Governor Scott now says he wants to provide new state employees with an option to join a defined contribution (DC) pension plan (a.k.a. 401K) versus enrolling in the much-favored defined benefit pension plan. While this is a good soundbite, do employees really want to be able to choose? Good question.
The last time the “let’s give employees a choice” idea looked to have any legs was 2018, and VSEA asked the State to see how many exempt employees have opted to join the DC Plan since the choice was first granted to the class in 2011.
VSEA members, retirees and supporters are being asked to continue to contact the Governor’s Office to voice opposition to his last-minute demand to insert “choice” language in the bill that was previously rejected by the bipartisan Pension Benefits, Design, and Funding Task Force, which included a representative from the Administration (who supported the proposal that is now being held up by his boss).
VSEA issued the following statement tonight about the Governor’s presser today with David Coates:
The Governor’s confused statements this afternoon concerning the bipartisan pension bill would be comical if the stakes surrounding this issue were not so high for Vermont’s state employees. The Governor’s comments raise more questions than they provide answers.
Call Governor Scott at (802) 828-3333, or email him here. Tell him to support both the pension bill and the State budget. A deal is a deal. Remind him of his own campaign stump speech line that his word is his bond. Learn more here.
Throughout the legislative session, VSEA’s Legislative Department will be providing a schedule of committee meetings of interest to VSEA members and retirees. Due to the pandemic, meetings are all done by Zoom.
Note: Sometimes a meeting will start late, or won’t stream live for one reason or another, but visit the committee’s page a few hours afterward to see if the meeting you were interested in has now posted for viewing.
