People who work for Missouri could earn pensions faster under bill OK'd by House
JEFFERSON CITY • In an effort to better attract and retain talented employees despite having the lowest-paid state workforce in the nation, the Missouri House voted Wednesday to cut in half the amount of time they have to work to earn a pension.
Under the plan put forward by Rep. Mike Bernskoetter, R-Jefferson City, employees would qualify for pensions at age 67 after working five years instead of 10.
Lawmakers and former Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, approved lengthening the qualifying period to 10 years in 2010 as a way to offer $150 million in tax breaks to Ford Motor Co. and other car makers to keep their facilities in Missouri. It went into effect for new hires beginning in January 2011 and was projected to save the state an estimated $660 million over 10 years.
But reverting back to five years is one of several recommendations made in a 2016 report that found Missouri state workers were the worst-paid in the country.
Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/people-who-work-for-missouri-could-earn-pensions-faster-under/article_e1a337d7-16e0-56d0-848d-a9e7dd26a91e.html