Legislature: Bill to boost pay in retirement systems advanceBATON ROUGE — Bills giving members of the state’s four major retirement systems a 1.5 percent cost-of-living increase sailed out of the Senate Retirement Committee here Monday. The measures move to the full Senate for debate.
The increase for more than 111,000 retirees averages about $29 per month for those who qualify. The boost would take effect July 1. Individuals have to have been retired more than one year and be age 60 or over to receive the increases.
Approval of the increases requires a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate.
Retirees haven’t had a cost-of-living increase since 2008. Spokesmen for the systems said the cost of living for everything has gone up considerably since that time.
Money for the increases comes from the systems’ experience accounts, which is where excess investment earnings are directed. An effort to apply some of those funds to retirement debt was rejected last week by the House Retirement Committee.
The Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana has a debt of $11.3 billion. The debt of the Louisiana State Employees Retirement System totals $6.4 billion. It had a $700 million decrease in the debt last year, according to Shelley Johnson, its actuary.
Over 35,000 members of LASERS would qualify for the increases. Their average benefit is $23,472 annually.
Cindy Rougeou, executive director of LASERS, said the increases will cost the system $105 million. The system has $196 million in its experience account, Rougeou said.
The system earned a rate of return on its investments as of June 30, 2013, of more than 14 percent, which exceeded the board-approved 8 percent rate of return.
Carolyn Forbes, assistant director of the School Employees Retirement System of Louisiana, said 11,000 of its retirees are eligible for the increases. The cost will be $15.9 million, and Forbes said the system has $31.5 million in its experience account.
The school employees system received a rate of return of 12 percent, which exceeds the board-approved 7.5 percent rate of return.
Maureen Westgard, director of the Teachers Retirement System, said 64,000 of its members will benefit from the increase. The boost will cost $203 million, she said, and there is $219 million in its experience account.
Westgard said 30 of its retirees are over 100 years of age. Some 1,500 are between 90 and 99, she said, and their average annual benefit is $15,880 a year.
The system had a rate of return of over 13 percent, which is above the board-approved 8.25 percent.
Irwin Felps Jr., executive director of the State Police Retirement System, said there are 933 active members of the system, and 1,200 are retired. He said the increase will cost the system $9.4 million, and it has $18.1 million in is experience account.
The system received a rate of return of over 16 percent, which is over the board-approved 7 percent rate of return.
(Special to the American Press)
