Welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Pensions! 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.
Alaska Governor Vetoes Critical Pension Restoration Bill
On Monday, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy vetoed House Bill 78, which would have established a defined-benefit retirement system for state and local government employees, offering a pension option to teachers, firefighters, law enforcement officers, and other critical workers in Alaska for the first time in over 20 years.
The bill, which was delivered to the Governor on April 30, became a linchpin in negotiations over tax breaks for a new gas pipeline. Dunleavy had made it clear to the legislature that without a pipeline-bill concession, he would not sign the pension bill into law. Ultimately, an agreement was not reached.
House Majority Leader Chuck Kopp, who led negotiations with the Governor’s office, said, “The House was in a position to send over a good gasline bill. The governor simply did not care because he had to have it in the bag. To me, that’s disappointing, and to me that was very shortsighted.”
Efforts to overturn the veto were unsuccessful, despite polling indicating 68% public approval. Dan Doonan, Executive Director of the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS), wrote in a press statement, “Alaska’s effort to restore a pension plan for public workers represents meaningful progress in addressing one of the state’s most pressing challenges: attracting and retaining a stable, experienced public workforce.”
He continued, “While Governor Dunleavy has vetoed the legislation, the fact that the measure passed both the House and Senate demonstrates a growing recognition that retirement benefits are not just about retirement security — they also are an essential workforce management tool.”
Efforts to restore a pension option in Alaska have been ongoing since lawmakers voted to close the previous pension system in 2005, following several years of actuarial misguidance. Since then, public-sector vacancy rates have climbed steadily, and the teacher turnover rate has reached 30%–nearly triple the national average.
NPPC recognizes and honors Representative Chuck Kopp and Senator Cathy Giessel as champions of HB 78, along with the many labor leaders and public employees whose advocacy and hard work were instrumental in the most successful efforts to date to restore retirement security for Alaska workers.
New Hampshire Firefighters Support Incumbent Governor After Pension Fix
The Professional Firefighters of New Hampshire (PFFNH) voted unanimously to endorse Governor Kelly Ayotte in her bid for reelection this year, citing her support in reversing pension cuts that were made in 2011.
Growing concerns about the long-term cost of the retirement system led New Hampshire legislators to reduce pension benefits for Group II public employees more than a decade ago. Still, public safety officials have decried the decision as damaging to the recruitment and retention of firefighters and first responders.
In addition to the pension benefit restoration for most — but not all — of those who had them cut in 2011, Governor Ayotte supported the Firefighters First Cancer Screening Initiative, first responders’ mental health initiatives, improvements to workers’ compensation coverage for post-traumatic stress disorder, and enhancements to the state’s “Move Over” law.
“Kelly Ayotte has always fought for New Hampshire firefighters and our families,” said PFFNH President Brian Ryll at a press conference. “From delivering on her promise to restore retirement benefits to launching the Firefighters First Cancer Screening Initiative, Gov. Ayotte continues to ensure we have the support we need on and off the job.”
Tim Hill: Not Abstract Debates, Pensions Foundational to Retirement Security
In a column for The Hill this week, Tim Hill, president of the Alliance for Prosperity and a Secure Retirement and an International Association of Fire Fighters Pension Resources Department representative, addressed the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Energy Discrimination Elimination Act, calling it a “victory for Oklahoma retirees.”
The Energy Discrimination Elimination Act, which would have forced state entities, including the state’s retirement systems, to divest from certain financial companies, specifically based on Environmental Social Governance, or ESG, was ruled unconstitutional by the court this spring. Hill commends the court for upholding the rationale that pension funds serve the sole purpose of delivering reliable returns, managed by risk and performance.
“For teachers, firefighters, police officers, and other public employees, pensions aren’t abstract policy debates. They are the foundation of retirement security after decades of demanding, often physically and emotionally taxing work,” Hill writes. “Many of these workers retire earlier than the average American, and they depend on their pensions to sustain them. That promise of a secure retirement depends on one thing above all else — that pension funds are managed with a singular focus on financial outcomes.”
Westport, Connecticut, Moves Forward with Police Pension Improvements
Revisions to the Westport police retirement plan, which would raise benefit payouts and lower retirees’ share of health care premium costs for officers hired within the past nine years, have gained committee approval and will now face a vote in the Westport Representative Town Meeting (RTM). The new five-year agreement will bring benefit improvements for approximately one-third of the staff.
Like several other municipalities in Connecticut, including Trumbull and West Haven, Westport moved its employees to a defined contribution plan following the Great Recession of 2007-2009. The change has contributed to critical vacancies within the police department, as law enforcement professionals sought better retirement benefits in neighboring departments.
Westport First Selectman Kevin Christie said the contract gives “public safety professionals one less thing to think about. There is so much risk inherent in their day job that they don’t want to have additional inherent risk when they’re done, when they retire.”
Ohio Federation of Teachers’ Melissa Cropper on the“Midnight Raid” of the Teachers’ Pension Board
This week, Ohio Federation of Teachers (OFT) President Melissa Cropper went on the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the pressing legislative issues educators are facing in the Buckeye State, including the ongoing litigation against Governor Mike DeWine’s 11th-hour budget maneuver aimed at reducing the number of elected educator representatives on the STRS Board.
Cropper discussed the preliminary injunction ruling in OFT’s lawsuit against the state, which has kept the law from taking effect until the case gets underway in September. She also discussed the recently introduced House Bill 719, which would restore the board’s composition to its pre-budget-amendment state.
Follow this link to hear the whole episode.
Be sure to check back next Friday for the latest news in the fight for a secure retirement! For now, sign up for NPPC News Clips to receive daily pension news from across the country directly to your inbox.