Open Letter to the MS Legislature

March 27, 2025

To the Members of the Mississippi Legislature,


PERS has 368k members. Assuming each one has an adult significant other you arrive at 736k potential voters that rely on PERS. They are counting on you to protect the system. At its last meeting the PERS board discussed the serious financial situation that the system finds itself in. The Mississippi Retired Public Employees' Association (MRPEA) urges you to work with the PERS actuary to arrive at a multi-year funding plan that will protect the system. If a Tier 5 option is to be adopted, we request that you support the Tier 5 defined benefit option.


At this time there is no funding for PERS in House Bill 1 and new PERS members will have the Senate's Hybrid Tier 5 as their retirement system unless legislation is passed to change either of these issues.


Fund The System. Last year, the Legislature affirmed its support for paying retirement benefits to active employees and retired members of PERS in passing Senate Bill 3231. As of June 30, 2024, the unfunded liability of PERS stood at $26.6 billion. An ongoing multi-year commitment to reducing the unfunded liability of the system must be made, whether it comes from cash infusions, increases in the employer contribution rate beyond those passed during the 2024 Legislative session, or a combination of both. Any funding plan should be constructed in accordance with actuarial recommendations.



Support The Defined Benefit Plan Tier 5 Option. The PERS Tier 5 hybrid plan would provide significantly lower benefits to future members with no guarantee that projected benefits will be achieved. It does not include a guaranteed cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

The Tier 5 defined benefit (DB) plan alternative to the Tier 5 hybrid plan is comparable to the hybrid plan in terms of its impact on system funding, but it provides substantially higher benefits to future PERS members including a 1% COLA, and benefits are guaranteed. We believe that the DB plan will assist in attracting and retaining Mississippi's public sector workforce of the future. Charts comparing the two plans appear below.



Thank you for considering this information.

Sincerely

Bonnie P. Granger, MRPEA President

Updates

🚨 GUARDIAN ALERT: Senate Moves on PERS Funding – But Is It Enough?

By Emily Pote • January 22, 2026
Dear MRPEA Members, The 2026 Legislative Session has started with a bang. We want to provide you with an immediate update regarding the Senate's action on PERS funding, the facts regarding the numbers, and what we need you to do next. The Good News: Senate Passes $1 Billion Funding Package First, we must acknowledge a positive step forward. The Senate has passed Senate Bill 2004 , the "Mississippi PERS Stability Act." This bill demonstrates that the legislature is listening to our concerns. The plan includes: • A $500 million upfront transfer from the Capital Expense Fund to PERS on July 1, 2026. • An additional commitment of $50 million annually for the next 10 years . • Combined with recent employer contribution increases, this represents a significant step in addressing system funding needs. We thank the Senate for taking this action early in the session. The Facts: We Are Not Out of the Woods While we appreciate the Senate’s swift action, MRPEA believes in full transparency regarding the math. Our analysis compares the Senate’s plan against what the actuaries—the financial experts—recommend to ensure your promised retirement benefits are safe forever. • The Goal: The actuary’s funding policy recommends a path that would get PERS to 99% funding by 2047 . • The Senate Plan : Based on PERS projections, the current Senate proposal would only move the system to approximately 68.8% funding by 2047 . While the Senate bill is a positive move, there is a significant gap between 68.8% and the 99% recommendation. PERS members should request that any final legislation address system funding needs based on actuarial recommendations so that we aren't fighting this same battle again in future years. Call to Action: Contact Your Legislators Now It is early in the session, and this bill must still go through the House. We need you to contact your personal Senator and Representative immediately.  The Message: 1. Thank them for addressing PERS funding early in the session—positivity goes a long way. 2. Share the facts : Respectfully remind them that while the $1 billion is a great start, the numbers show it falls short of the actuarial recommendation for true long-term solvency. 3. Urge them to finish the job : Ask them to support a solution that closes the gap closer to the actuary's recommendation to protect the system for all retirees and current employees. Please make these calls or send emails this week . We must keep this issue in front of them. We are stronger together. Sincerely, MRPEA

The Guardian: Fall 2025

By Emily Pote • December 16, 2025
2025 Fall Edition of the Guardian is Here!

The Guardian: Summer 2025

July 9, 2025
2025 Summer Edition of the Guardian is Here!