Source: Chief Investment Officer
State senators in Alaska have introduced a bipartisan bill that would create a new defined benefit pension system for state employees as a way help address a nearly 20% vacancy rate for state jobs.
Alaska’s previous defined benefit retirement system was abolished by state legislators in 2006 and replaced with a defined contribution plan. Senate Bill 88 would restore a defined benefit plan for new workers and allow current employees to choose between the new defined benefit and the current defined contribution plan.
An analysis presented last month to the State Senate’s finance committee by Alaska’s Department of Administration’s division of retirement and benefits projected that the current defined contribution system is providing significantly fewer benefits to its participants than the previous system.