OPERS WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR

At OPERS, we continue working to provide a secure retirement to our members who have dedicated their careers to public service – not just the public employees of yesterday and today, but those of tomorrow as well. Our commitment to maximizing the longevity of the funds that have been entrusted to us has existed for more than 80 years. We will continue to work closely with members of Congress, the Ohio General Assembly and legislative staff to respond to constituent needs, answer questions and maintain the excellent standard of accountability and transparency you have counted on from OPERS. In addition, we look forward to continuing our partnerships with our stakeholder groups and members to address the ongoing challenges we face.

We will continue our outreach efforts to educate you about important policy issues in 2017, such as:

• The implications of new GASB standards for public pension systems’ and public employers’ accounting relating to Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB), such as retiree health care coverage.
• OPERS’ continued opposition to proposals requiring mandatory Social Security coverage for our members.
• Continuing efforts to bring consistency and common sense to the transfer of service credit between Ohio’s public pension systems.
• Advocacy on health care issues, such as biosimilar pathways, lower exclusivity periods and ways to reduce the cost of prescription and specialty drugs.
• The multiple ways OPERS is good for Ohio’s economy, via benefit payments to and health care coverage for retirees, ensuring those individuals receive income in retirement that keeps them from having to rely on safety net programs like Medicaid or SNAP, which cost taxpayer money.
• OPERS’ continued support for secure retirement options for all Ohioans in the workforce.

We look forward to sharing these important priorities and other related ideas with you in the New Year. Thank you again.