October 15, 2009

The Ohio Retriement Study Council (ORSC) met on Wednesday, October 14 for further work on possible changes to Ohio's public pensions. For more background on what's happened up to now, see the posting below.

For now, there's not much to tell that's new.

No draft legislation was available from the October 14 meeting, nor was any expected at this time. (Most of the significant changes being considered for Ohio's five public pensions will require a change to state law.)

An ORSC representative advised on October 15 that there were two noteworthy events at this month's meeting. The Council received a report of the various plans' investment performance through June 30, 2008, which is the latest period for which data can readily be compiled. This is a regular occurrence for the Council.

ORSC members also received a matrix prepared by ORSC staff, outlining the similarities and differences among the proposals issued by OPERS, STRS, SERS, OP&F, and HPRS. It's a table that shows the same information from ORSC's summary of the plans' individual proposals. You can see the matrix (which makes it much easier to see similarities among the pensions system's proposals) at http://www.orsc.org/uploadpdf/ORSC_Comparative_Summary.pdf.

ORSC staff are working with the pension systems to draft legislation that would carry out their proposals. The Ohio Legislative Service Commission (LSC) will write the actual legislative language, and the bills would then be submitted to the Ohio General Assembly for consideration. Along the way, LSC will write an anaylsis explaining the bills. ORSC would write an analysis of its own, but they would include recommendations of possible changes to the bills.

While legislation is expected to be drafted during 2009, I do not expect our state Representatives or Senators to vote on it until 2010. Once proposed changes in the law are under consideration by the General Assembly, the public will be able to comment on the legislation before any changes are finalized.

With the next ORSC meeting scheduled for November, don't plan on much news for the next several weeks. But we can look forward to a busy 2010, as changes to Ohio's five state pensions get closer and closer to becoming law.

—Ken Robinson