Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Corbett said Tuesday: “I don’t believe we can continue” the current pension system for future state employees and teachers.
At a Central Pennsylvania College ‘town hall’ meeting, Corbett said: “I don’t see how a defined benefit [system] can continue how it is. We need to look for a better, more viable” system.
“It is one of the priorities that we’re going to have when we go in there next year. The whole budget-making process next year and in years to come, is going to revolve quite a bit around what are we doing with existing pensions and the debt those have and what are we going do in the future with new employees?
“Can we continue – and I don’t believe we can continue – with the traditional defined benefit program that we’ve always had?
“90 percent of the businesses that I talk to have gone away from defined benefit programs [which is current state practice] and gone to defined contribution programs, which allow employees to invest tax-free savings and employer contributions in retirement accounts.”
