Save Florida State Workers' Pensions

The Florida Retirement System is preparing to launch a retirement program that could mean big cuts in benefits for Florida state workers. Take action now to stop them.

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: Protect Pensions for Florida State Workers

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

The Florida State Board of Administration has lost hundreds of millions of the hard-earned retirement funds of Florida state workers by investing in Enron even as the stock was going down. Now those same administrators have a plan to begin a new defined-contribution program for the Florida retirement system, even before you have answered all the questions about how we lost so much money.

Why should we trust you to properly implement this new retirement plan when we still don't have all the Enron answers? I would like you to tell me why Alliance Capital Management continued to put Florida state retirement money into Enron stock even as news about the company's financial instability was becoming clear. I know you say the state may be suing Alliance Capital, but we still don't have all the answers about what happened under your watch. According to newspaper reports, Alliance Capital kept investing in Enron when your staff already knew that the company had serious problems and had warned you about it.

I am asking you to restore the faith of state workers in the Florida State Retirement System by delaying the July 1, 2002, implementation of the new defined contribution plan until the Board of Administration is cleared from potential concerns about mismanagement, conflicts of interest or breach of duty in the Enron case. It will be the best way for you to restore confidence in the Florida Retirement System. I don't want state workers to end up like the Enron employees who lost everything in their retirement accounts.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
May 03, 2002


Background Information

Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida state government is trying to turn the pension plan for Florida state workers into a high risk investment scheme that enriches Wall Street managers at the expense of workers. The Florida Retirement System, and the retirees and workers it serves, has already suffered due to Enron investments. The system lost $330 million because the Wall Street investment firm Jeb Bush and other retirement system trustees hired kept buying Enron stock as its stock price plummeted. Now, while questions about the Enron investments remain unanswered, Jeb Bush's same state managers want to introduce a new retirement plan--similar to what Enron workers had--which could mean big cuts in retirement benefits for Florida state workers. Take action to stop them.