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VSEA presses for pension changes: expand military service credit and new retirement plan for corrections and mental-health frontline workers
Summary
The Vermont State Employees Association asked the Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee to fund an actuarial study and consider a new retirement plan that would allow certain corrections and mental-health workers to retire at 55 after 20 years; the union also said military service credit law has not been updated since Vietnam.
Steve Howard, executive director of the Vermont State Employees Association, asked the Government Operations & Military Affairs Committee to consider two pension changes aimed at retaining corrections and mental-health frontline workers and recognizing modern military service.
Howard said the union supports funding an actuarial study — he estimated about $25,000 — to analyze the fiscal impact of expanding state service credit for military service in conflicts after the Vietnam era. "We haven't updated the statute since Vietnam," he told the committee.
Separately, Howard urged the legislature to create a retirement plan for corrections officers and mental-health frontline staff that would mirror a law-enforcement plan described in testimony as "Group C." Under the proposal discussed by Howard, corrections and mental-health frontline employees in "Group G" would be eligible for full retirement at age 55 after 20 years of service. He said Group C currently has a lower employee contribution rate — "around 9%" — while Group G contribution rates are "almost at 12%."
"The physical demands that we put on these folks are really quite something," Howard said, citing a body of evidence his members have reported about shortened life expectancy among corrections officers. He said average life expectancy for corrections officers is about 59 years compared with roughly 77 years in the general population.
Representative Morgan asked clarifying questions about how military service credit currently works for state employees and whether it parallels federal civil-service buyback provisions; Howard responded that Vermont provides service credit for active-duty military service through the Vietnam era but the statute has not been updated to reflect later conflicts.
Howard said VSEA has discussed pension proposals with the treasurer and that legislation to study or change the law is expected to be forthcoming. No formal committee votes were recorded in the excerpt.
No dollar figures for the long-term fiscal impact of the proposed changes were provided in the testimony.
