"Changing their tune".

• Position: Public employee retirement systems - Brief Article

Denby, Elayne R.

Plan Sponsor, November; 2000, PP. 17-18.

The last decade has seen a great amount of change in the traditionally styled pension offerings of public employee retirement systems. The state of Delaware is just one example used by the author to illustrate the migration from the straightforward defined benefit plans offered to public employees in the days of yore. In Delaware, they have seen a huge jump in participation rates since July 1, when the state legislature ruled that all employees who contribute to the $200 million-plus State of Delaware Deferred Compensation Program would receive a dollar-for-dollar match up to $20 a month. The changes to the plan inspired a 28.5 percent increase in plan participants, from 4,200 enrolls to 5,400. Other changes to the traditional ways of doing things involve allowing new lump-sum payments options. The Director of the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver, Colorado, notes that "Traditionally all states have only allowed for annuity payment options from their defined benefit systems." However, things appear to be changing. In both Kansas and Mississippi provisions have been enacted that allow partial lump-sum distributions from their defined benefit retirement systems. Lastly, an increasing number of states are evaluating the tradeoffs between defined contribution and defined benefit pensions and...