Letter to the Editor: The health of IPERS

To the Editor:

With the start of a new legislative session, public workers are keeping an eye on their IPERS. In the past, Republicans have offered little reassurance that our public employees retirement system wouldn’t be harmed. You may remember the “tweak” made to collective bargaining a few years back.

Everyone in our state benefits from the influx of money from this retirement system. It is an economic boon to our local economies.

So, what is the health of IPERS? Some lawmakers will tell you that IPERS is not fully vested at only 80% and that it’s seven trillion dollars behind. This is not a realistic portrayal of the current health of IPERS. In order for that scenario to play out, all participants would have to leave the system at the same time and there would be no new participants coming in.

We have one of the most healthy public retirement systems in the country. IPERS is secure and if a lawmaker tells you it isn’t, be wary - they are not being honest with you. Public employees have long been the target of Republicans at the state level. If you want to protect IPERS, support those that didn’t gut collective bargaining in 2017.

Sincerely,

Kathy Hannum
Waukon