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Vermont Task Force Preparing To Issue Final Report

  • By: admin
  • On: 12/16/2021 09:42:26
  • In: News
  • Comments: 0

In December, the Vermont Pension Benefits, Design & Funding Task Force is preparing to issue a final report containing recommendations on the benefits, design, and funding of retirement and retiree health benefit plans for state employees and teachers.
 
 

Vermont Task Force Preparing To Issue Final Report


In December, a Vermont task force is preparing to issue a final report containing recommendations on the benefits, design, and funding of retirement and retiree health benefit plans for state employees and teachers.

The report, which will culminate meetings and public hearings that have been ongoing since July to collect stakeholder feedback, is expected to set the stage for action during the 2022 legislative session.

Unfunded liabilities in Vermont's pension system are projected to increase by over $600 million between state employees and teachers next year, according to the Pension Benefits, Design, and Funding Task Force.

In April, the legislature formed the task force after a public pension overhaul bill attracted a strong backlash from teachers and employees, including public demonstrations in opposition. As a result, the legislature pulled back on a plan that would have had teachers working longer into their retirement, among other unpopular features, saying that more study was needed.

In an interview with WFFF-TV in Burlington, task force member Kate McCann said many principles had guided the task force. These include “honoring state commitments to employees, pension system sustainability, minimizing impacts of any changes to employees who are near retirement, making no changes to already retired employees, and ensuring that employees don't have to work longer to qualify for a benefit,” said McCann, who is a teacher in Montpelier.

McCann added that Vermont's current budget surplus creates an opportunity to stabilize pensions by putting as much one-time funding as possible toward reducing unfunded liabilities.

She said the concept of later retirement ages had not been scrapped, but if adopted, there needs to be more carrot and less stick in the approach. McCann said that the task force has “looked at ways to incentivize people to work just a little longer if they choose to,” McCann said. “This must be a choice and would be awarded some additional benefit.”


You might also be interested in: City of Milwaukee's Pension System Task Force Identifies 12 Ideas To Address Financial Challenges; Teacher Backlash Halts Pension Reform in Georgia
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