Jeremy Ring disowns task force’s pension reform move

State Sen. Jeremy Ring is lashing out against a government-efficiency task force report that again is recommending the state’s pension system be closed to new hires.

Ring released a statement through the Florida Senate Democratic Office Tuesday.

He is actually a member of the Task Force on Government Efficiency, having been appointed by outgoing Senate President Andy Gardiner.

“The Florida pension fund is the gold standard for the state of Florida, the only part of the state that’s not only stable but strong,” said Ring, a former Yahoo executive.

“By injecting a political agenda into its operations, the changes to the fund would not only bring about its eventual collapse, but jeopardize the state’s bond ratings and financial stability.”

The Naples Daily News on Monday reported the Task Force, created in 2006 and meeting every four years, said the state “could save $9.8 billion in 26 years if the Legislature closes the Florida Retirement System pension plan to new employees, an idea already rejected by lawmakers.”

The task force made the same suggestion four years ago.

For years, House Republicans have pushed some version of pension reform that fizzles out in the Senate. The House wants to move new state workers into 401(k)-style retirement accounts, as most private companies offer.

The Florida Retirement System, the nation’s fourth-biggest public retirement system, is currently 87 percent funded, Ring said.

As the Tampa Tribune once explained: “Financial experts generally call pension plans healthy if they’re at least 80 percent funded. That’s because employees retire at different times, meaning a run on the bank is unlikely.”

“There’s not a legitimate pension expert in this country that would sound the alarm on our state’s pension fund, and to suggest otherwise is a disservice to the beneficiaries, and the taxpayers of Florida,” Ring said.