Study of Wisconsin pension system recommends no changes

A detailed study of the state of Wisconsin’s retirement system has recommended no changes, calling the system “efficient, sustainable and stable.”

Several state agencies and private firms collaborated on the study, which was ordered in the budget Gov. Scott Walker signed last year. It found the state’s current pension system carried a low risk and a low cost to taxpayers with benefit levels lower than most major public plans. The study also found the system was insulated from large swings in annual contribution rates from members because of the way it shares costs and risk.

The study concluded that moving to a retirement plan more along the lines of a 401(k) could both decrease benefits for participants and increase administrative costs. And permitting employees to opt out of contributing to their pensions, the study found, could destabilize the pension fund and possibly run afoul of federal law.

Jim Palmer chairs the Wisconsin Coalition of Annuitants, which represents retirees who use the fund. He says the study shows there’s no need to tinker with what’s working. “The costs to the taxpayers are low. The value to the state and to the taxpayer is high. And I think it’s clear that the Wisconsin retirement system is healthy and there shouldn’t be any changes made to it.”

Gov. Walker issued a statement saying he was not currently planning any “substantial” changes to the Wisconsin Retirement System. Walker said the report showed that both taxpayers and pensioners are getting a great deal with the current system.

This study comes on the heels of a Pew report that found Wisconsin had the only fully-funded state pension system in the country.