[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6197238,"mediaKeyId","3853638-eddee9da1385b01011c8e3d341614c97","parentId",3853638,"title","Committee briefed on ESSB 5357: assumed return raised, Plan 1 UAL contributions suspended for four years","audioSeconds",1725,"startMs",865000,"endMs",2590000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3853638-eddee9da1385b01011c8e3d341614c97&start=865&end=2590","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3853638-eddee9da1385b01011c8e3d341614c97/thumbnail_865000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6197238/Washington/Committee-briefed-on-ESSB-5357-assumed-return-raised-Plan-1-UAL-contributions-suspended-for-four-years","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6197238-76eece6de95eaaa162d89250bb5e5905/orig.mp4?Expires=1770642378&Signature=QTuamzoKmQqq6X5sfgZ9dD1hYsGak1eML9B4ADZQPImZ-gynLDkfVlz0n0LD~LA9LrUfYCnD1vIBaLaagKxt-yHI2m5o~nds~3qOuCFCA~ML5FLaVN68YG9leazDQSu9syIike7jKbSBRE-XPYDNJgCgDm5nmogDUTljzBupiHYi43Q3m6rsuM6zxs6hRd7U8m9Ugkn0jSJVHZMPt6Coh~lWOkjTZIEN8kf8IXGXgbtnuMn0m7VCkg2Jgb1qMr80iXs-bms4sHnHv8o8DTWWz4WhiEFp~es96InrezpQ62YdXGqcEiRvDgdW8PUMg9tEsw8EWHVuVHFYK12KmnrDaA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Select Committee on Pension Policy","date","2025-06-17T00:00:00Z","article","Staff and the Office of the State Actuary briefed the Select Committee on Pension Policy on June 17, 2025 about the pension-funding changes enacted in Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5357 and their actuarial and budget implications.

Darren Painter, staff to the committee, summarized the statutory election and the committee’s role in providing input to the Pension Funding Council. He then outlined three principal policy changes in ESSB 5357: an increase in the long-term investment rate of return assumption, lower contribution (normal cost) rates under the new assumption, and revisions to Plan 1 funding policy that include suspending Plan 1 UAL contributions for four years.

Luke Maslank, senior actuary with the Office of the State Actuary, presented the fiscal note and actuarial implications. The bill raises the assumed long-term investment rate of return from 7.00% to 7.25% and leaves the inflation (2.75%) and general salary-growth (3.25%) assumptions unchanged. Under the bill the higher assumed return reduces the calculated normal cost and produces short-term budget savings. OSA’s fiscal-note tables show more than $1 billion in near-term general-fund savings across the next four years; the fiscal note is available in the committee packet and on the OFM site.

ESSB 5357 also suspends Plan 1 UAL employer contributions for four years by setting the Plan 1 UAL rate to 0. On amortization, the bill increases the benefit-improvement amortization period from 10 years to 15 years, consolidating and reamortizing prior benefit-improvement costs over the longer schedule; because contributions are suspended for the first four years the payment schedule effectively collects contributions over 11 payment years following the suspension.

Maslank warned that the law’s short-term funding reductions increase the risk that higher contribution rates will be required in the future if actual investment experience underperforms the higher assumed return. \"Actual investment returns, we estimate that they're gonna account for approximately 70% of the revenue needed to pay for future benefits from these plans,\" Maslank said. He added that funded ratios were projected to improve through fiscal 2025 because of recent strong returns, but that a multi-year period of reduced contributions could slow or reverse that trend.

OSA emphasized that changes to an assumption such as the rate of return change the timing of contributions and that the agency does not attribute long-term savings to an assumption increase; actual experience will dictate ultimate costs. The agency ran thousands of stochastic investment scenarios showing a significant likelihood that a base UAL rate for PERS 1 could return at some point in a 10-year horizon if investment experience is unfavorable or other assumptions change.

Committee members asked clarifying questions about what \"suspended\" means and whether base rates might return; staff and OSA confirmed the suspension sets the statutory Plan 1 UAL rate to 0 for four years and that future rates would depend on updated valuations. No committee action was required; the briefing was informational.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Select Committee on Pension Policy - 6/17/2025 10:00 AM","oneSentenceSummary","On June 17, 2025, staff and the Office of the State Actuary briefed the Select Committee on Pension Policy on Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5357, which raises the assumed long-term investment return to 7.25%, lowers near-term contribution rates and suspends Plan 1 UAL contributions for four years.","taxTitle","Select Committee on Pension Policy, Joint, Work Groups & Task Forces, Legislative Sessions, Washington","taxId",20575,"location","Washington","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6197233,"Select Committee launches LEOFF 1 merger/termination study; retirees and stakeholder groups urge opposing paths",2881,2649000,5530000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3853638-eddee9da1385b01011c8e3d341614c97&start=2649&end=5530","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3853638-eddee9da1385b01011c8e3d341614c97/thumbnail_2649000.jpg","/articles/6197233/Washington/Select-Committee-launches-LEOFF-1-mergertermination-study-retirees-and-stakeholder-groups-urge-opposing-paths","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6197233-56cbebe474bf5493ea28e4dc66945c71/orig.mp4?Expires=1770642378&Signature=cr96h2q9fg0xBeTYhCBoAAVZAcKnI7qKgoP-JFHuGWSeHP0UX38clb528tA3uF6BzNYotdqnHg2sxfDNxdHF7FdeXwAFnrEVy-VaXlws~KxVgCd-7Llh8XmgM4lln9uWPTadj8A65SXj9Iy6v0nR-pjKA79DvSuXtMBPr7V62DO9OaLXJmkf4pkqzZnvaETA9~gmmwScOuQG~WV4zTndb8fW2daT3armXjzUpZR9I5OyhEHMQsozEyVh3pSMK6OoJEcB8SaUQl~BRbTnNDqsYU170329KS7uPrEnjujNZrSwsiF2wUrReHYdJmlZsDBPcNeKuSaiQvjD-EdGIPIFPA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Committee staff introduced a mandated study of two legislative approaches related to LEOFF 1 — a merger and a termination — during the Select Committee on Pension Policy’s June 17, 2025 meeting and described the study timeline, participants and requested analyses.

Eric Gutierrez, committee staff, said the 2025–27 operating budget includes a proviso requiring the committee to study the tax, legal, actuarial, pension-policy and administrative implications of Substitute Senate Bill 5085 (a merger proposal) and Substitute House Bill 2034 (a termination proposal). Gutierrez outlined a schedule that begins with educational briefings, requests analyses from the Attorney General and the Office of the State Actuary, and aims to deliver a final report by January 9, 2026 to the fiscal committees of the Legislature. The staff plans to request a public (non-privileged) federal-tax analysis from Ice Miller LLP and invited the firm to appear before the committee; the staff will also coordinate with the Department of Retirement Systems, the State Investment Board and the State Treasurer for administrative and investment implications.

Gutierrez said prior studies (OSA 2011 and a 2016 select-committee study) covered similar ground. He described two study tracks: (1) a merger of LEOFF 1 with PERS 1 and TERS 1 and (2) termination of LEOFF 1. He noted LEOFF 1 had been well funded (149% as of the June 30, 2023 measurement referenced) and that the study proviso does not prescribe specific recommendations; staff will draft options and decision points so the committee can consider whether to make legislative recommendations.

Public testimony in the meeting largely addressed the study’s policy choices. Fred Yancey, representing the Washington State School Retirees Association and two school-administration associations, said ESSB 5357 delivers near-term savings but raises the risk of higher future contribution rates and could make restoring a recurring COLA for Plan 1 members more difficult. \"The bad news... is that there's a risk, and I think it's a high degree of risk, of an increase in rates,\" Yancey said.

Retiree organizations and individual LEOFF 1 members urged the committee not to use LEOFF 1 funds for state budget relief. Michael Dushman, president of the Retired Firefighters of Washington, told the committee he opposes bills like SSB 5085 and SHB 2034 and warned of IRS and legal obstacles; \"Washington State should not be the first state to do so,\" he said. Several LEOFF 1 retirees said the surplus funds were earned for plan members and opposed any transfer of assets to the state treasury. David Marin, a LEOFF 1 retiree, said \"there is unanimous LEOFF 1 member opposition to the taking of any funds from the LEOFF 1 pension.\" Brad Reynolds and other speakers raised specific concerns about whether municipal medical-benefit obligations tied to LEOFF 1 would survive a merger or termination.

Stakeholders also raised other topics on the public-record: climate and investment-policy commenters asked the committee to press the State Investment Board to align investments with state climate goals; retirees urged restoration of purchasing power for Plan 1 benefits.

Gutierrez said staff will request public tax and legal analyses (with the option of supplemental confidential briefings if the committee requests privileged work product). The staff plans an educational briefing on plan qualification and tax law the following month and expects to circulate an initial draft report in September with a final report by early January 2026. The committee is asked to decide whether it will accept confidential analyses in addition to public memos; staff’s default is to request public analyses for inclusion in the printed report.","Committee staff launched a budget-proviso study of a proposed LEOFF 1 merger and of a termination option and described the timeline and required legal, tax, actuarial and administrative analyses; public testimony overwhelmingly opposed transferring LEOFF 1 funds to the state treasury.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6197243,"Representative Travis Couture elected chair of Select Committee on Pension Policy",446,380000,826000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3853638-eddee9da1385b01011c8e3d341614c97&start=380&end=826","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3853638-eddee9da1385b01011c8e3d341614c97/thumbnail_380000.jpg","/articles/6197243/Washington/Representative-Travis-Couture-elected-chair-of-Select-Committee-on-Pension-Policy","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6197243-99bdd545df82d62cff77a9faa58b9c68/orig.mp4?Expires=1770642378&Signature=cf0~7RjirDgPpINeAYyo~i7uhg2CGbfszsSmazJSJAlH9xat17bw38lbwTslfm-qukVnZCjvgTHz~5LHulPi4uisAIMsil9UjlI1Jol4MBEXugd13D5HFs3LEiHW28U1m2MtCZ-gT2vUYnSyYXvE~oNPSGuV9zlU2ryE-Tre1XOOB~fv36D3cyCn5hS6mu~spgWysdyZl~DMkIoCt-ypFGbeYEhHw8bMm6IL5cwEQ5-HjOYFJQfndYJwYo-bCGaQJUs0gH30xOSbezssPXID2QTCdm1N-2OxJsGoJxiGwdQfw8kzuBcHrFSJh5BXF-vAd7YmxH6aZiUZd21U6DY3rw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Representative Travis Couture was elected chair of the Select Committee on Pension Policy during the committee’s June 17, 2025 meeting, following a voice vote. Senator Steve Conway was elected vice chair, and three members were named to the committee’s executive committee.

The committee convened with Vice Chair Fitzgibbon presiding in the absence of Chair Behnke. After approval of the May minutes by roll call (13 aye, 2 excused), Representative Macquarie moved to nominate Representative Travis Couture as chair. The committee confirmed Couture by voice vote. Senator Steve Conway was nominated and confirmed by voice vote as vice chair.

The committee also filled three statutory executive-committee slots that represent stakeholder groups: an active-members representative, a retiree representative and an employer representative. Member Yastrzemski was appointed to the active-members slot; Member Bev Hermanson was appointed to the retiree slot; and Member Anthony Murrieta was appointed to the employer slot. All appointments were approved by voice vote.

The committee’s staff briefed members on the election procedure before voting. Darren Painter, staff to the committee, told members the slate the committee typically elects each year includes a chair from the House in odd-numbered years and a vice chair from the Senate, plus three executive-committee members representing actives, retirees and employers.

With the new officers in place the committee moved on to its scheduled business, including informational briefings on pension funding and a study plan on LEOFF 1 merger/termination.","At its June 17, 2025 meeting, the Select Committee on Pension Policy elected Representative Travis Couture chair and Senator Steve Conway vice chair and named three executive-committee members; the committee also approved May minutes by roll call.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee briefed on ESSB 5357: assumed return raised, Plan 1 UAL contributions suspended for four years

Select Committee launches LEOFF 1 merger/termination study; retirees and stakeholder groups urge opposing paths

Representative Travis Couture elected chair of Select Committee on Pension Policy