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on June 29, 2014 at 10:11 PM
It’s not at all the sweeping pension reform that Gov. Tom Corbett sought but the Senate has now positioned a bill for a vote by that chamber that would move elected officials into a 401k-style plan like most private sector employees have.
The Senate Appropriations Committee tonight took the historic step of voting unanimously to approve the legislation that is hoped might grease the skids for a broader pension change later that Corbett wants.
He is urging the Legislature to reform the state pension systems to address the $47 billion debt for pension benefits that retired and current employees have accrued but the systems lack the money to provide and to prevent the system from getting into this financial bind again in the future.
“We have wrestled with pension. We have wrestled with trying to do something and there’s a number of us, including myself, that believe we need to make the first step,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson County, who offered the proposal.
Full story: Elected officials-only pension reform plan teed up for a vote in the Senate Jan Murphy, Pennlive, 6/29/14
