44th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2000

REQUESTING THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT BOARD AND THE EDUCATIONAL RETIREMENT BOARD TO STUDY THE FEASIBILITY OF OFFERING EMPLOYEES A CHOICE OF A VARIETY OF CONTRIBUTION RATES WITH CONSEQUENTIAL RETIREMENT BENEFITS.

WHEREAS, the purpose of a retirement program should be to provide financial security to employees after their working careers; and

WHEREAS, because of budget constraints, many of New Mexico's public sector employees are faced with relatively small salaries and annual salary increases while their retirement benefits are considered among the best in the nation; and

WHEREAS, the need for current expendable income versus the need for a higher or lower retirement benefit may vary greatly among a group of employees depending upon such factors as the number of family members, the number of incomes per family and the number of family members participating in retirement programs; and

WHEREAS, many of today's public sector employees are sophisticated financial planners and quite capable of selecting retirement benefits that are best suited for themselves; and

WHEREAS, the availability of only one retirement benefit for a large group of employees may no longer be the most practical or the most beneficial to the employees;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the public employees retirement board and the educational retirement board be requested to conduct a study of the actuarial and practical feasibility of offering a variety of choices to public employees whereby an employee can elect to make higher or lower contributions into a retirement system in return for eventual lower or higher retirement benefits; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the public employees retirement board and the educational retirement board submit the results of their study, including their findings and recommendations, to the first session of the forty-fifth legislature; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the public employees retirement board and the educational retirement board.