Illinois - another new pension reform plan

Still "spinning their wheels" in Illinois--or some would say, "fiddling while Rome burns"--

Illinois rank-and-file lawmakers float new pension reform plan - chicagotribune.com: "Under the proposal, retirees would get an annual cost-of-living increase on only the first $25,000 of their pensions, $20,000 for those who also get Social Security. Retirement ages would not rise for people 46 and older, but a phase-in would increase retirement ages by as much as five years for people 34 and under. Current retirement ages vary, such as 60 for rank-and-file state workers and 55 for prison guards. Employee contributions would rise 1 percentage point the first year and another percentage point the second year. Contributions for rank-and-file state workers now are about 7 percent, according to the union. The proposal also would make it clear that a failure by public employers, such as the state or a school district, would be grounds for a lawsuit if they didn't make proper annual payments — a major reason that many public retirement systems are underfunded. New public school teachers and state university workers would be part of a cash-balance plan, sort of a hybrid between a plan that guarantees employees a certain benefit and also partly relies on investment returns. The plan comes as Illinois faces a pension debt of as much as $96 billion, the worst in the nation. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has noted that increased pension payments in the coming years could cut into how much the state has left to spend on education and other government services."

Likelihood of passing? Probably zero.

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