NFIB State Director Charlie Owens (Last on the Right) joins Governor Rick Snyder as he signs legislation to address unfunded government employee benefit liabilities.
Michigan small business owners support efforts to bring common sense to generous government employee pensions and health insurance.
In 2017, NFIB efforts were successful in addressing the ongoing liability of the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System (the state’s teacher pension system) by supporting legislation to move newly hired teachers from the unsustainable defined benefit plan to a 401(k)-type defined contribution plan.
Also, NFIB supported legislation to address the other government pension “elephant in the room” that being the state’s more than 2,800 government entities such as school districts, cities, townships and counties that have pension and other post-employment benefit obligations (OPEB) underfunded by an estimated $17.4 billion.
This new legislation, Public Act 202 of 2017, requires local governments to totally fund current benefit payouts and adhere to a common reporting format that will provide more transparency and alert state authorities to benefit funds that are in danger of insolvency.
