Va. State Workers Urge Veto of Retirement Overhaul

“The General Assembly voted without a clear understanding of the ways that the conference report would cut into the pay and erode the retirement security of our employees,” said Kitty Boitnott, president of the Virginia Education Association, which represents the state’s teachers, according to The Smith Mountain Eagle.  

The bills would create a hybrid retirement program containing a defined contribution and a defined benefit component. State and local government employees hired on or after January 1, 2014, would be required to participate in the hybrid program (see “Virginia Legislators Approve Public Pension Changes”). The legislation also would adjust the existing defined benefit plan for non-vested employees, lowering the retirement benefit multiplier from 1.7 to 1.65, basing average final compensation on 60 months of service. The bills also would cap the cost-of-living adjustment at 3%.