Each year, NCRGEA develops a set of legislative or advocacy goals that guide the work of the Association in the General Assembly and with the Pension Systems’ Board of Trustees.
“While we don’t have a formal process for gathering information from our members, an important part of this process is listening to what our members say,” said Linda Suggs, chairperson of NCRGEA’s Government Relations Committee. This input, combined with advice from the Association’s lobbyists, is the basis for the initial draft of the annual goals.
“Our lobbyists give the Government Relations Committee a draft of goals based on the key issues the General Assembly will be dealing with in the up-coming session,” explained Suggs. “We take a hard look at those, review what our members have said, and then forward to the Executive Committee a second draft. They edit that if they see fit, and forward their draft to the Board of Directors for final approval.”
Each member of NCRGEA’s Board is a retired state or local government employee, and they, like its members, are concerned about having a strong, stable pension system that its members can count on. “NCRGEA does not rank its goals, but getting a true COLA for state and local government retirees is always its number one priority,” says Suggs. “Keeping the pension system strong is right behind it.”
NCRGEA has many active programs and processes in place to achieve its annual goals, but to be even more effective, the Association needs the voice of its members to be heard in the General Assembly.
“We really need our members to be involved with the issues we are trying to achieve,” said Suggs. “One of the most important things is, they have to know who their representatives are. You’d be surprised at how many people can’t tell you who represents them in the General Assembly. On the NCRGEA webpage under the “Advocacy” tab, there is the “Find my NC Legislator” link to give you that information.
The second thing is, meet them. When they’re campaigning, go and meet them, listen to what they are saying, ask questions and get to know them. Politics is all about relationships. Develop relationships early so that when crunch time comes, you can call on them, and they will know who you are.”
“Third, use the tools on NCRGEA’s website, such as FastDemocracy. This tool puts all the information you need about your legislators at your fingertips, including their voting history and the committees they serve on. The better you know your legislators, the more confidently and effectively you can discuss issues with them.”
FastDemocracy
FastDemocracy also helps NCRGEA mobilize its members with “call for action” messages. “When the Association sends a call for action, open up the email,” stressed Suggs. “It will have a message that NCRGEA has crafted on the specific issue. You can personalize it if you want, but you don’t have to. Just fill in the box with your name and email address, hit “send,” and it will automatically go to your representative in the General Assembly. It’s that easy.
“For NCRGEA members, one of the most important races is the race for State Treasurer,” says Suggs. “Our state is one of only three states where the State Treasurer has total control on how the money in our pension funds is handled. We need to know what candidates’ top priorities would be if elected. Ask:
What they would do to make possible a COLA or bonus for members of TSERS and LGERS on a regular basis?
How they will protect and strengthen the pension system?
These are important questions for our next State Treasurer.
Lastly, be the first to congratulate the winner, even if you didn’t vote for them. Whether you voted for the winner or not, that person now will represent you in the General Assembly!
NCRGEA Advocacy Goals
1. Advocate for annual cost of living adjustments for all state and local government retirees.
2. Strengthen and protect the state’s defined benefit plan to attract and retain the best and brightest public servants.
3. Defend public sector benefits so all public sector retirees can participate in traditional retirement systems.
4. Ensure the State of North Carolina will continue to fulfill its constitutional and legal requirements to fully fund North Carolina Retirement Systems and the State Health Plan.
5. Expand the Bailey tax exemption to all state and local retirees and pursue other tax exemption opportunities for government retirees.
For more information on NCRGEA’s advocacy goals and how to assist the Association in obtaining them, watch our February 7 Lunch and Learn webinar on our YouTube channel.
Legislators began the week with a busy three days of committee meetings and votes. The week stalled abruptly due to the death of Rick Moore, a King’s Mountain councilman and father to House Speaker Tim Moore. The Senate held committee meetings Tuesday but canceled meetings Wednesday and Thursday, as the late Mr. Moore’s funeral was held Wednesday, May 29. The House canceled its week Tuesday, including voting sessions previously scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
COLAs
Currently, there are three bills appropriating both a percentage cost of living adjustment (COLA) and a lump sum appropriation. SB 805 and House companion bill 934, “Make State Employment Great Again”, has a one-time, $100,000,000 bonus line item for retirees S805v1.pdf (ncleg.gov); H934v1.pdf (ncleg.gov). House Bill 930 H930v1.pdf (ncleg.gov) provides a 3 percent recurring adjustment for both state and local retirees, with a total price tag of $231,000,000. All three bills have passed first reading and are currently scheduled in the respective chamber’s rules committees.
Other Bills Affecting Retirees
Last week, three bills pertaining to retirees passed two committees and the House, with one sent to the Senate by special messenger. Two of the bills were technical. The other, HB 1020, Retirement Administrative Changes Act of 2024, has varied changes in current retirement policy. This includes expanding eligibility for participation in the state’s supplemental retirement plan (401k), tightening penalties for employers that submit late contributions, and ending retirement payments for persons also receiving subsequent severance.
In its original form, Section V of the bill pertained to tightening payroll and pension deduction requirements for both retiree and active associations, sunsetting groups that had: a) membership of less than 2,000 and b) had not deducted in December 2023. The NCRGEA Government Relations team and others worked together to have this language stricken from the bill. The bill is now in Rules and Operations and its latest edition may be found here: H1020v3.pdf (ncleg.gov).
House Bill 237, “Unmask Mobs and Criminals,” dramatically changed form from its original House version, only to have the House non-concur when the bill returned from Senate passage. While many provisions of the bill returned masking policy back to pre-COVID status, opponents of the bill say the bill reaches too far, restricting masks for persons with health issues. The bill is now considered dead, with opposition from both parties.
Another healthcare bill passed the Senate Healthcare Committee recently, and now rests in Senate Finance. HB 681: Healthcare Flexibility Act H681v2.pdf (ncleg.gov) originally passed the House in 2023 with unanimous, bipartisan support. Its latest version includes revised physician interstate licensure compact language and adds other healthcare policy priorities of the Senate.
These include:
• Ability for nurse practitioners with 4,000 hours of practice experience to be eligible to apply for full practice authority. • Prohibition of facility fees for treatments performed in a non-hospital setting.
While running skeletal sessions for the remainder of the week, the legislature will fully return Monday, June 3.
A new state law related to the pensions of two of North Carolina’s largest health systems has stirred up controversy among stakeholders across the region.
The new law, called the Transformational Investments in NC Health, was created for UNC Health and ECU Health. UNC Health and ECU Health are the regional healthcare systems based at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and East Carolina University in Greenville. Both are state agencies.
The law prohibits new employees at UNC Health and ECU Health from participating in the traditional state retirement program—a system that guarantees retired state employees an income for the rest of their lives after they retire. Instead, new employees at UNC Health and ECU Health would enroll in an investment program to save for retirement, but that program doesn’t guarantee a post-retirement lifetime income.
The Transformational Investments in NC Health law was part of the state’s 2023–2025 biennial budget, which the General Assembly approved in September. The law allocates $420 million to UNC Health and ECU Health for the NC Care initiative. The initiative is for health clinic and hospital construction and other medical services for rural areas of eastern North Carolina.
According to the office of State Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, some of the $420 million for NC Care is coming from the $1.6 billion “sign-on bonus” that North Carolina is getting from the federal government for expanding Medicaid health insurance to several hundred thousand uninsured lower-income North Carolinians. Funding for NC Care also comes from the State Capital and Infrastructure Fund, a fund the legislature established to pay for public infrastructure and facilities.
But State Treasurer Dale Folwell says this law threatens the stability and long-term health of the pension plan for retired state employees and future retirees. “This is a torpedo to the pension system,” he says. He believes the law also would drive up the price of providing health insurance benefits for state employees, and the costs could be transferred to the employees through their premiums or to North Carolina taxpayers.
Folwell estimated the liabilities to the pension and state health benefits systems could exceed $1.5 billion. The new law could have the collateral damage of putting increased income taxes on state employees by canceling the tax-deferred status of their retirement contributions, according to Folwell. His office oversees the state pension system and the state health plan medical insurance benefits system.
Critical Choices
The normal pension offered to state employees is the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System. But there also is an optional retirement program for employees of the University of North Carolina System, which includes all the state universities and UNC Health and ECU Health hospital systems. While the state treasurer’s office oversees the traditional pension program, the UNC System manages the optional retirement program. Employees of those health systems may participate in either retirement program.
In the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System, employees put in 6% of their salaries (and this money is tax-deferred, so it reduces the employee’s taxable income). The employing agency also contributes. The treasurer’s office invests the money, and when the employee retires, he or she will get a monthly payment based on how long they worked and the average of their highest four years of salary, a state retirement document says. Approximately 85% of a retiree’s benefits from the pension are derived from their own contributions and earnings.
“More than 90% of those who make less than $40,000 a year choose the retirement plan because it provides them with the certainty that they need when they don’t have the income to be retirement-ready on their own,” Folwell says. Among university employees earning more than $100,000, 58% choose the pension plan, and 42% choose the investment plan, says Patrick Kinlaw, the director of policy, planning, and compliance for the Retirement Systems Division at the treasurer’s office.
People who would like more control of their retirement planning can use the Optional Retirement Program, according to a guide published by the UNC System. As with the normal plan, employees put in 6% of their income (tax-deferred). Employees can direct the money to various mutual funds and other investment tools.
Folwell says the optional retirement program can be more attractive to employees with higher incomes. Regardless of whether the employees choose the standard or the optional retirement program, the state already offers all of them supplemental investment options to help increase their retirement nest eggs.
According to the Retirement Systems Division at the treasurer’s office, as of December 2022 there were 298,000 state employees contributing to the Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System, and 21,000 in the UNC optional retirement program.
The treasurer’s office says that if UNC Health or ECU Health produce a new retirement program that allows employees to put in an amount other than 6% of their income (for example, 4%), the Internal Revenue Service could cancel the tax break that the employees receive on their retirement contributions.
The tax break on the retirement contribution reduces the employees’ taxable income. If an employee had a $50,000 salary, the 6% contribution is $3,000 and lowers the taxable income to $47,000.
The IRS requires the retirement contributions offered to the employees to all be the same percentage, according to the treasurer’s office. If UNC Health offers existing employees both the current 6% program plus a new 4% contribution program, the IRS could revoke the tax break for everyone.
The Big Picture
Dan Doonan of the National Institute on Retirement Security says employers in the public and private sector sometimes withdraw from their pension plans, and there are three concerns when that happens.
First, when UNC Health and ECU Health reduce their participation in the retirement system by excluding new employees, the agencies’ share of payments going into the retirement system will decline more quickly than the amount retirees drawing pensions from the plan are paid.
“What that means is, with any unfunded liabilities, there’s going to be a cost shift to the rest of the employers still in the system,” Doonan says. In this case, the other tax-funded state agencies.
Second, after the employer departs from a pension program, the risks involved in running the pension plan will be more concentrated on the remaining employers and employees. “If you have a Great Recession-type event, the employers who leave aren’t going to be there to help get things back on track,” Doonan says.
The third concern, according to Doonan, is ending up with a pension fund with more retirees and fewer workers.
“And when you look at private sector multi-employer plans that have struggled—and particularly coming out of the Great Recession—they tend to be the ones that had a lot of retirees and few workers,” he says. “Because there’s no way to get back on track if you start to get really retiree-heavy.”
When an employer or state agency exits a pension plan, it normally makes a payment to the pension plan to cover the financial liabilities it leaves behind for its employees who have been in the system.
That’s not happening with UNC Health and ECU Health, according to Folwell. “It’s a divorce where one party leaves the family and doesn’t pay the liabilities and debts they’ve left behind,” he says. Fowell estimates the health systems would have to pay more than $1 billion to make the state health plan whole, and more than $500 million to make the pension plan whole.
A study that Doonan and Tyler Bond of the National Institute on Retirement Security published in 2019 looked at what happened when pensions were shut down for state workers in several states.
When Alaska shut down its pension for state employees and teachers in 2005, it still owed pensions to workers who had already been in the system, the report found. Those costs grew into the billions. Meanwhile, after the pensions were eliminated, the state had trouble recruiting teachers, state troopers and other public employees. And people retiring without a traditional pension were more likely to suffer financial hardship.
The Alaska Beacon reported this past February that Alaska was considering reviving its pensions for state employees. It said a state study found that Alaskan government retirees relying on investment-based retirement programs were getting significantly less income than they would have if Alaska had not done away with its pensions.
Elsewhere, Michigan cut off new employees from pension eligibility in 1997. The burden on taxpayers grew to pay the retirements to the workers that had been in the system. And workers in the new, non-pension 401(k) were projected to receive only $300 per month on average, vs. $1,849 under the old pension plan, the study found.
Differing Opinions
But the two health systems say Folwell’s dire predictions for the retirement system and state health plan are wrong.
“ECU Health does not anticipate these changes will negatively impact the state of North Carolina,” ECU Health says in a statement. As of early November, details about the new retirement programs for UNC Health and ECU Health were unavailable.
In a statement to Living Power, UNC Health also defended the Transformational Investments in NC health law.
“These new benefits will mirror what other similarly sized health care systems in the state offer their employees,” says Alan Wolf, a spokesman for UNC Health. “That will allow UNC Health to better compete with the private sector on hiring and retaining employees by allowing for new retirement benefits, outside the ones normally offered by the state.”
The law also allows UNC Health to let existing employees switch to the new benefits plans, although there are no current plans to do so. “That is a new policy we could consider offering, but we are not obligated to do so,” Wolf says.
ECU Health says it “does not anticipate any impacts to existing state employees” based on its participation in the new law’s benefits programs. Of the 14,000 people at ECU Health, only 1,200 are state employees. The rest are private-sector employees operating under ECU Health and do not participate in the State Health Plan or state retirement system.
UNC Health has 30,000 people, with 13,500 state employees and 16,500 private sector employees, according to Wolf.
But NCRGEA executive director Tim O’Connell shares concern with this new law. He believes it will increase costs over time to these healthcare entities, those seeking healthcare, and even the taxpayers.
“There is some great empirical research highlighting the fact that defined benefit plans like a pension are nearly twice as efficient as defined contribution plans,” O’Connell says. “Pensions plans have distinct advantages by design with longevity pooling, portfolio diversification, and lower management fees. If these two state healthcare systems do away with the current pension and health benefits, they will either need to absorb these higher personnel costs that are then passed on to patients or reduce the employee benefits. Neither are great options.”
In June of 2023, the State of North Carolina, including the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees and State Treasurer Dale Folwell, filed a Writ of Prohibition with the North Carolina Supreme Court seeking to overturn and prohibit the March 2022 Supreme Court decision on Lake v. NC State Health Plan from moving forward at the trial court level. The North Carolina Supreme Court’s March 2022 decision determined that eligible State employees have a contractually vested right in a noncontributory health plan for life, equivalent to the plan in place when a class member’s rights are vested.
On October 20, 2023, the North Carolina Supreme Court denied the Writ of Prohibition, allowing the case to continue to be adjudicated in the Gaston County, North Carolina Superior Court.
NCRGEA continues its work to advance, promote, and protect the benefits, interests, and well-being of North Carolina’s retired state and local public servants in the Lake Case. Click the video at left to hear a report from ABC11 News in Raleigh.
As Executive Director Tim O’Connell explains in this video: “To take care of them in the retirement years, based upon a contractual promise, is being a good steward for North Carolina.”
District 94 Representative Jeffrey Elmore, right, and NCRGEA’s Executive Director, Tim O’Connell, discuss the importance of a defined benefits plan for retirees and its value in attracting and retaining our current public service workforce. Elmore serves as a member of the House’s Pensions and Retirement Committee and also happens to be a public-school teacher. Meetings like these with legislators are just one of the ways NCRGEA advocates for state and local government retirees.
Representing our state’s more than 357,000 state and local retirees, your NCRGEA board of directors, executive director, and government relations team create a series of legislative goals that best addresses the quality of life for North Carolina’s government retirees. These goals are developed to align with the legislative biennium, a two-year session consisting of one long and one short session, beginning in each odd-number year.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit our country, there was a dramatic shift in the quality of life for everyone, including our members and all in retirement. NCRGEA worked to address this with more holistic and expansive legislative goals focusing on healthcare, telehealth, and broadband.
Our focus to keep our state’s pension system healthy and productive for you and generations of retirees remains steadfast. In this new age, job vacancies in all industries have increased substantially. This is especially true in government, where roughly 30 percent of public sector openings remain unfilled. Why does this matter to you? All public sector employees contribute to their respective pension systems. When vacancies are high, less employee and employer revenue is contributed to the pension systems.
Here’s a status report of 2023-2024 biennium legislative goals:
Advocate for annual cost of living adjustments for all government retirees. While the budget remains unfinished at press time, your NCRGEA government relations team has tirelessly pursued additional money for state and local retirees. Local retirees can only receive a bonus or COLA with approval by the Local Government Retirement System Board of Trustees. Such a vote will likely occur in January 2024. On our website, you can learn more about the Local Government Trustees and statutes relating to Local Government COLA processes. For state government retirees and retired teachers, bonus or COLA money is expected in the final state budget. We will send a legislative update to all members by email when the biennium budget is approved.
Strengthen the state’s defined benefit plan to attract and retain the best and brightest public servants. Efforts to increase salaries for teachers and state government professionals are well underway, and such raises will be released when the state house and senate agree on a tax package as well as salary pay for active employees.
Ensure the State of North Carolina will continue to fulfill its constitutional requirement to fully fund North Carolina Retirement Systems and the State Health Plan. The State of North Carolina is bound by the North Carolina Constitution and case law to guarantee pensioners’ benefits. The state will fully fund both the pension system and State Health Plan this biennium.
Increase in-person and telehealth access, improving health outcomes for retirees. Healthcare for all North Carolinians has been a battleground in the General Assembly. The largest has been a shift in legislative opinion regarding Medicaid expansion. At the same time, significant legislation on how hospitals are approved and managed, along with bills focused on improving health outcomes for the elderly and children, have been debated.
Expand first, middle, and last-mile broadband opportunities to provide increased, dependable, affordable access to broadband. Six broadband bills were introduced for the 2023 long session, many including expanded access in rural areas. An existing effort, the GREAT grant act, has included stepped-up funding since the pandemic.
Expand the Bailey tax exemption for state and local retirees and pursue other tax exemption opportunities. Tax exemption bills for government retirees were filed in both the House and Senate. It appears future discussion of this type of legislation may roll into next year’s short session.
More details on the status of bills related to NCRGEA legislative’s agenda can be found on NCRGEA’s FastDemocracy Bill Tracker, that is available to you on our website.
Governor Cooper Announces North Carolina Will Receive More Than $1.5 Billion in Federal Funding to Expand High-Speed Internet Access Across the State
Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded North Carolina more than $1.5 billion to fund high-speed internet infrastructure under the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.
Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded North Carolina more than $1.5 billion to fund high-speed internet infrastructure under the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.
“State and federal partnerships are critical to helping us close the digital divide and we are grateful to the Biden-Harris administration for this historic investment to expand high-speed Internet access in North Carolina,” said Governor Cooper. “Through this program, we will continue to make tremendous progress in making sure every household and business in our state is connected.”
The N.C. Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT’s) Division of Broadband and Digital Equity has developed a draft five-year plan outlining how the agency will invest BEAD funding across North Carolina. The draft plan has been posted online and is available for public comment via email to NCDITpartnerfeedback@nc.gov until Monday, July 17 at 5 p.m. The division will submit the five-year plan to NTIA by July 29 as part of the process for North Carolina to access its allocated BEAD funding.
“We continue to work tirelessly to achieve the best return on our investment as we allocate federal resources to address unserved and underserved locations across North Carolina,” said NCDIT Secretary and State Chief Information Officer Jim Weaver. “We appreciate the strong partnerships that have helped us identify needs throughout the state so that we can take strategic steps to reach every North Carolinian.”
The broadband division recently announced that its challenges to the Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Map aided in surfacing 115,000 additional North Carolina homes and businesses that do not have access to high-speed internet, adding more new unserved locations to the map through this process than any other state. These additions increased North Carolina’s funding allocation from the BEAD program.
The BEAD program received funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet For All initiative. More information about the initiative and the state’s other Internet For All funding can be found on this fact sheet.
To learn more about the NCDIT Division of Broadband and Digital Equity and Governor Cooper’s plan to close the digital divide in North Carolina, please visit www.ncbroadband.gov.
The General Assembly meets biennially and all members are elected for two-year terms. The House consists of 120 members and the Senate has 50 members. It meets in the North Carolina Legislative Building, shown here, located at 16 West Jones St., in Raleigh.
Congratulations! You are a member of the largest association of retired government professionals in the United States. Now more than a half century old, we were then, and are today, the primary voice and advocate for North Carolina’s local and state governmental retired public servants.
As you may well remember, when we founded in 1972, our country was headed into troublesome times. Gas prices and inflation were gearing up for history making highs, we were fiercely engaged in the Cold War, and societal unease was tense across the country. Yet we remained focused on our purpose: you.
Fast forward to today, and while the past may be prologue, our focus remains the same: you.
What does that mean for you? In addition to our life impacting benefits, we have a daily presence at the North Carolina General Assembly, boards of trustees overseeing our retirement systems, and other bodies relevant to retiree matters. Our bipartisan, four member lobbyist team and NCRGEA executive leadership work with elected and appointed officials, fighting to protect the quality of life that you rightfully earned.
As our purpose is you, you are what matters most to our elected officials. You are the constituent, the fellow church member, the neighbor our elected officials are charged to serve. You are also the women and men who are the girders of a safe, well educated, prosperous, and clean North Carolina. You kept our roads maintained, educated our children, put the bad guys away, helped people in perilous times, and made our environment safe. You are, truly, the backbone of what is today one of the most desirous states to live, work, and play.
With the NCRGEA, you have a family of almost 67,000 fellow retired public servants. We are mighty in scope and in size, and can have a unified, bellowing voice with our elected officials. We look forward to continuing to serve you and fight for your quality of life.
Our elected officials need to know you. Here is how you can better engage in the legislative process as a retiree advocate; click below to download or enlarge the infographic:
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