Pension Bills Introduced at Statehouse

From STRS, February 2, 2011

On Feb. 1, 2011, Rep. Lynn Wachtmann (R-Napoleon) introduced House Bill 69 containing changes to the five statewide public pension plans, including STRS Ohio. However, this version of the bill does not contain all of the components that comprise the plan the State Teachers Retirement Board adopted on Jan. 27, 2011. The January plan does not include an increase in employer contributions and also includes changes that bring the funding period for STRS Ohio pensions to no more than 30 years. Click the following link to view the plan: https://www.strsoh.org/pdfs/40-305.pdf

A placeholder bill addressing pension reform, Senate Bill 3, was also introduced on Feb. 1 by Sen. Keith Faber (R-Celina). At this time, the only language that it contains calls for changes to the Ohio Revised Code "... to modernize, update, and improve the actuarial soundness of the Public Employees Retirement System, Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund, State Teachers Retirement System, School Employees Retirement System, and State Highway Patrol Retirement System."

H.B. 69 has been assigned to the House Health and Aging Committee, which is chaired by Wachtmann. During sponsor testimony on Feb. 2, Wachtmann noted that he would like to see pension legislation enacted concurrently with the budget and completed by July 1. During his remarks, he also noted the importance of preserving health care coverage for retired public employees if possible.

A Health and Aging Subcommittee on Pensions will first review the bill. This subcommittee is chaired by Rep. Kirk Schuring (R-Canton) and consists of Reps. Bruce Goodwin (R-Defiance), Bob Hagan (D-Youngstown), Richard Hollington (R-Chagrin Falls), Todd McKenney (R-Akron), Dan Ramos (D-Lorain) and Wachtmann. A meeting schedule for the subcommittee has not yet been issued.