The MoDOT and Patrol Employee’s Retirement System Study Committee met for the first time on July 25, 2019 to begin exploring Missouri retirement systems. The committee will study the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System (MOSERS) and the MoDOT and Patrol Employees’ Retirement System (MPERS), two of Missouri’s state employee pension funds, to identify ways to save taxpayer money, evaluate management and grow the funds for retirees.
Senator Eric Burlison, R-Battlefield, is chairman of the committee, and believes the committee will greatly benefit Missouri: “As a steward of taxpayer dollars, we have a responsibility to examine every opportunity to find savings. There are potential savings in these duplicative pension systems. While our state pensions have done a great job for their pensioners, I believe we can always do better. We have a responsibility to lift every rock and turn every stone for opportunities that might improve the outcomes for both the pensioners and the taxpayers.”
MOSERS consists of a vast majority of state employees, and MPERS belongs to MoDOT and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
This is not the first time members of the Missouri General Assembly have studied state pensions. In 2004, legislators looked into Missouri’s pension systems, and ultimately could not make recommendations. Senator Burlison thinks this year will be different: “We can build off the previous committee’s work, and look into what has happened since then. This is a great opportunity and we cannot squander it. I’m looking forward to working with my fellow senators and pension leadership to create a plan for the future.”
To hear Sen. Burlison discuss the MoDOT and Patrol Employee’s Retirement System Study Committee, please click here.
Please visit Sen. Burlison’s official Missouri Senate website for more information on his legislative agenda at www.senate.mo.gov/burlison.
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