One proposal would create a new program for police and firefighters, but a key legislator says she’s worried about the risk.
A Juneau firefighter and member of the International Association of Firefighters, participates in a rally on Thursday, March 31, 2022 in front of the Alaska State Capitol. The rally was intended to support a bill that would create a pension program for police and firefighters in Alaska. the “Great Resignation,”Lawmakers abolished pensions for new employees in 2006 amid a multibillion-dollar shortfall in the pension fund, replacing them with a 401-style retirement system.
“I think a lot of legislators are starting to realize that when they hear from these chiefs and heads of these departments that this is a real problem,” said Paul Miranda, president of the Alaska Professional Fire Fighters Association. “There has never been a riskless system. There never will be, and right now, we’re the only state without a defined benefit, and that’s biting us hard,” Kiehl said.
Improved investment returns, a $3 billion transfer from savings, and continued annual payments in the state budget shrank the shortfall by two-thirds, to $4 billion, in 2021.it spends on shrinking the gap, and it’s provided additional arguments for those who want to revive pensions.
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