Legislators Treat The Law As An Option
Legislators Treat The Law As An Option
To the Editor:
Regarding the article in the December 10 Bee entitled âReport: Teacher Retirement Fund Is Short $5.2 Billionâ it should be noted that Connecticut General Statute 10-183z requires Connecticut legislators to fund the State Teachersâ Retirement System 100 percent of the amount recommended by the actuary. This law is aimed at erasing the unfunded liability of the system so there will always be enough money to pay retirees their pensions.
For 11 years Connecticut legislators have failed to fully fund the retirement system, which means in each of those years they have chosen to break their own law. Had legislators in Hartford obeyed this statute over the years, the retirement fund would not be facing a shortfall now. Their shortsighted decision not to fully fund the system has resulted in a loss of millions of dollars in interest the fully funded amounts would have earned had they been there, and it has put the retirement system in jeopardy. Legislators are treating the full funding law as an option, which is unconscionable. Now thousands of Connecticut retired teachers are left wondering if their pensions will always be there because our legislators chose to ignore the law.
Jerry Renjilian
179 Boggs Hill Road, Newtown                           December 14, 2004