Friday, April 26, 2024

PERS "Reform" Bill Passes Senate

Update (4/27/24): The bill passed the House with only one vote case in opposition.  

PERS "reform" is alive and well in the Mississippi Legislature.  The Senate passed SB #3231 this afternoon.  Highlights of the bill are: 

* Rescinds the 2% increase in the employer contribution rate scheduled to take place on July 1.  

* "on July 1 of each year from 2024 through 2028, the employer's contribution rate shall be increased by one-half percent (1/2%)."  That language translates to a 2.5% increase from the current 17.4% employer contribution rate.  
* Only the legislature can alter the employer contribution rate.  

*  The PERS Board must obtain two separate actuarial assessments before it can recommend an increase in the employer contribution rate to the legislature.  The reports must be submitted to the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Chairmen of the House and Senate Appropriations committees. 
* The bill will not affect the benefits of current retirees. 


The bill was assigned to the State Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives where it awaits further action.  

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can kicked——

Anonymous said...

Reform my ass. They caved to the mayors.

Anonymous said...

I’m no economist, but if Republicans want to get more Democratic votes then maybe they should explain how Biden wanting to raise the capital gains tax to 44 percent on some people will likely hurt the stock market and therefore likely hurt their pensions.

I mean, I can’t see the future.

Anonymous said...

0% chance it will pass the House

Anonymous said...

Mend it or end it. Where are the adults in the room?

MS Legislature is filled with pathetic, simpering children.

Anonymous said...

Attn 12:00 AM Do you have any idea of the intelligent levels of the members of both state houses?.

Anonymous said...

6:28
So just don’t do anything? Ok …..

Anonymous said...

End or amend the 13th check as it is unreasonable to be put on the back of taxpayers! No other companies write check like that!

Anonymous said...

Ducklings following a goose. The whole bunch has laid an egg.

Anonymous said...

It's so like Kingfish to call this 'reform'.

He and the usual 'haircut' guy are so very disappointed.

Anonymous said...

@1:24, where have you worked that you're not familiar with annual raises. They're common in the private sector, but not in the public sector.

As a PERS retiree, I can remember, before retirement, going 8 years at a time with no salary increase and then it was often fifty bucks a month increase, which after taxes, was a dollar a day.

Anonymous said...

At some point, the Plan will run out of money and the state will default on its pension debt to current and past employees. The blame will lie with this legislature for not finding its contractual obligations.

Anonymous said...

Mississippi Government: of the parasites, by the parasites, and for the parasites.

Anonymous said...

"Parasites"?

Remember your characterization the next time you call an ambulance, need a policeman at the site of your wreck, head over to UMMC for trauma care, meet with your child's teacher to discuss F grades or wait for test results in order to stop boiling your water.

Anonymous said...

Yes, it’s fundamentally unfair that the political class has facilitated a financially unsustainable pension scheme for themselves and other government workers that is far more generous than what the vast majority of private sector workers receive. This scheme is backed by the full faith and credit of the state government. This means that taxpayers that must save for their own retirement are on the hook for the retirement of a privileged class of workers. It is by its nature parasitic.

Anonymous said...

And as we found out during Covid and the subsequent raging inflation. The occupations you reference aren’t anymore critical than everyone else. The assertion that public employees should hold some special status in our society is extremely condescending. Everyone that works is important, and we should avoid pretending that public employees are more deserving of a decent standard of living and special protections from inflation than others.

Anonymous said...

1:30 You and each employee had an opportunity to seek other employment opportunites so why should tax payers pick up your tabs? Since you did not work in private sector, how do you know what our raises were?

Typo Police said...

The bill passed the House with only one vote CASE in opposition.

"Case" should be "cast."

Anonymous said...

PERS should be frozen. 13th check eliminated. Current participants should be rolled into a defined contribution plan. State workforce needs a 10% headcount reduction.

Anonymous said...

1:18 asked, "Since you did not work in private sector, how do you know what our raises were?"

After state retirement I worked in the private sector for another 22 years. Part of my duties involved local, area, state and regional wage and salary benefit surveys on an annual basis. I was also involved in developing compensation tables for the three corporations which employed me.

Anonymous said...

"PERS should be frozen. 13th check eliminated. Current participants should be rolled into a defined contribution plan. State workforce needs a 10% headcount reduction."

Thanks for dropping by Delbert. But I thought you knew more about contract law.



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