SEVERAL CHANGES — many relating to early retirement — will be made to Council 2 members’ pension programs if a number of bills introduced in the state legislature this session become law.

The bills were introduced by the new 20-member Select Committee on Pension Policy, established last year, which provides a broader representation for union members’ views. Council 2’s Deputy Director Pat Thompson, who played a leading role in the new body's establishment, serves on the committee.

“These measures are clearly our biggest agenda item this year, “ Thompson said. “Being a new committee, we were very concerned about establishing our credibility with the members of the legislature.

“We wanted to make sure that the bills we referred to them were well received.”

It seems as though they succeeded. About two weeks before the session was due to end all seven bills had made it past the first cut-off date and were still alive and well. They all received unanimous support from either the Senate or the House or both.

“But none are signed into law yet and a lot can happen between now and the end of the session,” Thompson added.

The bills survived even though a larger volume of bills than normal characterized the 60-day session. The rush of measures likely was due to the fact that members of the legislature were trying to define their positions ahead of the elections later this year.

Here are details of the pension bills.

SB 6246/HB 2537
Establishes a Public Safety Employees’ Retirement System Plan II, which allows members a normal retirement age of 60 with 10 years of service and early retirement beginning at age 53.
Members with 20 years of service may retire early with a 3-percent-a-year reduction in their benefits.

The measure includes specific job classes — city corrections officers, jailers, police support officers, custody officers and bailiffs, county corrections officers, county probation officers and probation counselors, state correctional officers, correctional sergeants and community corrections officers, liquor enforcement officers, park rangers, commercial vehicle enforcement officers and gambling special agents.

SB 6251/HB 2535
Permits members of the Public Employees’ Retirement System Plan II and Plan III and the School Employees’ Retirement System Plan II and Plan III who qualify for early retirement or alternate early retirement to make a one-time purchase of up to five years of additional service credit.

SB 6252/HB 2536
Permits members of the Public Employees’ Retirement System Plan II and Plan III and the School Employees’ Retirement System Plan II and Plan III to buy down reductions made to pension benefits when a member retires before age 65.

SB 6253/HB 2538
Establishes a $1,000 minimum monthly benefit for Public Employees’ Retirement System Plan I members and Teachers’ Retirement System Plan I members who have at least 25 years of service and who have been retired at least 20 years.

SB 6248/HB 2539
Provides annual increases in retirement allowances.

SB 6247/HB 2540

Provides for vesting after five years of service in the defined benefit portion of the Public Employees’ Retirement System, the School Employees’ Retirement System, and the Teachers’ Retirement System Plan III.

SB 6249/HB 2541
Establishes an asset-smoothing corridor for actuarial valuations used in the funding of the state retirement systems.