4/3/2021 - HOUSE SPEAKER JILL KROWINSKI REMARKS ON THE EFFORT TO STABILIZE VERMONT’S TEACHER AND STATE EMPLOYEE PENSION SYSTEM

 

Press Release

For Immediate Release

April 2, 2021

 

Media Contact

Conor Kennedy, Office of the Speaker

ckennedy@leg.state.vt.us


Montpelier, Vt. – Earlier this morning, House Speaker Jill Krowinski was joined by members of the Democratic Caucus at a press conference and provided the remarks below regarding the effort to stabilize the public pension system. A link to the press event can be found at the bottom of the page.

 

Good morning,

 

We are here today because we want to save our public pension systems and give teachers and state employee’s confidence that the money won't run out.

 

When we began this legislative session, I stressed the need to build a COVID recovery plan that leaves no one behind. Because of the tremendous amount of federal relief dollars the state has received, it has given us a once in a lifetime opportunity to think creatively about how to solve our biggest challenges and build us back stronger than ever before in all 14 counties. 

 

One of our state’s biggest problems is our unfunded public pension liability, which has risen exponentially to $5.6 billion. We cannot ignore this situation any longer; we must act. We must stabilize our pension system, so that our hard-working state employees and teachers can retire with peace of mind. Over the past few weeks, we as legislators, along with the House Government Operations Committee, have been taking a deep dive into the seriousness of the problem, how we got here over decades, and examining ideas and solutions that will move us forward on a productive path for the future.

 

I want to pause and acknowledge how hard and emotional this conversation has been for all concerned. We are talking about the economic security and the futures of our dedicated state employees and teachers, and that’s deeply personal for those impacted by any proposal. We have been listening closely to our constituents and hearing their concerns. Change is hard, it takes methodical, determined work, and we are only successful if we work together. As I’ve been listening to people give their feedback, while trying to get people to come to the table to add their voices and solutions, it is clear people are struggling with how to find real systemic change to resolve this crisis right now. Some stakeholders like the Vermont State Employees Union have brought a few ideas to the table, and others like the Governor have not.

 

The added challenges of trying to do this kind of deep policy work in a virtual environment, and not being in the State House together, are creating obstacles towards having a difficult, yet solutions-oriented conversation. 

 

However, in the midst of the frustration, we are seeing a path forward towards fundamental change. A majority of what I’ve been hearing, and the Government Operations Committee has been hearing is focused on the question of, “how did we get here?” Circumstances largely beyond the State’s control have led to this crisis situation, including an aging population with increasing retirements; lower than anticipated investment returns, in part, due to the Great Recession; and changes in actuarial assumptions, including a reduced rate of return. 

 

Moving forward, I believe we should focus on where I’m seeing the most consensus, which is changing the way we make our investment decisions with our governance structure. The legislature doesn’t make investment decisions, but we can change the board structure to make it more transparent, independent, and get more expertise at the table. This is no small lift, but I know we can do this. Second, I’d like the committee to create a Pension Task Force that brings all stakeholders, from the unions to the Governor, to the table to look at possible revenue sources and plan and benefit changes to fix this problem. Lastly, I recommend we keep the one-time $150 million in reserve while the Task Force does its work. We also have the $300 million in this year’s budget to pay for pensions and OPEB.

 

I want to thank Chairwoman Copeland Hanzas and the Government Operations Committee for all their hard work to save our pension system. I also want to thank all of the members for joining in and helping us find a solution. Thank you.

 

A recording of the event can be found here.

 

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