With one day left in the 2019 session of the General Assembly before the veto recess begins, there’s still no final agreement on relief from a sharp increase to pension contributions for quasi-governmental agencies such as Sanctuary, Inc. and local health departments.
The Senate on Wednesday passed an altered version of House Bill 358, which would freeze employer contributions at about 48 percent for those agencies for another year, according to Senator Whitney Westerfield, who says the Senate version would have given agencies that year to decide if they wish to remain in the state retirement system.
If the agency chose to remain in the system, they’d have to commit to a contribution in the following fiscal year that would be at least 83 percent.
Their employees would not lose the pension benefits they’ve earned in the past.
Westerfield says he voted for the bill because it gives those agencies another year of relief, but he preferred finding money in the budget to prevent the required pension contribution from going above what it is now for a longer period of time.