- State legislators propose reintroducing pensions for new corrections officers.
- Pension plans for state employees, including corrections officers, stopped 27 years ago.
- The new bills would also allow current officers to buy into the pension system.
- Retired officer Shana Fischer believes pensions are crucial for hiring and retention.
- The bills are now with the House Committee on Labor in Lansing.
For your convenience, the skimmable summary above is generated with the assistance of AI and fact-checked by our team prior to publication. Read the full story as originally reported below.
Shana Fischer worked in prisons across mid-Michigan for more than 27 years.
She started work before the state removed the pension plan for correctional officers.
"I probably wouldn't have made it 5 years had I not had that pension to look forward to and that's definitely what kept me in my job," Fischer said.
Now, new corrections officers are offered a 401-k for retirement but bringing back the pension, is one idea to help with staffing issues at the Michigan Department of Corrections, or MDOC.
According to the MDOC, more than one in six positions statewide are vacant and the Cotton Correctional Facility in Jackson County has more than one in three positions open.
The state senate passed a bill that would bring back a pension for prison guards across the state.
"Everyone I've spoken with has told me that giving access to the state police pension fund is a big part of the solution to address both hiring and retention issues, and will serve as a huge morale boost for Michigan's correction workers," State Senator Damoose said.
Some lawmakers say that adding employees to the pension system would hurt the state's finances.
"In the 2023-2024 fiscal year alone, our state spent an estimated $229 million of the corrections budget on legacy costs alone. This is a plan that was closed 27 years ago. We need to know the extent of these costs in order to make better decision moving forward," State Senator Albert said.
The Senate Fiscal Agency says the change would cost an additional 18 million dollars per year, and the future of the pension's funding would depend on factors like the stock market.
Fischer has a message for lawmakers still deciding on the issue:
"Give those people something to hang onto, something to look forward to."
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