Hawaii Lawmakers Agree to Pension Reform for New Hires

Updated: 5/6/2011 11:15 a.m.

New employees will have to work longer to earn retirement benefits, chip in more toward their plans and receive smaller pensions compared to existing employees.

Adding a new tier of benefits for members of the Hawaii Employees Retirement System is expected to save the state $440 million over the first five years, according to Rep. Karl Rhoads.

The changes are seen as a way to help address the sorely underfunded pension fund, which faces a $9 billion unfunded liability.

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