Pension reform is a hot issue that many states governments are attempting to include or exclude in their upcoming budgets. New York and Rhode Island plan to stall pension spending.

New York's Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his plans to make major changes to the state's pension system because the state can no longer support the current system. Cuomo's plan is estimated to save New York $93 billion over the next three decades, and will also raise the retirement age of public employees to 65, excluding New York City employees. Public sector employees will also be required to contribute twice as much to their pensions to relieve taxpayers, and require public employees to work for 12 years before they're eligible for a pension. Though Cuomo is working hard to save taxpayer dollars, his plan still does not thwart the expected tax increases to citizens for the next five years.

Rhode Island's proposed bill revoking annual pension increases for public sector workers will face a hearing on May 24. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Daniel DaPonte introduced a different bill that would increase the work requirements for public sector employees to receive a pension. DaPonte's controversial bill will increase the retirement age by one year to 59, and unvested workers will have to work until age 65. A hearing for DaPonte's proposal has not been scheduled.

 

 

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