MS Senate revives effort to exert control over PERS board

Efforts in the Mississippi Legislature to impose more control over the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi have been given a new lease on life.

Sen. David Parker, R-Olive Branch, on Tuesday, presented House Bill 1618, which was originally only intended to address a retirement program that allows certain retirees such as healthcare workers and teachers, to return to the workforce in an effort to impact critical labor shortages.

However, Parker placed language into the bill that would eliminate the PERS board’s rate increase on public employers, such as counties, municipalities and state agencies, and would require any such rate change on employers to be approved by the Legislature during regular session. It passed 38-8.

“Such increases could possibly raise retirement revenues but may also reduce revenues at schools and cities that decide to stop hiring employees,” Parker said.

Parker’s changes to the bill mirror House Bill 1590, which would have taken away the rate increase, as well as replace elected board members with governor and lieutenant governor appointees.

That bill faced scrutiny from the PERS board, as well as retirees who saw it as a loss of faith in the PERS board and would have taken away its ability to make decisions about how PERS invests money. It was later killed by Government Structures Chairman Chris Johnson, R-Hattiesburg, before making it to the Senate floor for a vote.

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Last year, the board voted to increase employer contributions toward the state pension plan from 17.9% to 19.9% to address a $25 billion debt and a reduction in PERS members.

As of 2023, 146,664 active members are paying into the system, a 10% fall from 2014 when it sat at 162,044. There are 118,301 retirees receiving benefits.

Several mayors and other local government leaders came to the capitol earlier this year to ask lawmakers to cancel that rate increase, stating it could cost them millions of dollars in the future and cause job cuts.

Parker said that as the bill moves forward, he hopes the Legislature will provide more funds for PERS to increase its viability.

“We need to add money into PERS,” he said.

The bill now moves onto the House for concurrence. If the House does not approve, the bill could be sent to a conference of lawmakers from both chambers to iron out a compromise.

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Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.