Liz and
JoAnne:
For your review, attached and below,
is today’s edition of WTGTAT.
What the Governor’s Talking about
Today
Wednesday, May 19,
2010
The governor today signed
into law legislation that reforms the Michigan Public School Employees’
Retirement System (MPSERS) and takes a significant step in reducing the
long-term structural imbalance in the School Aid Fund. School employees
have until June 11 to indicate their intention to retire this summer under the
provisions of this act.
Under the legislation the MPSERS reforms
will save districts nearly $680 million in the 2010-2011 school year and more
than $3.1 billion over the next decade. Those figures are based on an
estimated 28,000 of the 56,000 eligible school employees choosing to retire
between July 1 and September 1, 2010. Specifically, the
legislation:
·
Provides for a slightly enhanced
pension for up to 56,000 public school employees who choose to retire between
July 1 and September 1, 2010.
·
Beginning July 1, 2010, all MPSERS
employees will contribute 3 percent of their salary to be deposited into an
irrevocable health care trust in addition to what they already contribute to the
pension system. Funds will be used to offset employer contributions for
health care costs of current retirees.
·
Employees hired on or after July 1,
2010, will be put in a new lower-cost defined benefit/defined contribution
hybrid plan.
The governor first proposed a retirement plan for school
employees in January as part of her comprehensive plan to transform state
government. It was formally presented to lawmakers on February 11 as part
of the 2011 executive budget recommendation.
The legislative
package includes Senate Bill 1227 (PA 75) sponsored by Sen. Jud Gilbert
(R-Algonac) and HB 4073 (PA 77) sponsored by Rep. Richard Hammel (
Key
Messages:
·
These critical reforms will save
more than $3 billion for school districts over the next decade and ensure that
we are able to fund education at a level that will help prepare students for
success in the 21st century.
·
In addition to helping resolve the
structural deficit, these reforms will create thousands of job opportunities for
new college graduates eager to teach in
# #
#
Jon
Ogar
Senior
Writer/Editor
Communications
Division
Office of Governor
Jennifer M. Granholm
Office 517-335-6819
Cell
517-515-2743
Fax
517-335-6790