Revisions to teacher retirements approved

A financial oversight panel of the General Assembly on Thursday approved Gov. Ned Lamont’s plan to spread out payments to the Teachers Retirement Plan to 2049, to avoid an onerous, multibillion dollar payment that would come due within five years.

The Democrat-dominated Appropriations Committee approved the reamortization plan, which would cost taxpayers $15.6 billion over the period of the 17-year extension to the current bonding period, according to the non-partisan legislative Office of Fiscal Analysis.

The measure was one of the first collaborations between Lamont and State Treasurer Shawn Wooden, in attempt to shore up the long-term health of the troubled retirement plan.

The financial maneuver includes an estimated $900 million in savings over the next five years, through the reduction of the estimated rate of return on pension fund investments, lowering it from an unrealistic 8 percent, down to 6.9 percent.

The Connecticut Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers and the Association of Retired Teachers of Connecticut all supported the legislation.

Wooden stressed that pension liabilities affect every taxpayer in Connecticut.

“Finding a solution to the longstanding problem with the teachers’ retirement fund is one of the reasons I ran for treasurer, and has been one of my top priorities since taking office,” he said in a statement.

“Without this legislation, required payments into the fund are projected to increase to an unsustainable level, peaking in 2032 at nearly $3.4 billion.”

The party-line vote came after little debate, but a brief explanation from OFA staff. It next moves to the Senate. There are about 37,260 retirees and 50,000 active public school teachers in the system.