Cathy Osten

State Appropriations Committee Approves SEBAC Pension Agreement

Plan would reduce State’s unfunded pension liability

The Connecticut General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee voted Tuesday to move forward a plan to reduce the State’s unfunded pension liability over the next thirty years and fully fund Connecticut’s pension system.

The budget writing committee voted 42 to 12 to move out of committee an agreement struck by the State of Connecticut and the State Employees Bargaining Coalition (SEBAC). The agreement was previously approved by the State Employee Retirement System (SERS), and will next be debated by the full General Assembly.

The plan includes extending the amortization period for the balance of the unfunded liability in a new 30-year period, reduces the assumed rate of return from 8 percent to 6.9 percent and provides a path to fully funding the state’s pension obligations.

Senator Cathy Osten (D-Sprague), Senate chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after the vote.

“For too long, past legislatures ‘kicked the can’ down the road, and we are committed to ensuring that we meet our obligations while working to provide stability to the citizens of Connecticut,” said Sen. Osten. “The plan we moved forward today is a responsible agreement and one that I am hopeful will be met favorably when it comes before the full General Assembly. The fact that this agreement was approved out of committee in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote shows that we have the fortitude as an elected body to tackle this issue and finally take on unfunded pension liability in a way that best serves taxpayers and the state employees who are owed what they have earned.”

The Senate resolution on the plan passed in a vote of 10 to 2, while the House resolution passed in a vote of 30 to 10.