State Capitol Bismarck (Tasha Carvell, KFGO News)
Bismarck, North Dakota (KFGO/PRAIRIE PUBLIC) – The state Senate has voted to proceed with plans to end the state employee’s “defined benefit” plan.
This bill – HB 1040 – would require new hires after January 1, 2025 to join a “defined contribution” plan.
Proponents of the bill say it is attractive to new hires because of its portability and giving employees more ownership of the plan. Senate Majority Leader David Hogue (R-Minot) told the Senate that defined benefit plans have not delivered on their promise to help attract employees to public service.
“Within three years of hiring, 46% of[state government]employees lost their jobs,” says Hogue. “He’s less than 15% capable of meeting the 90 rule. This is data that shows he’s not serving one of the primary objectives of keeping people in state government.”
Senator Dick Dever (R-Bismarck) has a different view. He told the Senate that several state officials approached him in the past few weeks.
“We were out shopping and someone came up to me and said, ‘I want to thank you for your work on the PERS[Public Service Retirement System].’ I’ve been in the service for years, but without my defined benefit, I wouldn’t have stayed in the state, so the argument that defined contributions are real recruitment tools is false.”
By a vote of 29 to 18, the Senate agreed to forward it to the Senate Appropriations Committee for further work.
