A proposal to start shifting state and county workers from the Florida Retirement System into a 401(k)-style retirement plan got the backing of House Government Operations Subcommittee on Thursday.
Subcommittee Chairman Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, called the proposal the first steps to enact meaningful reforms to Floridas public employee pension system.
Now is the time to act on this issue, so that we may find a solution in a thoughtful, deliberate and balanced way, before our state is put into a dire situation and struggling to meet pension obligations, Brodeur stated in a release.
The proposed committee bill requires new public employees who have never participated in the Florida Retirement System to be enrolled in a defined contribution plan.
While the states pension plan is considered one of the top funded in the nation, Brodeur claims the bill will provide long-term financial certainty for the state.
Union representatives have expressed they are not in favor of wholesale rewriting of the pension rules, which include restrictions on how local government can use the insurance premium tax revenue they now collect.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.
