Your Retirement at Risk: State Battlegrounds

Your Retirement at Risk: State Battlegrounds

Beginning this July, Alaska will relegate its newly hired employees to risky private savings accounts, rather than a guaranteed pension. Public employees — especially new hires — face similar threats elsewhere. The hot spots, ranked by the level of threat:

Colorado

Starting in 2008, new public workers will no longer be able to participate in the state's pension system if a ballot initiative filed in January makes it to the Nov. 7 ballot and voters approve it. The measure also would restructure the retirement board and give the state treasurer wide latitude to control the direction of the system, leaving retirement security subject to political pressure.

Michigan

New hires in public schools and community colleges would be placed into a private, 401(k)-style savings plan, instead of a pension system, if a pending House Education Committee bill becomes law. Since 1997, new state employees have been unable to participate in a pension system.

Montana

State workers can now choose between a pension and a private savings plan. Republican legislators have indicated they will push next year to cut off the pension option to those hired after a cutoff date yet to be determined.

Illinois

All state retirement-system members switch from the current pension system to a savings plan under a recently introduced Senate bill. Governor Blagojevich (D) has pledged to make pension reform a priority if re-elected.

Kentucky

A bill introduced in February would establish a task force to study a 401(k)-style plan for newly hired state and county workers.

Maine

Under a bill introduced last year, state employees and teachers hired beginning Jan. 1, 2006, would participate in a new retirement system. It includes a personal savings plan and would require that workers become part of the Social Security system.

New Jersey

State lawmakers are considering a recommendation to hike the retirement age to 60 and to require public employees and retirees to cover some of their medical expenses.

Oregon

Two Republican gubernatorial candidates are taking aim at the state's public retirement system. One, Ron Saxton, wants to fire all public employees so he can rehire them and enroll them in private savings accounts instead of the current pension system. The other, Kevin Mannix, wants to end traditional pensions for all new public employees.