Skip to content
  • — DONATE NOW —
  • Like it? Steal it
  • IowaWatch
  • IowaWatch
  • About IowaWatch’s role with Investigate Midwest
  • Contact Us
  • Global Navigation
    • — DONATE NOW —
    • Like it? Steal it

IowaWatch - Part of The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting

IowaWatch (https://www.iowawatch.org/2018/12/06/republican-committee-leader-no-change-in-iowas-public-employee-retirement-plan/)

  • About IowaWatch’s role with Investigate Midwest
  • Contact Us
  • Don't Miss
  • The IowaWatch Connection radio program archives
  • News about IowaWatch 2010-2022
  • Databases
Iowa Legislature

Republican Committee Leader: No Change In Iowa’s Public Employee Retirement Plan

By Lyle Muller | December 6, 2018
LikeTweet EmailPrint More
  • More on Iowa Legislature
  • Subscribe to Iowa Legislature

Lyle Muller/IowaWatch

Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, speaks while four other state legislators who represent Johnson County, in eastern Iowa, listen during a legislative public forum in Iowa City, IA, on Dec. 5, 2018. From left to right are: Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City; Rep. Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville; Kaufmann; Rep. Mary Mascher, D-Iowa City; and Rep. Amy Nielsen, D-North Liberty. The county they represent is home of the University of Iowa and Iowa Medical and Classification Center. The forum was co-hosted by The Daily Iowan newspaper's Ethics & Politics Initiative and IowaWatch.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST: PROJECTING THE 2019 IOWA LEGISLATIVE SESSION


Republicans have no plans to change the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System, including reductions in benefits from the system that handles the pension plan for 350,000 state employees, the incoming chair of the House State Government Committee said Wednesday night.

“IPERS is not going to be touched. It’s the most solvent retirement system in the country,” state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, said at a legislative forum in Iowa City co-hosted by IowaWatch and The Daily Iowan, referring to the program by its better-known acronym.

Democrats have raised concerns that changes could be in the offing, especially after state Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, introduced a bill two years ago to place public employees hired after July 1, 2019, in a program requiring increased personal contributions. The bill failed to gain traction.

READ MORE ON THE FORUM AT THE DAILY IOWAN

IPERS, the state’s largest pension program, had a Trust Fund balance of $32.26 billion on June 30, IPERS documents show. Investment earnings cover about 70 percent of the benefits paid to retired state employees, the documents show. About 117,000 plan members are retired.

Gov. Kim Reynolds has said she would not favor cutting IPERS benefits. As chair of the State Government Committee next session, Kaufmann will have a lot of say in what legislation advances.

“What I said is concrete, absoluteness,” he said at the forum. “The thought that there ever was a big movement is fabricated. And I will stand behind that unequivocally.”

Lyle Muller/IowaWatch

The legislative public forum was at the Iowa Public Library on Dec. 5, 2018.

Kaufmann said he has spoken to all 53 members of the incoming House Republican caucus about IPERS. “Zero. Not one, not two, not five. Zero, zilch, nada, none have any appetite for this whatsoever,” he said about making changes.

“As the son of the chair of the Republican Party, the chair of the State Government Committee, and as one of the more connected Republicans in this state, I have heard zero people talk ever about it ever talk about it, period, ever in private. It just doesn’t happen.”

Kaufmann’s father is state GOP chairman Jeff Kaufmann.

READ MORE ON THE FORUM AT THE DAILY IOWAN

TO LEARN HOW IOWAWATCH’S NONPROFIT JOURNALISM IS FUNDED AND HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT IT, GO TO THIS LINK.

A radio version of this IowaWatch story was broadcast on KXEL and KFMH (Waterloo, IA); KFJB (Marshalltown, IA) and KMA (Shenandoah, IA) under IowaWatch’s mission of sharing stories with media partners.

LikeTweet EmailPrint More
  • More on Iowa Legislature
  • Subscribe to Iowa Legislature
Tags
  • Government & Politics
  • Bobby Kaufmann
  • Brad Zahn
  • Iowa Legislature
  • Iowa public employees
  • IPERS
  • Jeff Kaufmann
  • Kim Reynolds
  • public employee benefits
  • retirement benefits

Read Next

  • Five E. Iowa Legislators Confirmed For Iowa City Forum on Wednesday, Dec. 5

    Nonprofit news organizations IowaWatch and The Daily Iowan Ethics & Politics Initiative will host Johnson County legislators at the Iowa City Public Library for a discussion on education policy and other topics ahead of the legislative session.

Previous Story
Local Town Dumps A Thing Of The Past Due To High Cost Of Government Regulations
Next Story
Ella Wister Haines Made Her Mark As Mid-20th Century Iowa Mother And Writer
  • IowaWatch
  • Donate
  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Staff & Contributors
  • Ethics & Accuracy
  • Work With Us
  • Our Supporters

Search This Site

Browse Archives

© Copyright 2023, Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism

IowaWatch is a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News

Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Back to top ↑