There is a move at the State Legislature to reduce the annual COLA of the PERA Correctional Plan.
MNPEA does not support the reduction of County Corrections Officer retirement benefits in bills (HF565 and SF 545).
Currently Correctional Plan Retirees receive a 2.5% COLA. This is triggered by law for any PERA plan that is funded at 90% or more. The Correctional Plan is funded at 95.7%. Furthermore, the State’s own actuarial study shows that the plan, as funded, is moving to 100% funding.
These Bills are the result of poor performance and mismanagement of some of the other State Pension Plans including Police and Fire, the MSRS Correctional Plan (state CO’s) and the Judges plan among others.
The stated purpose, supported by the larger Unions, is uniformity and shared sacrifice. Many of the same groups asking for shared sacrifice from our well-funded plan, are the same ones who not only didn’t want us in their plans, but actively worked against the County CO’s from having one at all!
How is this for uniformity? The MSRS Correctional Plan is funded less than 90% yet receives a 2% COLA. It is proposed they reduce their COLA .5% down to 1.5%. The PERA Correctional Plan, funded at 95.7% is being asked to reduce its COLA a full 1% down to 1.5%. In the name of uniformity.
That’s right the underfunded State Correction’s plan takes a .5% cut in COLA but the well-funded County Correctional plan is asked for a 1% cut.
By way of comparison the also underfunded Judges plan isn’t being asked to take any cut at all.
These Bills, if enacted would punish County CO’s and retirees unfairly. Reducing the COLA of the PERA Correctional plan doesn’t add one penny to the other plans that are underfunded.
These Bills were Vetoed last session by the Governor, but MNPEA will be watching future sessions for attacks on our Pension.