Gov. Rick Scott said Tuesday that state workers, like those in the private sector, should contribute to their pension plans.
“So that’s what we’re going to ask them to do from now on,” Scott said on Fox and Friends on FOX News Channel Tuesday morning.
Scott said it was only fair to require the more than half million government workers in the Florida Retirement System to make a paycheck contribution. But he also said it is important to make sure the fund remains flush.
“I want to make sure that our pension fund is viable, so we’ve got to make sure there’s money there,” said Scott.
The governor didn’t give specifics, such as how much he would propose that employees contribute. A 5 percent employee paycheck contribution would pump $1.3 billion into the state’s cash-strapped budget, according to analysts. The level of funding would come close to the roughly $1.4 billion Scott needs to fulfill his campaign pledge to reduce property taxes by $1 per $1,000 in assessed value.
Scott may roll out a full proposal this week ahead of his Feb. 7 budget release. Scott’s pension proposal is limited to the Florida Retirement System (FRS). But its impact goes beyond the state’s workforce, with school board employees forming the largest share of FRS participants, records show.
The deep pool of government workers affected by Scott’s contribution plan could help the governor, politically, since it may help blunt criticism that the increase represents a pay-cut for state employees, who haven’t received an across-the-board pay raise since Oct. 2006.
Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate, chairman of the Government Oversight and Accountability Committee, said lawmakers are also considering an FRS contribution plan. But the level will not be set until budget talks are further along, he said.
FRS has 572,000 active employees and 319,000 retired members, with beneficiaries drawn from more than 900 state and local government employers.
The $109 billion fund has had a roller-coaster run in the economy – with a projected $15 billion deficit eased by a 14 percent investment return last year, its best performance in 25 years, according to the fund’s overseers, the State Board of Administration.
House and Senate leaders have raised doubts about whether Scott’s tax cuts are possible – with lawmakers struggling to close a $3.6 billion budget gap. But the prospect of employee contributions easing state costs linked to school boards is likely to emerge as part of the Republican governor’s argument for cutting school taxes. Scott is pushing to lower property taxes for schools by $1 – to an average $4.29 per $1,000 in assessed valuation.
The News Service of Florida
