SLS 20RS-835 ORIGINAL
2020 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 15
BY SENATOR PRICE
RETIREMENT BENEFITS. Urges and requests the state retirement systems to provide
information to the legislature regarding permanent benefit increases for retirees.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To urge and request the state retirement systems to report to the legislature on alternative
3 methods for providing permanent benefit increases to retirees.
4 WHEREAS, the constitution of Louisiana, the solemn expression of the will of the
5 people of this state, charges the legislature with the duty of providing for the retirement of
6 employees of the state and of the public educational system; and
7 WHEREAS, the legislature fulfilled this duty by establishing four state retirement
8 systems: the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System, the Teachers' Retirement
9 System of Louisiana, the Louisiana School Employees' Retirement System, and the State
10 Police Retirement System; and
11 WHEREAS, the benefits that members of these systems earn currently include no
12 mechanism that preserves the purchasing power of these earned retirement benefits; and
13 WHEREAS, Louisiana has demonstrated its commitment to actuarially sound
14 funding of these retirement systems and has taken meaningful steps to ensure the
15 sustainability of the defined benefit plans that replace and do not supplement Social Security
16 benefits; and
17 WHEREAS, in furtherance of this commitment, the legislature has acted to increase
18 the allocation of system assets toward decreasing debt, increasing funding, transitioning the
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SLS 20RS-835 ORIGINAL
1 systems to more conservative assumptions, and reducing inter-generational cost shifting; and
2 WHEREAS, as a result, less money accumulates in the special accounts designed to
3 fund permanent benefit increases for eligible retirees and other beneficiaries of the systems,
4 lengthening the time between increases; and
5 WHEREAS, the last permanent benefit increase, funded from the special accounts,
6 was effective July 1, 2016; and
7 WHEREAS, retired teachers' and state employees' benefits were increased by only
8 1.5% at that time and retired school employees and state troopers received a 2% increase;
9 and
10 WHEREAS, recipients of Social Security benefits receive cost-of-living adjustments
11 annually, based on the increase in the prices of goods; and
12 WHEREAS, beneficiaries of these four state retirement systems receive no such
13 cost-of-living adjustments, resulting in the erosion of their purchasing power over time.
14 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of Louisiana does hereby urge
15 and request the four state retirement systems, working together as appropriate, to study
16 alternative mechanisms for providing meaningful benefit increases on a regularly scheduled
17 basis, designed to preserve the purchasing power of the recipients.
18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate of Louisiana urges and requests the
19 state retirement systems to submit to the Senate no later than December 1, 2020, a single
20 report of their findings.
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the executive
22 director of each of the four state retirement systems.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by LG Sullivan.
DIGEST
SR 15 Original 2020 Regular Session Price
Urges and requests the state retirement systems to report to the legislature on alternative
methods for providing permanent benefit increases to retirees.
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