CT State Reps. Brenda Kupchick & Laura Devlin Oppose Pension Agreement

From CT State Representatives: State Representatives Brenda Kupchick (R-132) & Laura Devlin (R-134) opposed a state employees’ pension refinancing agreement debated in the House of Representatives today Feb 1.

Initially represented as creating interim savings on the state’s unfunded pension liabilities, an actuarial analysis, actually revealed that the deal provides no savings over the term of the agreement, and lays an additional $11 Billion burden on Connecticut taxpayers over the lifetime of the new agreement.

The State House voted 76 to 72 to ratify the deal on a nearly party-line vote, while the State Senate voted 18-17 with Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman casting the tie-breaking vote in favor of the deal.

Rep. Kupchick said, “Unfortunately, the deal was negotiated without members from both sides. It only addresses the financing piece of Connecticut's long term fiscal crisis without making structural changes to the pension system or benefits that are unsustainable. Future taxpayers will now have to foot the bill, pushing pension burdens out into the future. This deal is like putting a band-aid on a wound that requires surgery".

“This agreement only exacerbates our long term debt and does nothing to address what is driving our pension problems and nothing to address the fiscal crisis our state faces. CT residents and businesses deserve better. What we really need is tangible, transparent state pension reform. Let’s bring everyone back to the table and move the conversation forward before more taxes are raised and companies forced to move out,” said Rep. Devlin.

Information attached includes:

• An analysis from actuaries at 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 the state approximately $100 million annually.

• An analysis from actuaries at the nonprofit Pew Charitable Trusts showing the reduction in unfunded liability that could be achieved with $200 million in state employee pension benefit changes. 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.

Image Courtesy Of CT State Reps