Arizona taxpayers have been shoveling out on average $17.5 million a year for the elected officials’ retirement system. This is a 325 percent increase since 2000, according to an investigation by The Arizona Republic.
Arizona’s Speaker of the House Kirk Adams, R-Mesa, has constructed a pension reform bill that will cut the luxury pension expenses for elected officials.
Elected officials receive pension benefits greater than state-funded employees such as teachers. The inequality needs to be brought to light, especially with a deficit in the billions of dollars.
What’s wrong with the current pension system? See for yourself: Today elected officials can retire in their 50s and receive over $100,000 annually in pensions, even while they are still elected, The Arizona Republic discovered.
The average pension is about $40,000 annually, but some of the highest pensions reach more than $200,000. More than 390 retired elected officials make more than $100,000 a year in pension money. In fact, at least 43 state elected officials actually make more in retirement than when they were in office thanks to Arizona’s pension system.
This is what we are paying for?
These public servant retirement benefits are mainly funded with taxpayer dollars, with the rest coming from deductions from elected officials’ salary and court fees, according to the Republic.
Basically we are paying for lawmakers’ lofty lifestyles after they are finished serving their community.
So after they are done cutting our education budget, killing transplant patients, passing anti-immigrant legislation, advocating for guns in classrooms, suing the federal government for “the invasion” of Mexicans and, of course, putting us farther in the hole than any other state, we are rewarding them.
Maybe I would feel better about showering our elected officials with treats if they were actually helping our state.
Adams’ bill intends to stop future employees from receiving the luxury benefits by cutting the cost-of-living increase that is currently at four percent.
The bill also includes provisions to equalize the retirement plans for elected officials. This would put their retirement plans on par with teachers’ plans.
“When a politician retires, they have a multiplier effect of 4 in their pension system; when a state employee retires it’s a multiplier effect of about 2.3 ... essentially their [retirement pensions] formula is double what a rank and file teacher formula would be,” said Adams to 12 News on “Sunday Square Off” this past week.
The inequality in our pension system for elected officials can answer some questions about our current financial state. It makes sense that lawmakers would design a state-funded plan to benefit themselves. They’re not paying for their retirement — we are.
Adams’ bill will hopefully end the luxury benefits state legislators receive and bring pension fairness to all government employees and taxpayers.
Contact Justine Garcia at jrgarci8@asu.edu
