By Tom Flanigan
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-956759.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – It appears Florida's state pension system is in good shape and getting better. But Tom Flanigan reports that hasn't changed Governor Scott's plan to have the state's public employees kick in five percent of their salaries to the fund.
It was the first time Governor Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater had met as the trustees of the State Board of Administration. That's the agency that keeps an eye on Florida's many investment funds. Its director Ash Williams said the state's public employee retirement system was as good as any state's and better than most.
"You have a gain of $52 billion, net of the distributions we've made, from the bottom of the market. So that's a good thing."
Governor Scott, who's no stranger to high finance, sought clarification on a few points.
"So what is it about how we manage our plan that we have this kind of a better ratio?"
But all the good news didn't change the governor's mind. He later told reporters he was still committed to requiring public employees to contribute five percent of their salaries to the plan.
"We should not have a pension plan that recipients of that pension plan people don't participate in. We need a pension plan that we see over time is going to be fully funded."
Governor Scott is also calling for a five-thousand dollar annual cap to the state's contribution to employee health coverage.