Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/99516
Casper College town hall on pension system draws more than 100. system, meanwhile, pays the bulk of all beneits with earnings on investments of funds contributed by state and local employees and their employers, whether the state, county, city, town or local governments. Even special districts and joint powers boards around Wyoming participate in the system. The system has been attacked by some state policymakers who say the deined beneit system should be closed in order to reduce future obligations. But Williams noted a planned WRS report to the Joint Appropriations Committee in December would show that closing the deined beneit system would do nothing to reduce existing liabilities and would be prohibitively expensive because the funding of obligations to people now in the system would be accelerated. Williams characterized the current system as healthy and providing the lifelong beneits people need. Wyoming and its public employees would lose the advantages of pooling funds for investment by professional managers. Instead, they would be left with individually-managed retirement accounts that studies have shown provide far less in terms of stability and sheer cash value. Williams repeated his assessment that Wyoming's system is healthy, especially in comparison to public systems in other states that have been underfunded or where funds were borrowed to support other programs. Other legislation did bring changes to the system. The Legislature imposed very conservative management standards that, for the foreseeable future, mean retirees will not see any cost of living adjustments to their monthly beneits. to explain why it is crucial to both better government and the state's economy. More than 250 people attended the meetings. The Coalition for a Healthy Retirement System includes the Wyoming Education Association, the Wyoming Retired Education Personnel Association, the Wyoming Public Employees Association, the Federated Fire Fighters of Wyoming, AARP Wyoming, the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police, the Wyoming Highway Patrol Association, the Wyoming State AFL-CIO, and the Equality State Policy Center. The Coalition for a Healthy Retirement System conducted its series of town hall meetings to educate the public and public employees about the system and WINTER 2012 Winter 2012.indd 21 | wyoea.org 21 12/14/12 3:24 PM