We have a battle ahead in the 2012 General Assembly.  It was a miracle that we won the pension battle in the last session, and in November's elections we lost some key friends.  What VRS is saying regarding the state's ability to change the benefits of current retirees and vested employees is shifting, partly because case law is emerging in states that have faced legal challenges after making changes to the pension plans in other states.
VEA attended the Virginia Municipal League Finance Forum on December 1st and asked VRS Director Bob Shultze how pension "reform" might impact existing, vested VRS employees.   He indicated that the case law in Virginia is very sketchy.  The Constitution says only that the General Assembly cannot pass a law that impairs a contract.  Recent decisions in Minnesota and Colorado about pension changes for government employees considered three points:
- Is there a contract
- Do the changes impair the contract
- If there is a contract and it is impaired, is the change reasonable and in the best interest of the public.
Previously, VRS legal counsel said that changes to already earned benefits were likely to be found illegal.  Changes to future benefits for vested employees are possible.  Suffice it to say that legal arguments against changing VRS will be perceived as being more questionable than they were in the past. Please make plans to attend VEA's Lobby Day on January 23rd and the Rally at the Capitol at 1 p.m. on that day at the Bell Tower.
The VEA is part of a coalition, Better Choices for Virginia (http://betterchoicesva.org/ ), and we are working together to urge the governor not to take a cuts-only approach in his budget.  Please follow the link  to read more, and sign onto the petition.  http://bit.ly/rUHe9C.
Check out ERFC in the Member Benefits section for local retirement information.