Vander Plaats: Culver understimates IPERS woes

By James Q. Lynch

The Gazette

A Democratic legislative leader is making more sense on righting Iowa public employees' sinking retirement fund than the governor, according to GOP gubernatorial hopeful Bob Vander Plaats.

The Sioux City Republican applauded Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, for saying the Iowa Legislature will address the problems facing the Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System (IPERS) fund that has 312,000 members who are current, former or retired employees of schools, cities, counties and state government.

IPERS' investment fund lost $4.5 billion in the past year. An actuarial consultant reported IPERS is “in a deep hole.” Options for dealing with it include more taxpayer money and reductions of benefits to members to ensure its long-term stability.

However, first-term Democratic Gov. Chet Culver said there is “no need for alarm.”

“I doubt that we'll have to do anything next session other than hope we continue to have economic recovery and that certainly, long-term is going to do the best in terms of our IPERS investments,” Culver said.

That only underscores Culver's “failure to understand the gravity of challenges facing the state and his inability to provide effective leadership,” Vander Plaats said.

“Hope is not a leadership strategy,” Vander Plaats said. “This latest episode is just more evidence that Chet Culver doesn't know what's important or even what's going on around him.”

Culver, Vander Plaats said, is like Mad magazine's Alfred E. Neuman, who is perpetually saying, “What, me worry?”

“Maybe Chet Culver is not worried, but the people who are relying on IPERS for their retirement and the people who are funding it sure are concerned,” said Vander Plaats, a former schoolteacher and administrator. “Chet Culver is part of the problem when more than ever we need a governor who is part of the solution.”