A deepening crisis in recruiting and keeping state workers is pushing Alaska lawmakers to consider a new pension plan for public employees. But they are still far from agreeing on the structure of the new plan, or who will benefit.
JUNEAU — Amid a deepening crisis in recruiting and keeping state workers, the Alaska Legislature is again considering measures to recreate a pension plan for public employees, but disagreements on the type and extent of the plan mean a long path ahead.
Josephson’s plan, meanwhile, would apply to roughly 2,300 first responders, who make up around 7.5% of public employees in Alaska.The reasoning for giving public safety workers a pension option while setting aside other workers is the investment needed to train first responders. Josephson pegged the number between $100,000 and $200,000 per worker, shouldered entirely by the state or local government taxes.
Josephson acknowledged that other public sectors, including education, face a crisis in turnover that could be addressed with a new pension plan, and that he hopes that a bill targeting public safety workers will ultimately lead to a plan that applies to other workers.That is exactly what some more conservative Republicans are worried about. They say that even a narrow bill opens the door for other state employees to demand similar benefits.
Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, stands in a hallway on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023 at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau.
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