Albuquerque Journal

Continued Health of State Retiree Programs at Stake (Letter to the Editor)

Current economic conditions and the recent effects of domestic and international market investing bring new concern and challenges for New Mexico's public retirement and the retiree health care funds. The Education Retirement Board and Association are taking bold steps to address future solvency for the ERA fund by pursuing legislation to increase retirement eligibility to 30 years of service and moving to a Rule of 80. RHCA is in the process of pursuing legislation to address immediate and long-term solvency for that fund. The Public Employee Retirement Association is at least contemplating policy and legislation decisions to address solvency for largest of these three. The time is overdue for the Legislature and our next governor to address the issue of public retirees returning to work 90 days after retirement, and other loopholes in our retirement plans that burden the retirement funds themselves and general fund monies at the state and local levels. The idea of public retirees returning to former or equal positions and pay continues to prohibit promotional opportunity for public employees and requires state and local entities to incur the costs paying for employee and employer contributions to the retirement fund.
       Since “double-dipping” was formalized in 2003, the Legislature and executive have made half-hearted attempts to bring some level of prudence to this issue with legislation that has had little to no effect. Yet, our current economic, pay and job market conditions call for serious re-evaluation of our public retirement and retiree health care funds.
       Jeff A. Varela
       Rio Rancho
       Editor's note: Varela is a member of the Retiree Health Care Association board and former chairman of the Public Employee Retirement Association board.