The General Assembly finds and declares as follows: (1) This act contains both benefit and administrative pension changes. The benefit changes include an enhancement to the basic benefit formula, a reduction in the vesting requirement, the addition of a new class of benefits for legislators and a change to the current arrangement by which members can combine service credit with both the State Employees' Retirement System and the Public School Employees' Retirement System. (2) Over the past two decades, both pension funds have experienced investment returns well in excess of expectations. As a result, State and school district contributions have decreased dramatically to less than 1% of payroll for next year. At the same time, employee contributions range from 5% to 6.25% of payroll. The outstanding investment performance has resulted in the pension funds being over 123% funded, compared to current needs. The 4% statutory interest rate the employees receive on their pension accounts has consistently been eclipsed by the actual average returns of the funds over the last two decades and also has been less than available private market interest rates. The fact that employees have been and are projected to continue to contribute at a rate that is materially greater than the employers due to the more than 100% funded status of the plans raises the issue of the extent to which employees should be provided additional benefits. The increase in benefits for State and school employees provided herein will in effect allow them for the first time to share in the outstanding investment performance of the funds. To date, that experience has only benefited the employers through reduced contributions to the funds. Even with the increases in benefits provided herein, both pension funds are projected to maintain minimal employer contribution rates and at the same time maintain a fully funded status. For at least the next decade, members are projected to continue to contribute at a rate substantially in excess of that required from the employers. (3) A major change in the manner in which benefits are funded is warranted. Currently, gains or losses related to the funding for benefits are spread over a 20-year time frame. Under this proposed change, these gains or losses will now be spread over a shorter time frame, that being ten years, increasing intergenerational equity by reducing the time elapsed between the service of the members of the systems and the related funding. A similar policy was enacted in 1991 when 30-year funding for the two funds was reduced to 20-year funding. (4) Participation in the enhanced benefit accrual rate should not be mandatory for current members. Members who elect to participate should have to agree, as provided herein, to increase employee contributions as consideration for their future receipt of enhanced benefits after the termination of service. (5) The approach set out heretofore was cited as reasonable public pension policy by the Public Employee Retirement Commission in a report released on May 7 of this year. As the commission further noted, certain provisions herein will result in the systems being more closely aligned with similar plans in the private sector and further strengthen the systems' positions relative to Internal Revenue Code compliance.
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