On February 10, 2025, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed an Executive Order establishing the Iowa Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Task Force. Framed as a panel to “improve effectiveness and efficiency in government at all levels,” the task force was established with sweeping authority, but without a single representative from organized labor at the table.
DOGE is an acronym that rightfully scares public workers
The Iowa DOGE task force aims to run government like a business, according to its chairperson. It is based on Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and thus modeled on the executive branch’s current attacks on the federal workforce. Considering that the flagship of the DOGE franchise has had devastating consequences for public employees and their retirement security, public employees should be wary of these state DOGE groups.
DOGE has caused mass layoffs at federal agencies, which have pushed longtime workers out just before they qualify for the full pensions they have been contributing to, resulting in a significant reduction in their retirement income by thousands of dollars each month. It is fair to ask whether the states that have established DOGE groups share the same motives, given, for example, that Iowa’s literal DOGE goal is “refining” the public workforce.
If Iowa leaders aim to make state government function more like a business, who would yield the profits? In the case of DOGE in DC, it appears Musk is the profiteer. According to Yahoo Finance, congressional reports indicate his corporations were shielded from $2.37 billion in liability through DOGE’s regulatory changes earlier this year.
Cryptocurrency is also central to the overall DOGE brand. In fact, the acronym DOGE itself, according to Reuters, is a purposeful reference to the Dogecoin cryptocurrency that Musk promotes. There are 26 such state-level “departments” sharing this troubled namesake, operating in over half of the states. At the same time, pension funds are facing growing pressure to invest in these volatile cryptocurrencies, thereby exposing retirement savings to unnecessary risk. Together, these DOGE attacks undermine the stability of public service careers and threaten the hard-earned benefits that millions of teachers, firefighters, and government workers depend on.
Iowa DOGE releases 45 recommendations.
On August 6, the Iowa DOGE Task Force unveiled 45 recommendations. Some of the recommendations were conventional, like cloud computing solutions and new pathways to jobs, including “apprenticeships, internships, and pre-apprenticeships.” Iowa task force member, former Fort Dodge Mayor Terry Lutz, said the working group recommended eliminating Iowa’s public employee pension plan, known as IPERS, and replacing it with a defined contribution program.
IPERS has been under threat before. In 2017, State Sen. Brad Zaun proposed placing new Iowa public employees into a defined contribution 401(k)-style retirement plan instead of IPERS.
Hands Off IPERS
Iowa’s public workforce responded immediately, noting the devastating impact eliminating IPERS would have on the pension that many public servants and their loved ones depend on. The Iowa AFL-CIO, AFSCME, and the Iowa State Education Association (ISEA) launched a “Hands Off IPERS” campaign, urging Iowans to contact their lawmakers to express their opposition to the proposal to eliminate IPERS.
“This proposal would strip away the retirement security public employees have earned through decades of service,” staff with AFSCME Local 61 wrote in a social media post.
In the Iowa Dispatch, legislative and policy director Melissa Peterson of the Iowa State Education Association noted that a transition to a defined contribution system for new employees would render the IPERS system unsustainable.
“If you think it’s difficult now to find a teacher or a corrections officer, go after their retirement, take off the table a defined benefit system, and you’re going to exacerbate the existing shortages we have,” Peterson said. “And, sadly, I think that that might be the intention of some of the people sitting around that table. They would like to eliminate our very good, stable, defined benefit system. Because they, as private entrepreneurs, don’t feel like they can compete with (IPERS).”
AFSCME Council 61 president Todd Copley said in an interview with KCCI, “They claim they want to be more similar to the private sector. In the private sector, the pay is a lot higher than a comparable job in the public sector. But the benefit is at the end of their career.”
“Without this benefit, it’s going to be even harder to attract and retain quality employees because we would be taking away one of the benefits of being a public worker, which is to have a secure retirement benefit,” Joshua Brown, Iowa State Education Association president, added.
“No interest” in changes to IPERs
The good news for public employees is that Iowa leaders quickly backed away from the idea of shuttering IPERs, many coming forward on social media in support of leaving the system as is. However, the issue remains on the table, as the DOGE task force recommendations will not be finalized until early September.
Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, issued a statement saying in part: “While I recognize concerns about IPERS, I want to reassure Iowans that I have no interest in making changes to it.”
Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, R-Grimes, mentioned that “No caucus members have come to me asking to make changes to IPERS.” Whitver also accused anyone saying significant changes are looming for Iowa pension systems of spreading “misinformation.”
According to Iowa Starting Line, Republican state Reps. Ray Sorensen of Greenfield, Ann Meyers of Fort Dodge, and Jason Gearhart of Strawberry Point all made posts to social media saying they’d heard from constituents and reiterated their opposition to the recommendation to eliminate IPERS.
Republicans aren’t the only ones expressing their support for IPERs. State Auditor Rob Sand said, “Look, these are teachers, they’re firefighters, they’re plow drivers, they’re police officers,” Sand said at the Iowa State Fair. “We have made this deal with them and, to me, when you make a deal, you made a deal and you stick with it.”
Writing for Bleeding Heartland, Urbandale Representative Larry McBurney wrote:
“The one tool local governments have to retain talent, once they’ve managed to bring someone on board, is IPERS. In conversations with teachers, police officers, city staff, and state employees, I’ve heard over and over that IPERS is the primary reason they stay in public service instead of seeking employment in the private sector. It is the one advantage left that makes the public sector competitive for skilled professionals.”
For her part, Governor Reynolds is backing away from the recommendations of the DOGE committee she created and has reiterated her support for those currently in IPERs. However, she remains open to closing the program for new enrollees.
“Not to touch anybody that’s in it, but to take a look at new people coming in,” Reynolds said. “…This is a very complex issue. It’s a very sensitive issue. I’m counting on it. My daughter, who is a teacher, is counting on it.”
The final Iowa DOGE report is expected to be released in September.
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