Michigan Votes Forum

 What is the reason for this bill. Will the  public pensions be so fat with taxpayer dollars by 2013 that they won't need teachers to contribute more towards their own rerirement? How do the public pension plans benefits compare with those of private industry? How much will the public employees be contributiing to the cost of their plans-the taxpayers?  Instead of defined benefit plans, change to defined contibution plans and limit the taxpayers share of the contribution. They can define where they want their money to be invested instead of mining taxpayers income.

Any state employee hired after about 1996 or 1996 does not have a pension plan.  They have a 401k.  All state and legislative employees took a 3% pay cut as of November 2010 to balance the state budget,  money that is supposed to be put toward retiree health care.  This bill is to undo the recent pay cut.  

For  newer state employees (those hired in the past 15 years or so) there is no fat pension.  There is no skinny pension.  There is no pension.  

 Ah shucks, why should the poor teachers have to contribute to their own retirements like the rest of us do??