There seems to be a war of words in progress regarding the city's pension fund. As executive director of the Fort Worth Employees' Retirement Fund, I'd like to let residents and taxpayers know about the benefits of the pension fund and how important it is, not only to its members, but to the local economy.
Most city employees continue to live in Tarrant County after retirement and spend their pension dollars here, which definitely helps support our tax base and local businesses.First, let me say that the city of Fort Worth's pension plan is healthy, based on standards established for public pension funds. Like any other public entity, the retirement fund must adhere to the accounting standards of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, and actuarial and reporting standards established by the Texas State Pension Review Board.Fort Worth's pension plan currently enjoys a funding period of 19.5 years, which falls well below the 40-year funding period required by the review board.The City Council and the Retirement Fund Board are taking positive steps to ensure the long-term health of the pension plan. Led by independent pension experts, we are holding a series of pension workshops to discuss maintaining the health of the plan while fulfilling the promises made to thousands of employees who work hard every day to make this city a great place to live, work and raise our families.In the past year, the city has made changes in the plan that will help ensure its long-term health. In addition to decreasing benefits for newly hired general employees, the city is now negotiating new contracts with police and fire, who have already stated their willingness to increase their contributions to the retirement plan. As a matter of fact, the fire contract is not up until 2013, but they are negotiating a year early because they want to be proactive in maintaining the health of the fund for future city personnel.It is true that the city pays almost 20 percent of payroll into the pension plan. Please keep in mind that several times the city increased its contribution to the pension plan in lieu of giving employees any sort of pay raise.But regardless of history, what do we, as taxpayers, get for that? Much of our quality of life is based on the health and safety of our communities. Police and fire personnel protect our lives, homes and possessions, zoning and code compliance employees protect the integrity of our neighborhoods, water employees protect our health by making sure our water is safe to drink and that people don't squander that precious resource ... I think you get the picture. Your tax money comes back to you in many ways, each and every day.The Retirement Fund Board is made up of 13 members: three retired city employees; four active city employees; five residents of Fort Worth who are appointed by the City Council, and one standing seat always held by the city's chief financial officer. Every one of these board members is highly educated on pension fund issues and is a taxpayer and concerned citizen. They take seriously their charge of making sure the pension fund stays healthy far into the future.The Fort Worth Employees' Retirement Fund has an important mission: to provide promised retirement benefits to city employees. We believe these employees (who are also taxpayers) have the right to work hard every day without worrying about whether or not they can afford to eventually retire, and without being treated in the media like they are parasites to the community they serve.Ruth Ryerson is executive director/CIO for the Fort Worth Employees' Retirement Fund. www.fwretirement.orgHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
