Commission Studying Pension And Retiree Benefits Plans Public Hearing Today

The Public Employees’ and Retirees’ Pension Benefit Sustainability Commission will hear what employee groups, unions and the general public think about some possible changes to retirement benefits Monday afternoon.

Nine potential changes to pension and health benefits – and actuarial calculations showing what they might mean for the state’s bottom line -- were circulated to eight employee working groups including unions, retired employees’ associations, and the state retirement system’s board of trustees. These groups will tell the commission what they think of potential changes to the system, said Michael Rubenstein, a policy analyst for the Department of Legislative Services who is staffing the commission. After that, the commission will hear testimony from the general public.

Maryland currently has an estimated $33 billion in unfunded liabilities for benefits it has promised to pay over the next three decades -- $18 billion for pensions and $15 billion for retiree health insurance.

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