HOUSE MEMORIAL 1

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2024

INTRODUCED BY

Joy Garratt and Eleanor Ch vez

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE LEGISLATIVE FINANCE COMMITTEE TO CONDUCT A STUDY ON EQUALIZING THE PENSION BENEFIT STRUCTURES OF THE EDUCATIONAL RETIREMENT BOARD AND THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE INTERIM COMMITTEE THAT STUDIES INVESTMENTS AND PENSIONS AND THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO BUREAU OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH.

 

     WHEREAS, the legislature has established two separate retirement systems: the educational retirement board, created in 1925 to serve university faculty, which now includes teachers and other employees in public and higher education within its scope; and the public employees retirement association, created in 1945 to serve state government employees, which now includes municipal and county employees within its scope; and

     WHEREAS, the two retirement systems administer different computations of pension benefits, multipliers and cost-of-living adjustments under their respective pension plan options, resulting in a substantial inequity of retirement benefits provided to the members of the educational retirement system versus the members of the public employees retirement system; and

     WHEREAS, the educational retirement board contracted with the university of New Mexico bureau of business and economic research to study the historical differences between the educational retirement board's pension plan and the public employees retirement association's pension plans; and

     WHEREAS, the university of New Mexico bureau of business and economic research published a report in September 2020 comparing the two retirement systems; and

     WHEREAS, the report found that members of the educational retirement system earn slightly less in compensation during their active years and receive significantly less in pension benefits than members of the public employees retirement system with comparable backgrounds and experience levels; and

     WHEREAS, the report pointed out that historically, elementary and secondary education professionals have predominantly been women and that there is a potential gender disparity as the result of the differences in how each retirement system is administered; and

     WHEREAS, the disparity may be mitigated by bringing the educational retirement system's pension benefit structure into parity with the structure of the public employees retirement system's pension benefits;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the legislative finance committee be requested to conduct a comprehensive study on equalizing computations of pension benefits, multipliers and cost-of-living adjustments for members of the pension plan offered by the educational retirement board and the pension plans offered by the public employees retirement association, in collaboration with the interim committee that studies investments and pensions and the university of New Mexico bureau of business and economic research; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study research the histories of the two plans and their different pension benefit structures; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislative finance committee and the university of New Mexico bureau of business and economic research report their findings and recommendations for equalizing the two retirement systems to the interim committee that studies investments and pensions before the 2025 legislative session; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the director of the legislative council service on behalf of the interim committee that studies investments and pensions, the director of the legislative finance committee, the director of the university of New Mexico bureau of business and economic research, the executive director of the public employees retirement association and the executive director of the educational retirement board.

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