TEXPERS Objects to Americans for Prosperity Interference in Detroit

HOUSTON, May 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems registered its contempt for the decision by Americans for Prosperity earlier this week to interfere in pension politics in Detroit and pledged vigilance of future similar activities in Texas.

Among other actions, the AFP is encouraging state lawmakers to pressure Detroit into dumping its art collection and switching to defined contribution plans for public employees without fully evaluating the effects of either.

"While we certainly respect the right of special interest groups to assert their views on public policy issues, it seems to us that the AFP's 11^th hour threats of statewide officials is more an effort to grandstand than to really play a part in developing reasonable solutions," said Max Patterson, the executive director for TEXPERS, an organization with more than 75 pension plans and representing nearly 2 million individuals in Texas.

"Unfortunately, we have been witness to similar gratuitous interventions by other groups in other states and the odds are that they may try such political stunts here in Texas despite the strength of our state and local pensions," Patterson said.

"Instead of engaging local police, fire and municipal employee pensions in discussions about issues, they prefer the radical's course with threats and the pursuit of one-size-fits-all hierarchical legislation from the state house. These tactics are foreign to the hard-working men and women who formed and operated their pensions precisely so they would require minimal contributions from local taxpayers for their retirements.

"We would hope that political discussion about pensions in Texas will not revert to 'might makes right' by those pursuing singular objectives without consideration of tradition or the financially healthy status of most state and local pensions."

About TEXPERS

The Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems (TEXPERS) is a statewide voluntary nonprofit association to provide quality education to trustees, administrators, professional service providers and employee groups and associations engaged or interested in the management of public employee retirement systems. Today, TEXPERS' 75 member systems represent approximately 2 million active and retired participants and approximately $165 billion in assets. Learn more at www.TEXPERS.org or www.TEXPERS.blogspot.com.

SOURCE TEXPERS

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