'Immoral and frankly insulting': PERS members react to proposed cuts [View all]

The future of Oregon's public employee retirement system took center stage in the legislature Monday, as the state Senate Committee on Workforce listened to testimony from current workers and retirees.

Two proposed bills — one that would change the calculation used to determine final average salary, and a second that would direct employee contributions away from individual account programs — were discussed Monday and are badly needed, said committee vice-chairman Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, one the chief sponsors of the bills.

Knopp testified before the committee about the pair of bills, which he said would have the potential to reduce the unfunded liability by billions of dollars. He stated he hoped to have an open dialogue about the needed cuts.

"It’s in the best interest of all of us to work together to get the best solution," he said. "The failure to act will lead to a catastrophic collapse."

Read more: http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/politics/2017/02/13/immoral-and-frankly-insulting-pers-members-react-proposed-cuts/97853014/