Retirement Funds Go Bust thanks to Kasich's agenda?

http://ohio15th.blogspot.com/

Thursday, March 17, 2011

The Ultimate Payback to Unions: Retirement Funds Go Bust?

* As Kasich and his buddies consolidate power, various departments in the state government continue to fire and throw out anyone who is not "one of them."

* Does it bother you that Lehman Brothers, Kasich's former employer, lost over $400 million of the investment from the retirement funds of Ohio's public employees? Now the Kasich budget plan could threaten the solvency of the remaining retirement funds.

Dayton Daily News:
A budget proposal by Gov. John Kasich would save governments and school districts money they now spend on employee pensions, but a state pension expert said the change could make it harder for the pension funds to remain solvent for the 30 years required by state law.

The governor’s proposal would reduce the amount of money public employers contribute to employee pensions by 2 percent and increase the employee contribution by the same amount. It would save state and local governments, universities, school districts and libraries an estimated $1.1 billion over the two-year budget, said Rob Nichols, Kasich spokesman.

However, the proposal could create long-term solvency issues, said Aristotle Hutras, director of the Ohio Retirement Study Council, which provides legislative oversight of Ohio’s five public pension funds. Cutting 2 percent from the amount employers contribute to the fund is problematic because employees who withdraw from the system before they are vested are entitled to their share of the contribution, Hutras said. The fund would take a hit because the employers during that time would be contributing a smaller amount under Kasich’s proposal.....

Public employees in Ohio put their money in state retirement funds and have no Social Security. With Kasich's budget plan, Ohio's public employees could retire with nothing, if the retirement funds go bust with the risky budget plan. Is this his ultimate payback to union members for not supporting Republicans?