Do Some Benefits For State Retirees Still Make Sense?

by Tom Yamachika, President, Tax Foundation Hawaii

In Hawaii, we think it is very important to “take care of” our state workers, especially those who have been with the government for a long time.

So we long ago agreed to pay “other post-employment benefits,” or OPEB, to state workers. The Employees’ Retirement System represents the retirement benefits. The Employer-Union Health Benefits Trust Fund represents the medical benefits.

The “unfunded actuarial accrued liability” of either plan represents the present amount of what we taxpayers owe for these future benefits, over and above what we already have set aside to pay them.

A study on the unfunded status of OPEB plans for public employees has been published by the American Legislative Exchange Council. Here is how we fared when compared to 2014 numbers set forth in a prior study.

Read more: http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/ID/18515/Do-Some-Benefits-For-State-Retirees-Still-Make-Sense.aspx

[font color=330099]Perish the thought that any Republican believes that other people deserve a decent retirement.[/font]