Budget & Tax

Stitt veto protects pensioners, taxpayers

May 23, 2024

Curtis Shelton

SB 102, recently vetoed by the governor, was another attempt to chip away at past reforms that have helped put Oklahoma public pension systems in a fiscally responsible position.

SB 102 would have increased liabilities for the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement System (OPPRS) by $271 million with $90 million of those unfunded. Though OPPRS has a robust funding ratio, there should be an effort to maintain that funding status rather than go the other way. A pension system’s funding ratio refers to how well the system’s assets match up with liabilities. Increasing unfunded liabilities not only creates a cost for taxpayers, but also puts pension recipients at risk of having future benefits cut if the system becomes too out of balance.

With a budget deal now agreed to that has no additional tax cuts, asking taxpayers to foot the bill for increased government spending that also puts a retirement system in a worse position is unwise. Especially when taxpayers themselves have seen their incomes decline on a per-capita basis due to the high degree of inflation the last several years. 

Governor Stitt made a fiscally responsible decision with his veto of SB 102.