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Rep. Will Kraus Supports Modernizing State...
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Rep. Will Kraus Supports Modernizing State Retirement System
July 14, 2010
By Rep Will Kraus
Expressing concerns for maintaining a balanced budget and keeping the state of Missouri solvent over time, Rep. Will Kraus voted yes on revising and modernizing Missouri’s state employee retirement system. The bill, HB1, calls for new state employees to contribute 4 percent of their salary into their own retirement plan, starting with employees hired after January 1, 2011. The bill passed out of the General Assembly today.
“Our state faces a budget crisis; we need to look at every single dollar we are spending,” said Kraus. “Asking state employees to contribute toward their own retirement plan is a small, common sense step that we can take. We cannot rely on stimulus money to balance our budget - we have to make tough choices.”
Some experts have predicted a budget shortfall next year of nearly $1 billion. HB1 is projected to save the state over $6 million in the first year. That savings will multiply each year as future state employees are hired.
“These savings are crucial to keeping our state finances viable in the foreseeable future. In contrast to Washington D.C., we must keep government in line with what we can afford. Passing this bill is a step in the right direction and brings the state up to date with modern retirement plans.”
During regular session, a budget was passed that depended upon $900 million of one-time federal stimulus funds for operating expenses. Some also criticized the General Assembly for passing a budget still not balanced, which proved to be accurate as the Governor’s office cut nearly another $300 million.
“I voted no on that budget because it was neither wise planning nor careful stewardship of taxpayer dollars.” said Rep. Kraus.
There was a move to include language in the bill that combined two state retirement investment boards, MOSERS and MPERS, but the investment board language was removed. The bill does not affect the retirement plans of current state employees.
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