Tag: Pensions

"Public pensions must be more transparent, accountable." Curtis M. Loftis Jr.

Press Release: Loftis’ Statement on Employee Retirement Rate Hike

Columbia, SC – Today, I voted against a request from PEBA to the State Fiscal Accountability Authority to increase both employee and employer retirement contribution rates to the state pension fund by .5% effective July 1, 2017. The increases are a result of years of mismanagement of the South Carolina pension fund, and now has state and public employees contributing 9.16% of their pay towards future retirement benefits, which is 55% more than the national average. Public employees and taxpayers are going to pay more, when they are guilty of nothing but working hard and trusting their elected officials.

This increase is not going to fix the problem. At this rate, the pension issue is going to continue to grow, until it’s too big to fix. Pension increase should not be measured in money, but by how many teachers, policemen, firefighters, and other public employees are taken off the streets.

Lawmakers have tough choices when it comes to fixing the pension fund problem. They must make the pension system their top priority in January when session starts. The pension is the most significant challenge of our generation.

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Roads, Schools and Pensions Top Legislative Agenda

SC House Ways and Means chairman Brian White listed roads, schools and pensions as three priorities in the current SC General Assembly legislative agenda.

Since the Ways and Means Committee writes the budget, White’s priorities are important.
White issued the following press release yesterday as the General Assembly opened its legislative year:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 12, 2016

Ways and Means Committee Begins Committee Work

House Budget writers start deliberations

(Columbia, SC) – House Ways and Means Chairman Brian White (District 6-Anderson) today released the following statement:

“The Ways and Means Committee and its subcommittees have been meeting since November on the impact of the historic flooding and to hear budget requests but now that the legislative session has arrived we begin fully our comprehensive and open deliberations to fund state government for fiscal year 2016-17.

Our state’s excellent recent economic growth and prudent budget decisions the General Assembly made last year have resulted in $1.2 billion in unobligated general funds that are available in this year’s appropriations process. We also begin this year with significant obligations such as flood costs, the Abbeville school lawsuit, transportation funding, and a growing pension problem, not to mention state agency requests of over $2.1 billion. Ways and Means will weigh the requests and our responsibilities and be sensible stewards of taxpayer dollars while also providing for an accountable and responsible state government,” stated Chairman White.

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South Carolina’s Pension Push Into High-Octane Investments

South Carolina’s Pension Push Into High-Octane Investments

New York Times Curtis M. Loftis Jr., South Carolina’s treasurer, says he worries that state pension officials have had their heads turned by Wall Street players who stand to benefit from state money. “This is a world where people have private jets, massive apartments overlooking Central Park, people who live […]

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