PERA Correctional Pension alert, SF 2198

 There's a bill in the Minnesota Senate that poses a danger to the PERA Correctional Pension.

Our pension is the healthiest and best funded of all of the PERA Pensions. This was by design. When formed in 1999 it was for Correctional/Detention Officers who had 95% inmate contact. It recognized the danger and hazards of the job. Just this week a CO was killed in Iowa and another held hostage in Oklahoma. Numerous Detention Deputies and CO's have contracted Covid 19 due to close proximity to inmates and brought it home to their families. Unfortunately this goes with the territory and for that reason the PERA Correctional Plan provides a 55 out. I left 5 years ago at 57 because as I used to say, "I don't want to be 60 years old and wrestling with a 20 year old in the sallyport."

Enter SF 2198. It seeks to add 911 Telecommunicators to our pension. 

It reads, "911 telecommunicators transfer from the general employees retirement plan to the local government correctional plan; transferring eligible service credit."

There is more to this than it appears. First off, they don't have inmate contact and the same dangers CO's have. Secondly, when our plan formed in 1999 we were not allowed to transfer our service credit from the PERA General Pension to the new Correctional one. Any funds we left in the General Plan we had to withdraw losing the employer portion, or couldn't touch until 65. The same goes for Licensed Deputies and LEO's who went from being a CO to Licensed. Their money doesn't follow them into the Police and Fire Pension.

The affect on our Correctional Pension will be massive. All of the 911 Dispatchers 55 or older can begin drawing on a pension they never paid into almost immediately. I hear as many as 10% of the 911 Dispatchers would be eligible! A pension predicated on the dangers of inmate contact, of which they have none. The result could lead to higher employee contributions and lower COLA's on those who paid in most of their careers.

This is not a slam on our hard working 911 Telecommunicators, but an attempt to avoid destroying our healthy pension.

Contact your State Senators and Representatives!