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Benefits February 13, 2012
New Mexico House Passed Bill to Raise Educators’ Retirement Age
February 13, 2012 (PLANSPONSOR.com) – The New Mexico House passed a bill to establish a minimum retirement age of 55 for educators hired since mid-2007.
Reported by Tara Cantore
According to the Associated Press, the bill requires that workers reach the retirement age prior to being able to draw any pension benefits. The bill also includes a permanent 1.5% increase in pension contributions that was required for most educational employees in 2009, but scheduled to expire in 2013. (See New Rules Proposed for New Mexico Educators’ Pensions).
If the bill is enacted, New Mexico educators will contribute 9.4% of their salaries into their retirement programs, reports the AP.
The House approved the bill 66-2. It has been sent to the Senate, where a more extensive pension solvency proposal is pending. The Senate proposal calls for larger contributions by workers.
The educational pension program covers about 62,000 employees and ranges from school teachers and janitors to college faculty. The program has approximately 35,000 retirees.