Proposal to Raise Public Employee Retirement Age Called 'Another Slap in the Face'

A bill that would raise the state's retirement age is "another slap in the face" to teachers, education support professionals and other dedicated public employees, WEAC President Stan Johnson said.

"This is a thinly veiled attack on the very workers who educate our children in our great public schools," Johnson said.

Since 1993, the Qualified Economic Offer (QEO) law has driven down teacher salaries in Wisconsin, taking them from 15th to 23rd in the nation. This bill would further extend that decline into the retirement years.

"Public employee retirement benefits are partially based on their final three years of earnings," Johnson said. "Since teachers generally lose salary to inflation every year under the QEO, the longer they are in the system the lower their salary is in inflation-adjusted dollars. This bill therefore could result in a lifelong declining retirement benefit."

The bill would also affect education support professionals in the same way. While ESP are not covered directly by the QEO law, they have often felt similar limitations when bargaining against the same employer.

Johnson said the current system works well for public employees and for taxpayers, and there is no need to change the retirement age.

"While some other state retirement systems and Social Security are not funded in the future and operate on a 'pay as you go system,' the solvency of the WRS is the envy of many states. In this context, however, the WRS becomes a target for those who wish to punish public employees and renege on longtime commitments to employees," he said.

The Wisconsin Retirement System is adequately funded through employer and employee contributions that have been negotiated at the bargaining table, Johnson said.

"While some would argue that most public employers pay for employer and employee shares of WRS payments, in reality this agreement was bargained decades ago in return for lower wages as a way to save precious dollars on both sides," Johnson said. "While payments are made on behalf of employees by employers, the total amount is always calculated in the cost of a settlement."

The bill would raise the minimum age for qualifying for a retirement annuity under the WRS. Current law permits individuals in the WRS to qualify for a retirement annuity beginning at age 55 if they are not protective occupation participants, who may qualify beginning at age 50. AB 361 provides that WRS participants, other than protective occupation participants, who terminate covered employment after the bill’s effective date must have reached the age of 59.5 to qualify for a retirement annuity.

AB 361 must pass through a Joint Committee process first and then pass both houses. WEAC and others in the labor movement will seek a veto by Governor Doyle if the bill ever reaches the governor's desk, Johnson said.

WEAC embers are urged to go to the OnWEAC Cyberlobby in the Members Only section and send an e-mail to your legislators opposing AB 361.

Posted May 6, 2005