Greetings,

Don’t Let Them Break the Promise – Take Action Today!

            Your urgent action is required to stop a plan to bail-out the $3.2 billion state budget on the backs of Ohio’s retired public employees by short-changing OPERS – crippling its ability to deliver on its 74-year old promise to provide secure retirement benefits that current and future retirees are depending on.

What’s At Stake?

            Nothing less than the survival of our pension system.  The governor has proposed a 42 percent cut in the state’s contribution paid into OPERS for more than 35,000 state workers.  If enacted, this reduction from 14 percent to 8 percent will cripple OPERS’ ability to provide health care to ALL of Ohio’s retired public employees – now and well into the future.

            As one of the active members paying into OPERS, you will receive a $256 million IOU from Ohio and a promise to repay the funds over 10 years.  However, there is no guarantee future legislatures will be able to pay the money back.  There is also no word if the state would pay interest and lost investment earnings on the hijacked payments.

What Can I Do?

Only an avalanche of calls and e-mails can derail this attack on the system’s integrity and our retirement security.

Take Action Now!  Call and e-mail Governor Strickland, Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish and Senate President Bill Harris and tell them - Hands Off OPERS!

Let them know that:

Reducing contributions immediately puts OPERS outside the 30-year period required by law to fund pensions.

The cuts will reduce the solvency of the fund that pays for retiree health care which will affect retirees for years to come. 

Layoffs and pay cuts through cost saving days are already choking-off OPERS contributions; coupled with investments losses and higher health care costs this proposal could not come at a worst time.

There is no guarantee that the money will be repaid as future legislative bodies cannot be bound over to repay this money.  Other states that have raided their public pension plans have not repaid the money and the results have been disastrous.

OPERS plays a critical role creating Ohio jobs.  Billions of pension dollars in the hands of retirees immediately return to the local economy.  It’s estimated that every $1 in worker and employer contributions OPERS invests and distributes results in $2.58 in economic activity.  Retiree expenditures from all Ohio state and local pension plan benefits support more than 79,000 jobs in the state.

Contact Governor Strickland by phone at (614) 466-3555 or via the Internet by clicking on this link:  www.governor.ohio.gov/Assistance/Contactthe Governor/tabid/150/Default.aspx

Contact Ohio Senate President Bill Harris by phone at (614) 466-8086 or by e-mail at:  SD19@senate.state.oh.us

Contact Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish by phone at (614) 466-5441 or by e-mail at:  district08@ohr.state.oh.us

Contact Ohio Office of Budget and Management Director J. Pari Sabety by phone at (614) 466-4034 or by e-mail at:  obm@obm.state.oh.us 

PLEASE TAKE ACTION TODAY!