DeKalb appears ready to change pension | www.myajc.com

DeKalb County leaders appear to have reached an agreement to re-tool the county’s grossly underfunded pension plan.

The plan: closing the current traditional plan to new employees, except for sworn police and firefighters. Instead, part of their future retirement income would come a 401K-styled plan, plus a traditional pension plan that it less generous than the current one. If the move is applied all new hires after a certain date – likely Jan. 1 – it would save county taxpayers about $30 million of the projected $560 million they are projected to spend on the perk over the next decade.

If the change excludes new police and firefighters – a fringe benefit designed to stanch the loss of sworn officers in recent years – and would save about $20 million that could be shoveled back into the county’s pension fund.

DeKalb’s pension, which covers all vested workers, is just 65 percent funded. That means the plan currently only has enough assets to cover 65 percent of its long-term obligations to current employees and retirees.

A new plan is projected to inch that up to about 68 percent funded, though exact projections were not available.

“We know staying the same is not an option,” said interim CEO Lee May, who introduced the change Tuesday during a work session with six remaining commissioners. “This way, we address the savings problem and the funding problem and also address retention problem we know we have.”

Doing nothing appeared to be the only option just a few months ago, despite commissioners discussing various changes for nearly three years. Meanwhile, neighboring counties such as Fulton and Gwinnett have moved to entirely defined contribution plans, those like private-sector 401K plans, for workers there.

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