Bills target lawmakers’ pensions

Considerable attention has been focused nationwide on the high cost of public employee pensions. Many states, including New York, are looking for ways to rein in the costs, which can be difficult since pensions are often contractual guarantees and cannot be changed for current workers.

A recent USA Today report, though, turned the pension spotlight on lawmakers. It examined ways state legislators have found to pad their pensions with perks that are not always available to public employees.

Lawmakers in a few states hike their pensions by calculating it based on a salary tied to other offices rather than their actual, usually lower salary as a legislator. Other states inflate pension calculations by allowing lawmakers to add per diems and expense reimbursements onto their salaries. Several states allow lawmakers to retire earlier than other employees, raising their lifetime pension benefits.

In a follow-up article, USA Today reports that nine states are looking at closing loopholes.

Lawmakers in South Carolina receive higher benefits than other state workers under their pension plan, but pending legislation would no longer allow lawmakers to collect a pension while they remain in office. A bill to stop adding expense reimbursements onto their salary used to calculate pensions has passed a legislative committee in Idaho with similar legislation pending in Iowa.

In Kentucky, lawmakers can pad their pension by going to work in top state jobs after they retire. That would stop under a bill before the state legislature.

The economy is cited as a leading reason for rewriting pension benefits, but it is also a matter of fairness. Lawmakers cannot expect public employees to accept cutbacks while legislators hold on to their lucrative benefits.