Letter: IPERS members have nothing to fear

The future of IPERS in the news and as chair of the joint House-Senate Public Retirement Systems Committee, I'd like to put to rest concerns or fears about rumored changes during this year's legislative session.

IPERS members and other public pension beneficiaries have nothing to worry about. There will be no changes to IPERS or any of the other Iowa pension systems in the upcoming session.

Over the last several decades, thousands of Iowans have counted on the Iowa Public Employee Retirement System (IPERS) for their retirement security once they've left public service. They spent years contributing to the system and have earned their pensions.

Every other year, the Public Retirement Systems Committee is required by law to meet and review our state's various pension systems to ensure their solvency. This includes IPERS as well as the pension systems for state troopers, the Judicial Branch, and local police and firefighters. In order to keep our promise to retirees, we need to make sure that IPERS is stable and properly funded. These comprehensive reviews ensure that legislators have the relevant information and data in order to provide the needed oversight for plan members.

IPERS is well-managed and remains one of the most sound pension systems in the entire country. Changes are unnecessary.

The only people talking about making changes to IPERS are Democrats who need a campaign issue. The fear mongering tactics they are using to scare retirees who depend on IPERS are disgusting. Iowans should expect better from their elected leaders.

Rep. Dawn Pettengill

Mount Auburn