Representative Hall and Representative Abrams urged the Public Insurance and Pensions Committee to support House Bill 280, which they said would return the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund to actuarial funding and phase employer contribution increases to shore up long-term solvency.

“It is our legal obligation to fund our pension programs. It is a promise made to public employees and, in this case, first responders,” Representative Hall said in sponsor testimony, arguing that the legislature must act to secure benefits for police and firefighters.

The bill would replace the fund’s current fixed-rate funding with an actuarially determined employer contribution (ADEC) model, sponsors said, and would equalize police employer contributions from 19.5% to 24% within five years. Under the proposal, the board would review actuarial findings every three years and could adjust contribution and cost-of-living parameters subject to statutory limits, including a cap that rate changes could not exceed 1.5% over three years, sponsors said.

Why it matters: Testimony emphasized recruitment and retention concerns for first responders and said the fund’s assumed rate of return has fallen in recent years, extending the fund’s amortization timeline. Representative Abrams and Representative Hall told the committee that without legislative action the fund’s solvency horizon will expand beyond the state’s 30-year solvency benchmark.

Key details presented to the committee included: current employer contribution rates of 19.5% for police and 24% for fire; employee contribution increases implemented earlier (employees now pay about 12.25%, sponsors said); a move in recent years by the fund to reduce its assumed rate of return to 7.5%; prior reforms that raised retirement ages and reduced COLAs; and health-care changes in 2018 that sponsors said produced actuarial savings. “These sacrifices resulted in $3,200,000,000 in decreased unfunded liabilities,” Representative Abrams said of prior employee-side changes.

During questions, members pressed sponsors about outreach to local governments, alternative revenue sources and comparisons to other pension systems. Representative Bridal said she hoped local governments and labor would “get together and come to a grand bargain.” Representative Hall and Representative Abrams replied they had engaged employers, local governments and stakeholder groups in prior General Assemblies and said they remain open to adjustments to the bill’s phase-in and funding sources.

Sponsors acknowledged tradeoffs. Representative Abrams said prior reforms in 2012 raised the retirement age for first responders from 48 to 52, tied COLAs to the consumer price index with caps and raised member contributions, and that those changes delivered significant reductions in unfunded liabilities but were largely borne by members. Abrams also described a 2018 move to stipend-based retiree health coverage that an actuary in 2021 estimated increased the health-care solvency to 17 years and produced about $130,000,000 in annual savings.

Committee members asked whether the bill’s mechanism to let the board adjust rates is novel in Ohio. Sponsors said they focused on OP&F because of their direct experience with that fund and that they would provide comparisons to other systems as requested. No vote was taken; the presentation concluded with sponsors offering to continue negotiations with employers and members on implementation details.

The committee chair said the committee will hear additional expert testimony in later sessions, including actuaries and employer and employee representatives, before any formal action.