NM PERA Employees Facing Pension Realities

PERA Building

Albuquerque Journal - The New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Association is considering reducing future retirement benefits for more than 54,000 government workers, mostly because of growing concerns about the solvency of the fund. Proposals under consideration represent a seismic policy shift for PERA, which was previously unwilling to consider changes affecting current workers.
Changes could include reducing the annual cost-of-living increases and adjusting the formula that determines the starting size of a retiree’s pension benefits. The retirement program covers state and municipal workers, law enforcement employees and legislators, among others.
Several steps lie ahead, preceding the Legislature’s consideration of the proposed changes in January. A PERA staff recommendation, which is expected to involve a mix of the proposals, will be made to the PERA board at a meeting today in Alamogordo. The board would vote on whether to adopt the recommendation Friday. The plan would then be reviewed by a legislative committee this summer, said new PERA Executive Director Wayne Propst. Read full story here (subscription req'd) News New Mexico

NM PERA Employees Facing Pension Realities