Pension slashers gain in Florida
Gail Marie Perry, from the Communications Workers of America, said, “This plan that you’re putting forth is going to put our new youth, working for the state, at risk,” she said. “And honestly we could call this, the Florida Legislature throws them to the wolves of Wall Street.”
Last week, the House of Representatives in the Florida legislature voted along straight party lines to close the Florida Retirement System to elected officials and top state managers Friday, despite impassioned arguments that Republicans are letting “the wolves of Wall Street” devour the pensions of hundreds of thousands of state and local government employees. Rep. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, said his proposed committee bill is only a change in philosophy — modernizing the FRS away from the traditional monthly pension payout to a market-based investment system that is gaining prevalence in the private sector. He said shedding the $500 million-a-year cost of shoring up an unfunded liability of $21.6 billion would save Florida taxpayers about $28 billion over 30 years.
House Speaker Will Weatherford, who has made the pension overhaul a top priority, last year won passage of a bill requiring all new hires to join the 401(k)-style “defined contribution” investment plan, rather than the traditional “defined benefit” pension plan. Current employees of the state, counties, school boards, universities and local governments making up the FRS would not be required to change.
Organized labor turned out in force against any changes, with a succession of union lobbyists and individual members voicing opposition.
“Over the last few weeks, we really are playing pension roulette. We have this wheel spinning around with three or four different plans out there — throw one plan out and test the winds, see if that’s going to fly, then we throw another one out,” said Rich Templin, legislative and political director of the Florida AFL-CIO. “We are really playing it fast and loose with really major public policy that can have a dramatic impact on our overall economy.”
Gail Marie Perry, representing the Communications Workers of America, said young workers aren’t thinking about the other end of their careers. She said most of them would just default into the pension plan, even though they have nine months to make a change and join the traditional pension plan.
“This plan that you’re putting forth is going to put our new youth, working for the state, at risk,” she said. ” And honestly we could call this, the Florida Legislature throws them to the wolves of Wall Street.”
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