By Leonard Gilroy and Zachary Christensen
Source: Reason Foundation
Alaska’s government employees do not participate in Social Security, which leaves a significant gap in retirement benefits. Most of the state’s government workers participate in the Alaska Supplemental Annuity Plan (SBS-AP), which more than replaces the benefits they would have received under Social Security. School employers, however, do not offer this benefit, leaving teachers at significant risk of inadequate savings for retirement. Senate Bill 55 (SB 55) aims to address this gap by making the same SBS plan available to teachers through school employers.
Senate Bill 55 fills a hole in teacher retirement security
SB 55 would require all school employers to enroll in the existing SBS-AP program or to offer an adequate replacement for teachers. Teachers would see contributions withheld from their paycheck starting at 1% and gradually growing to 6.13% over 6 years. Their employers would be required to match these contributions.