by Pensions Committee Chairman Dan Flynn, R-Canton, would make the states second largest retirement fund actuarially sound meaning contributions and investment returns cover expenses and payouts by increasing contributions from both the state and active employees to 9.5 percent later this year.
The measure also stipulates a 2.5-percent, across-the-board pay raise to offset the cost of the increase.
An official from the Texas State Employees Union, which previously criticized the bill because it did not include a net gain in pay, praised it Monday for not cutting retirement benefits something he predicted competing proposals would do.
Read more: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/state-employee-retiree-groups-applaud-pension-fix/nkc9t/
Cross-posted in the Labor Movement Group.