Tag: Pension Fund

Curtis M. Loftis Jr., South Carolina’s treasurer

Public Pension Fund Contribution Increase Approved

South Carolina government employees will be paying more into their public pension fund in the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2017.

This is a result of a 3-2 vote by members of the State Fiscal Accountability Authority to approve an increase of 0.5%, the maximum allowed by state law in any one year. Voting to approve the increase were Gov. Nikki Haley, Sen. Hugh Leatherman and Rep. Brian White.

S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis and Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom voted against the increase.

The increase will take employee contributions from their current 8.66% earnings to a new rate of 9.16%.

In addition, the state’s taxpayers will contribute more to government workers pensions. The current employer rate of 11.66% of an employee’s salary will increase to 12.16% for state and local governments and school districts.

The increased revenue for the pension fund will be little more than a finger in the dike of future liabilities. The total of 1% increase in contributions is estimated to bring in $100 million in new revenue for the Public Employees Benefit Association.

For the fiscal year completed June 30, 2016, the actuarial firm of Gabriel Roeder Smith and Co. estimated a shortfall of $1.4 billion in unfunded liabilities just for that fiscal year.

The overall future unfunded liability for the state employee pension fund is estimated at approximately $25 billion.

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Curtis Loftis, SCRSIC Supreme Showdown Fizzles

The anticipated showdown Tuesday between S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis and the S.C. Retirement System Investment Commission over transparency of investment details by the commission fizzled out Tuesday.

Loftis, a voting member of the commission, was holding out on signing a check for a $50 million investment, approved by the commission, until he received certain assurances in writing from commission attorneys.

As a result of Loftis’ initial refusal to issue the check and an impending default deadline for the investment, the remaining SCRSIC commissioners sued Loftis to force him to act.

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Loftis and the High Cost of Political Courage

What happens when a newly elected South Carolina official tries to bring openness and accountability to the management of the state’s retirement system investment commission?

He finds himself in the news after “documents” are leaked, to the Associated Press, in which a possible “pay to play” scheme is mentioned and a SLED investigation is requested by the SC Attorney General’s office.

Looking at it another way, S.C. Treasurer Curtis Loftis finds himself in a political knife fight for trying to buck South Carolina’s “good ol’ boy” system.

Loftis has been a critic of the management of the state’s pension fund for much of his 13 months as treasurer. On January 31, 2012, Loftis outlined problems associated with the pension fund during testimony to the Senate Finance Retirement Committee.

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