Report by Paula Antolini
February 2, 2017 2:28PM EDT
Rep. Duff Votes to Reject Governor’s Pension Agreement
Feb. 2, 2017 – HARTFORD – State Representative Will Duff (R-2) today voted against Governor Dan Malloy’s pension funding agreement with state employees’ unions to restructure pension payments. Will joined most of the House Republican caucus and one Democrat in opposition to the agreement, which passed in the House of Representatives by a narrow 76-72 vote and later in the State Senate after Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman broke a 17-17 tie vote.
The governor’s plan is to extend the financing of the State Employee’s Retirement System (SERS) unfunded liability from 2032 to 2046, Republican lawmakers from both the House and Senate Chambers had released data obtained from two actuarial analyses that show pairing pension finance changes with modifications to state employee benefits could increase the solvency of the state pension plan. With this report, Republican leaders in the House and Senate shared how additional, more effective and acceptable steps can rebalance the state’s unfunded pension liabilities.
“The proposed pension plan put forth today by the governor and union leaders will stretch payments out for another 15 years, cost Connecticut taxpayers an additional $11 billion. This is the kind of reckless financial decision that Connecticut taxpayers are sick and tired of,” Rep. Will Duff said. “Bad deals like this are why residents continue to flee our great state for lower cost states.”
Information includes:
- An analysis from the Reason Foundation modeling changes to SERS that could be added to the SEBAC agreement funding policy changes including: adopting a defined contribution retirement plan for new hires , increasing employee pension contributions to 4%, and capping cost of living adjustments to 2% – which would save state taxpayers approximately $100 million annually, saving $2.2 billion over 20 years.
- An analysis from the nonprofit Pew Charitable Trusts showing the reduction in unfunded liability that could be achieved by contributing $200 million more annually. Pew confirmed that if the $200 million is sent back into the fund it would cut 7 years off the length of the refinancing, thereby saving taxpayers billions in future payments.
- Comparison of Unfunded Liability Reduction Chart
- State Pension Contribution Comparison
- Pension Integrity Project
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Rep. Duff represents the 2nd General Assembly district communities of Bethel, Danbury, Redding and Newtown.